FRANCISCO ORELLANA

FRANCISCO ORELLANA

• Born in Trujillo, Spain around 1511
• Was Related to the Pizzaro brothers.
• Set sail on his first Voyage in 1527, when he was 17

FIRST VOYAGE

• In 1527, Orellana sailed from Spain to the West Indies.
• Afterwards, he traveled to Nicaragua.
• 6 years later, he joined Francisco Pizzaro's Army
• He served in the army for 5 years, leaving in 1538
• Afterwards, he was appointed governor of La Culata and Guayaquil

EL DORADO

• In 1541, Orellana joined Gonzalo Pizzaro's expedition.
• They were trying to find El Dorado- The City Of Gold.
• It was rumored El Dorado's emperor dusted himself with gold each day.
• Francisco Orellana was appointed Pizzaro's lieutenant.
• Orellana was sent to raise an another army as Pizarro left with his troops

EL DORADO (CONT.)

• Orellana hurried to catch up to the main expedition
• By the time he caught up, most of the troops had died.
• The mission was a failure; they continued to the coast.
• At the coast they built a boat to transport the sick.

EXPLORATION OF THE AMAZON

• Pizzaro sent Orellana to explore the River Coca.
• Orellana discovered lands in the Amazon.
• He completed the first known navigation of the amazon river in 1542
• Afterwards, he began his journey back to Spain.

FINAL VOYAGE

• When Orellana reached Europe, he landed in Portugal instead of Spain
• The king asked him to sail for Portugal. This caused international conflict
• He eventually returned to the amazon for further exploration, hiding in one of his own ships.
• This exploration was a huge failure. Almost the entire crew died of illness and starvation.
• Orellana himself died of illness and grief in 1546.

ORELLANA'S CHALLENGES

• Orellana faced a lot of challenges in his life.
• Early in his settlement in Nicaragua, he lost an eye in battle. He wore an eyepatch.
• During his search for El Dorado, almost all his crew died or abandoned him.
• In his first exploration of the amazon, he encountered a band of Amazon warriors.
• On his final voyage, his crew was killed by illness, or by Indians with poison arrows.

EFFECTS OF HIS EXPLORATION

• Orellana became the first person to sail the entire amazon.
• He also founded the city Guayaquil in present day Ecuador
• However, his discoveries caused conflict between Portugal and Spain
• They fought over the boundaries of the Treaty of Tordesillas