SURVIVING the Amazon: How the First Conquistadors SURVIVED the DEADLY River of Darkness
Vložit
- čas přidán 3. 06. 2022
- In late 1541 Francisco de Orellana and 57 conquistadors began the first documented journey by Europeans down the Amazon River. Beginning their expedition in the west from Quito, the party had to travel the entire length of the river to its mouth in order to escape the jungle with their lives. Friar Gaspar de Carvajal will chronicle the experience. He writes about starvation, attack, massive cities, poison arrows, cannibals, and fighting the legendary Amazonian women. Nearly 100 years later the Portuguese will travel the river in their own adventure but their accounts don’t write about the same glory as Carvajal. The jungle they move through is largely uninhabited. So was the Friar’s description a lie or is there another explanation?
This episode is part one in a multi-part series on the Amazon Jungle. Here, we will tell Carvajal’s story. In the next few episodes, we will look at the evidence behind the legend and examine his claims.
Resources
River of Darkness by Buddy Levy (book)
The Discovery of the Amazon: According to the Account of Friar Gaspar De Carvajal and Other Documents (Book)
Relación del nuevo descubrimiento del famoso río Grande que descubrió por muy gran ventura el capitán Francisco de Orellana ("Account of the recent discovery of the famous Grand river which was discovered by great good fortune by Captain Francisco de Orellana") SPANISH VERSION blogs.elpais.com/papeles-perd...
UNCOVERING AMAZONIA editions.lib.umn.edu/openrive...
Francisco de Orellana en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franc...
Gaspar de Carvajal en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaspa...
Amazon Jungle Once Home to Millions More Than Previously Thought
By Erin Blakemore
www.nationalgeographic.com/hi...
Archaeologists find vast network of Amazon villages laid out like the cosmos
By Laura Geggel published December 09, 2020
www.livescience.com/clock-fac... - Zábava
Having been to the Amazon nothing surprises me there. Patrol boats, cocaine smugglers, naked natives chewing on cocoa leaves for energy, dolphins, bull sharks, piranha, anaconda, poisonous frogs, crazy monkeys, cayman, not to mention insects, a native indian soccer team (all boys, they were wearing lion clothes) in a dugout canoe going to the next village to play. Saw all of that. It was an amazing place and would love to go back.
Good news then, you can add hippos to your list of animals seen in their 'natural amazon habitat', as apparently there is a thriving population of them there. It is result of Escobar's arrest back in day, hippos escaped from his zoo (i think it was 6 of them at that point) and now were seen having a blast there.
@Hejcior I didn't realize they made it down to the Amazon. I thought they were mainly around Medellin.
@@DaleSides It is possible my information is not accurate. I have heard this info on Wild Times podcast, Forrest Gallante was talking about it. It was a while ago but i am fairly sure he did mentioned that hippos were residing at the amazon river itself, which would, as you rightly pointed out, suggest that they have traveled quite a distance. Maybe he said they are in river near Puerto Triunfo, where zoo was located, and i just incorrectly remembered. Bottom line is, there is a fairly large population of hippos somewhere in south americas jungle :)
Lion clothes? Jaguar skins?
@@DaleSides They made to the Amazon, just not near the river
These early civilizations in the Amazon are truly one of the great mysteries left. It's a wonderful tale
I always wonder what civilizations we never knew existed. I find all these types of things fascinating.
They were massive... and shortly after the arrival of the first explorers the die off from exposure to diseases they had no immunity is believed to have reduced populations as high as 80-90%.
I can only imagine the difference between the populations in 1500 vs. 1600. MILLIONS dead without a single shot fired.
The ability for those early Spaniards to survive in the jungle was truly remarkable.
Those men were some tough dudes as well as enterprising and cruel.
You could close your eyes and point to any empire or dynasty with this statement, and you’d be accurate.
Not as cruel as the indigenous people that performed human sacrifices, sprinkled warm blood all over their feasts as well as consumed young children as a delicacy. That’s some serious next level cruelty. Spanish attacked Aztecs after witnessing these acts.
@@JohnnyButtonslmao do you also believe the Bible? If so maybe this might not be the right subject for you. Let’s go over some facts since you are using your reason for why one was more cruel. Sacrifice did happen 🫤 that something everyone knows but let me ask you what civilization didn’t, shit last time I check as well most civilizations that did resort to canabalism did so out of necessity you think Europeans were above that. Baby eating …. Really I doubt Spanish would have cared if that was the case may I remind you of some of the games spansih had. Or some of the practices , this applies to African and indigenous btw cutting open pregnant women and stepping on the newborn or for our dirty Spanish friends whom didn’t bathe( not a joke this is well documented euros had some of the worst hygiene then again that probably why we got 12 diseases while Europeans don’t at best they got a new strain of a a Sti that was present ) , cutting of noses lips and limbs to serve as warning to other natives, working children to early graves if they don’t carry their weight they would speed up that grave time, or maybe cannabalism practiced by European Americans whom ate Africans or maybe using babys as bait honestly Europeans have quite the savage streak we got labeled savages but we don’t come near and that’s saying something
@@JohnnyButtons yeah the native people did some hardcore bad stuff and didn't have any excuses for doing it either
@@JohnnyButtons You do not understand the reality of history, do you only listen to the side of history the white man has written? The Spaniards were no moralizers, in their hearts was greed. They condemned my people for their ways and over exaggerated and lied so that our killing could be justified. The Spanish were zealots who sought gold. The Spanish burned natives alive and mauled us with dogs, and once we were dead we were fed to their dogs. As the Taino warrior Hatuey was about to be burned alive they asked him if he would accept Jesus so he may enter heaven, he asked if the Spanish went to Heaven and they said yes. He said that he would rather go to Hell. None of our ancestors our free from sin, the Aztecs were conquerors as well and there was a reason why our neighbors hated us enough to join forces with the Spanish. The Spanish were no warriors, they were snakes who divided and conquered Mexico. The Spanish came and turned our neighbors against us toppled our empire, and once that was all said and done they put them selves at the top of the hierarchy and put Natives at the bottom. History is written by the victors. Let this be known, I am no victim I just want to respect and understand the truth of history. The truth is there are no pure victims, one way or another all our ancestors have committed atrocities and we are all sinners. Salud y Mexica Tiahui🇲🇽✊🏾
Man I wish there were more movies about conquistadors
There are. The other conquest, the Fountain, Argurre, Lost city Z, Adventum, Gold and Hernan to name some.
@@andreass.2654 liked Argurre. Good flick. I loved the very beginning with the March down the mountain path.
@@blockmasterscottyeah great! Do you know Fitzcaraldo with Klaus Kinski?
They would be woke. The Spanish would be made to look like idiots.
Todas son malas e injustas.
Nadie quiere hacer buenas y justas películas de la historia de España ni los propios españoles que creen también la leyenda negra
Its amazing how tough and resilient people can be, when consumed by gold fever.
I find It was more of a matter of "If I Return home empty handled after the king gifted me an expediton that turned up to waste the Royal treasury, I'll be put to disdain and contempt forever" matter than finding gold. And the fact they were cornered thousands of kilometers from home and no guaranteed way to survive
This is absolutely incredible, Lidar can open up the hidden treasures all over the world. There is a 2022 Lidar survey just reported in the Bolivian region of the Amazon, they found just the area they surveyed had large areas of open savannah with roads interconnecting settlements.
Talk about being on the verge of locating a massive archaeological goldmine that will rewrite the history books.
Definitely. LiDAR is so promising. I really cool thing about Carvajal’s account is that much of the area can be identified as next to specific tributaries and confluences. It could do a lot to verify his words, if true. I look forward to the next 50 years of study on the region.
@@datesanddeadguys Yeah I remember all the lost civilisation fake archaeology nut-jobs losing their minds because some kid was correlating new Amazonian archaeological sites with constellations. Turns out you could literally throw a dart at a map and find something there lol.
We're about to find so much cool shit in the Amazon! The lidar may have located a number of new, very large pyramids. There may have been millions of people living there! It's such an insanely exciting opportunity for archeology! When's the last time we've been exposed to HUGE cultures completely lost and unknown for 500 years? It's starting to make so much more sense that the Amazon is absolutely filled with cultivated species of food-giving plants and trees. Nature doesn't do that. People with long-standing agricultural practices do. So cool!!
@Graham Hancock what a time to be an archaeologist down there, can't wait to see what they find
@@grahamhancock5070 If you are who you say you are then I'm glad you've started being realistic in terms of timelines. Hopefully you've decided to approach archaeology with integrity again, as opposed to preying on gullible conspiracy theorists for easy money.
We know European pathogens killed North American natives decades before the Europeans arrived on the west coast. It follows that the same would happen in the south. The jungle also being so unforgiving and without maintenance would reclaim almost all trace of inhabitants.
Exactly. There is a book by Graham Hancock called America Before that dedicates a big section to just this. I definitely think that it’s possible that part of Friar Carvajal was exaggerated, I couldn’t figure out how long after the journey he wrote it, but there is a good chance most is as he remembered.
@Dates and Dead Guys a really like Graham Hancock but it's only theories that I do believe but still theories!!
LMAO...yes because the cannibalism and other filthy behaviors exhibited by Natives wouldn't Bring ABOUT any SICKNESS...MUSTA BEEN the Christians. All the advanced labs they had back then did testing as well, huh?
They’re just pathogens, not European pathogens.
@@rogerpattube pathogens that came from Europe...
Love your summary of this account. Pizarro "was beheaded, which is fatal"🤣🤣 Love that line.
There's something to this content. Keep it up, give it time, and I see this blowing up in popularity
Amazing content Iv been obsessed with these topics lately
1k !!! I enjoyed the video! Look forward to some more new ones and see the older ones will subscribe
Just stumbled on your channel. While watching Paul Rosoli on the Koncrete podcast I wanted to find more on de Orellano and his travels. This one came up. Liked it very much. Hope you manage to get your hands on a good microphone, the quality of the channel deserves a better sound!
The story is a really interesting one. There is a really good book called River or darkness by buddy levy that tells the story in a narrative format if your into that. Caraval’s journal is also really fun but there are no English translations I can find online. Thanks for kind words. My newer stuff is slowly getting the sound figured out.
Thank you for the very interesting and informative video. I have a hard time sometimes with history, but listening to you makes it easy to understand! When I was a kid in school, teachers made history class boring. But now I have found you, and my interest is peeked. So, thanks again and I look forward to next lesson.
Wow love the content, ur on2 somthing. Fascinating subjects and great edit style Cant wait to watch you grow and improve.
I appreciate it. These topics are super interesting to get into. I’m happy to be able to share them and hopefully they will keep getting better.
dude, you got an awsome channel. I love all these stories.
Thank you! I appreciate you watching.
Thanks for this summary of the expedition and for taking a very neutral and nuanced view of the story. As as spaniard I am a bit tired both the spanish centric view in which Conquistadores seem human right activists but also the black legend type of view in which the conquistadores were akin to Hitler. Contextualization and taking historical documents and recounts with a pinch of salt is key.
Give back the gold and silver that you have stolen!
@@nosferatu6171they are your ancestors, not modern day Spaniards so you might as well ask yourself for that gold😂 besides, more gold and silver is extracted in Latin America in a year than in the whole colonial period so you would be very disappointed if they paid you back, and most of the gold was either spent in the new world or stolen by pirates.
@@nosferatu6171 it's not like if they gave back the gold it would be for you lmao
Great video, man. This is a highly interesting subject and you’ve covered it well.
There is no doubt in my mind. Conquistadors and the Spanish empire is the most interesting piece to f human history’s
Very interesting, just discovered your channel!
Id be interested in learning more about Diego de Ordaz expedition ..
I just came across your videos and I love them! I love the little bits of humor scattered within. Keep up the great work 👍🏻 I look forward to seeing what else you post
That’s awesome. Thank you!
This channel is amazing!
Great lecture! Thorough history told here. More so than the traditional academic description and acceptance. Thanks for the content!
Incredible story .. I always thought the Amazonian women was a myth but it seems to be rooted in some reality. I know modern anthropologists don't take anything seriously that may get them ridiculed but if something was to emerge about these women would be extraordinary. So strange they desrcibe them as a white and tall.. would have never expected. It reminds me of some of the old stories of Inca/Aztecs that had white, golden haired people in their folklore
I'll skip the very long story but in doing research but the trail lead to the Amazon warrior women of Greek lore. They were in the steppe region of southern Russia and Ukraine, basically just north of the Black Sea. Archeologists have been excavating grave mounds and found really good evidence of a horse based, female warrior society.
What struck me was the similarities between them and the Amazon women in this story. They didn't run around naked (too cold). They would go to a neighboring tribe and pick out a man to get them pregnant. If the baby was a girl they kept it, if it was a boy they'd offer it back to the tribe. If the tribe didn't want it, the baby was left out in the elements to die.
One of the latest graves had a textbook skeleton that definitely showed horseriding from very early age (bowed femurs that are thicker than normal) Riding bareback or without stirrups does develop your leg muscles. Shoulder area bones showed an oversized right arm for bow. Then there was the weapons of war. I've seen some speculation they may have branched out from the Scythian culture which was a horseback warrior culture on the steppe. But this is casual wondering right now.
One more plot twist. There is a connection from them to the female supremcy cult of Artemis at Ephesus on the west coast of Turkey. Their practices and beliefs are so close to modern radical feminism its unnerving. Think really really radical feminism as in males are inferior in all ways and need to be kept down.
@baltichammer6162 that's nice. But they still wouldn't stand a chance againt strong men.
@@samdatech Correct but the topic is the historical authenticity of women warrior tribes or societies. When your fighting is primarily on horseback with bows, bulk muscle doesn't count.
@@Baltic_Hammer6162like those alien ladies from Rick and Morty lol
I know everyone has commented on the bad sound. Given I know you've got the sound working much better now, I think this intriguing content deserves a do-over.
Insane! Thanks for the video!!!
Thank you! This story is so interesting to me.
Thanks my fd n great job as always. I would like to ask u if u might consider doing a vid on DeSoto's expedition into the southeastern US?
Bad ass video man.
Please keep doing what your doing.
I am having alot of fun.
Me too! Don’t plan to stop anytime soon.
Awesome video. Very interesting
Epic video man
Awesome video. One question I'd have is if there was a vast civilization there, wouldn't we expect to find some stone dwellings that the trumpeter captured by Orellana talked about?
That is a great question. And oddly, no. The jungle eats things. There are some great photos of Central American structures and pyramids before and after excavation that just you would never know were even there. The Amazon is on a whole other level. I don’t know that they are there but not finding them definitely doesn’t mean that are not. Look up LiDAR and what that technology has found. It’s really fun.
I've been on the Napo river. A magical place. I always felt that there was something in the Amazon interior that will astound the world. Soon.
This channel is going to be a great success - if you improve the sound quality, which currently sucks. And bad sound is worse than bad image quality when it comes to filmmaking.
I hope so! I really enjoy putting these things together. I have a new mic in my most recent 4 videos. I hope that problem is one that is finally resolved. Thank you.
Excellent video 👏👏👏 Thanks.
Great Job!!!
8:00 "the young men did not go to war" - Actually sounds reasonable. That way the young men create the next generation and there is no population bust!
Don’t think it worked, population sure kinda got REAL busted 🙃
Great video
Why I don't complain about being poor. Most of us have it very easy when it comes down to it. These men survived what was not Hell, but a deep paradise because we have survived. This is what addiction recovery looks like. Appreciate every Thing. Each breath is a celebration, just as each bite, and each word. I am among the rich due to my understanding now.
What surprised me most was that the Napo river natives didn’t even have bows and arrows. I guess they used wooden tipped weapons, which explains why the Spanish didn’t lose many men until they reached the Amazons.
Biggest suprise for me was that the Spanish conquistadors ate all their dogs and horses wtf.
The sound in this video is poor. Good information
Good stuff as always. You need to up your microphone game, good sir. Can't understand very well. Maxed out the sound.....
Those amazonian women were defeated by jars of peanut butter.
Top tier video
Very cool, Rio Negro / Napo River / Quito i'm very familiar with that area!
At one point in the video it is mentioned that there is an area where the river turns black color. Actually if anybody is interested in a kind of interesting movie from the 80s there is a film called Where The River Runs Black. It has some very good actors in it and has very impressive scenes. It is available in full on youtube somewhere. In it a missionary fathers a child with a native lady. Then there are also poachers who raid villages. The child bonds with the river dolphins of in the years he grows up in the Amazon. Then he is taken to the big city to a Catholic mission and discovers the man who killed his mother is around there running for office. Well, there is a lot of action happening. Highly recommended. Especially the ending.
Is there a video from this channel where specifically the sexual practices of the Native Americans described by the Conquistadors or any other Europeans? Similarly maybe a video that describes in detail how widespread sexual contact (whether rape or consensual) was there between Europeans and the natives? I am interested in the sexual ethics of the different native groups, but also how the so called Christians justified sexual violence in instances of rape or random encounters.
Weirdo
Great job, but sometimes it's too difficult to hear you.
You could use some normalized Audio / Volume enhancements. The content is very solid though!
Well done
Great 👍 topic but sadly I can barley hear it
Amazing video just wish the audio was louder
Sorry man. This was like five months in. I think it took me a about 9 months to work out the audio.
@@datesanddeadguys I need to get a new phone, this one is getting quiet I think.
They couldn't fish? I don't eat fish but if I get hungry enough I would.
Yeah that weird, especially considering the abundance on that river.
@@raclark2730consider scurvy
This is presented very well, and the information is extremely interesting. But you need to upgrade your setup and get a mic. The audio is terrible.
although we love to talk about small pox because it is still very deadly, you have to remember things like the flu was also deadly to native populations, and the europeans introduced malaria to the region as well.
Great content!! But can’t hear you man😢
I find the history of South America very mysterious and interesting
Them going up river to meet the other Christians is the crossover we needed
I have a satellite picture of part of the Amazon, where old canal systems and irrigation lines once were.
Super great content but DAMN it’s hard to hear. Hope u get that fixed 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
I think I have it cleared up in my more recent stuff. Thank you for toughing through the early days of the channel.
So this was good but dude should have had a copy of the Buddy Levy book River of Darkness visible on his desk... he does cite it as a "source" but the vid is basically a book report.
Very interesting video but volume is so low i can barely hear it.
Those guys had to be some of the toughest men to ever live.
Interesting stuff. I just wish the microphone volume was good enough for me to hear it.
I appreciate that. I have the mic worked out for the newer videos.
Where do we find old texts
Crazy how LiDAR kinda backs this up now
Recommended viewing: "Aguirre the Wrath of God."
They shot a skin walker. 😆
Gaspar de Carvajal is an interesting dude.
Man the sound mixing
With respect, your audio is terrible..you cannot record in an echo room. Please invest in a shotgun microphone or a cardioid/unidirectional microphone that won't capture the audio reverberating in the room. Flat echo walls are horrendous for audio. Alternatively you can setup some acoustic treatment high density foam panels on your walls. Both would be ideal but if budget is an issue, either of these options will help immensely. I really enjoy your content very much, thank you and please keep going
I've lived and traveled in the Amazon basin for 8 months in 2006. it's almost impossible to starve their in my experience. Fish abound in the rivers. With nothing more complex than a bow, or bare handsl to catch them with. Also monkeys, pigs, agoutis, snakes, turtles. Eggs, and tapirs are teeming in the jungle. Heart of palm, Yucca and cacao, also
They wouldn’t have had pigs because they were from Europe and aren’t native to americas
I wouldn't blame them for not eating random plants. Hindsight is 20/20 but, in the moment, eating random plants and fruits is a good way to get on the fast track to illness or even death.
The fish part is curious, though. They clearly came across plenty of natives drying fish. Maybe they tried and were unsuccessful or eventually lost enough gear where it wasn't feasible to fish anymore.
Your audio levels are all over the place. it's too bad cause it's a good story. I just can't.
Now with lidar we are beginning to understand these men weren’t lying
Starving on a river full of fish.
Now HERE is a Healthy Escape!
How the hell were they starving in the Amazon?!?! It’s full of life plants and animals! Hell those rivers are full of fish.
The Spanish though all plants were poisonous they had too many fears the natives knew the forest rivers
Turn the volume up on your video's sir
"La reina de las Amazonas se llama Calafia y su reino California" del libro Las sergas de esplandian
Even the torture of the villagers did not get them what they want. 😮 Dear Lord!
Dude..volume..more and better volume please...
I thought I had the sound fixed with a new mic. I’ll figure it out. Thanks for the feedback.
@@datesanddeadguys I think the rooms too empty.
I find it hard to reconcile the efforts you made with the interesting content and editing with how poor the sound is in this video. Please pay attention to the sound. It is very low volume and frustrating to listen to.
The real shit is when they must've first seen the grand canyon.
Never found those huge wide roads???
These were tough men, keep in mind that Spaniards before that had been at one war or another without interruptions for nearly 800 years.
sound is not great
I know one of Pizzaros granddaughters
how can you be on a river and starve?
plz talk closer to the mic...it will sound 10X better
Sound quality and volume isn’t very good :/
I clicked because I thought the thumbnail said "Starvation attack."
""[...Francisco Pizarro and his company] arrived at Puerto Viejo, and to Santa Helena, where they saw a large quantity of bones of giants, that according to their proportion, were 20 palms [approximately 15 ft] tall." ~ Antonio de la Calancha. Augustinian monk & anthropologist. "The Moral Chronical of the Order of Saint Augustine in Peru, 1663""
Imagine you know two Daves and you call one Dave the Lesser.
How does one starve in a jungle? Could they not hunt or fish? They probably wouldn't have known which plants were edible, but animals & fish are edible everywhere.
Fishing is hard and from what I know there isn’t that many large animals in the rainforest like deer that the Spanish would be more used to but jaguars that are more sneaky
yeah cool dude sit in a big room with an echo and no professional microphone 😢 really gonna sit and listen to this for an hour
a lot of their writings are exaggerated though. its always 600 Spanish men vs 300,000 natives or some shit
oh hell yeah
The Spanish conquistadors and explorators passed displaying 2 bollocks like 2 atmospheric balloons.
4000 native porters? You get a lot of loyalty by torturing your porters