Walter Raleigh's El Dorado


Walter Raleigh was convinced that Guiana was the location of the fabled city of gold El Dorado. Just four months after his own failed expedition he sent Lawrence Keymis on an expedition to find the city. His sympathetic writings and high expectations encouraged other English explorers to head to Guiana. Unfortunately for Raleigh, the accession of James I who was seeking an accord with the Spanish, only frustrated the explorer's intentions to return. It was not until 1616 that he was finally given the opportunity to return only to fail to find the fabled city once more. The full 1595 map can be seen here


South America


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by Stephen Luscombe