Great theme! Reminds me of the 70's film Aguirre, Wrath of God. Pretty much all Spanish expeditions at that time were disastrous for someone though weren't they? I bought Moor's Account awhile back and am planning it as 1 of 2 books I want to read for Morocco, glad to hear it was an interesting read.
Your so right about the Spanish expeditions being disastrous. I've read several books about the Cortes and Pizarro decimation of the Aztec and Inca societies and in the De Soto book, a part I failed to mention in my discussion, was the savage conduct of the Spanish against the natives they encountered and their torturing and execution of innocent people.
Can't stop imagining being enslaved by the 'Indians' for years and surviving. How they were worked, then escaped somehow, then met a ship to get home. The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant mentions the dense forests that kept soldiers from getting to battles. Traveling down the Mississippi River was difficult because stopping at the shore was.met with more forest. Grant doesn't mention the wildlife in the forest but it must have been something. But first the Spaniards had fought off the mosquitoes and of course alligators in Florida, but there were also cities that i can't imagine. Must have been a tremendous read but kind of a horrible trip.
I know it's not a trip I would want to go on. The four men who managed to return to New Spain had become known among the 'Indians' as shamans or healers over the years because of a miraculous recovery of a chief who had been dying. So, they had started to be better treated and eventually were able to travel back, by foot, to New Spain and were actually accompanied by several of the natives on their trek.
Thanks for your suggestion but I, actually, have already read it. In fact, it generated a big interest in me to read about the pre-history of South America and the Amazon in particular. I've managed to find a few books on the subject but there doesn't seem to be much available. However, what I've read has only increased my fascination. There seems to be a huge amount of evidence that indicates a far more advanced society in the Amazon than we are aware of. I read River of Darkness by Buddy Levy about a small number of Spanish from Pizarro's expedition that traveled down the Amazon and their story of the huge number of cities along the river. It appears that the European diseases introduced by the early explorers wiped out most of the native people long before Europeans began venturing into the Amazon.
Great theme! Reminds me of the 70's film Aguirre, Wrath of God. Pretty much all Spanish expeditions at that time were disastrous for someone though weren't they? I bought Moor's Account awhile back and am planning it as 1 of 2 books I want to read for Morocco, glad to hear it was an interesting read.
Your so right about the Spanish expeditions being disastrous. I've read several books about the Cortes and Pizarro decimation of the Aztec and Inca societies and in the De Soto book, a part I failed to mention in my discussion, was the savage conduct of the Spanish against the natives they encountered and their torturing and execution of innocent people.
Can't stop imagining being enslaved by the 'Indians' for years and surviving. How they were worked, then escaped somehow, then met a ship to get home. The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant mentions the dense forests that kept soldiers from getting to battles. Traveling down the Mississippi River was difficult because stopping at the shore was.met with more forest. Grant doesn't mention the wildlife in the forest but it must have been something. But first the Spaniards had fought off the mosquitoes and of course alligators in Florida, but there were also cities that i can't imagine. Must have been a tremendous read but kind of a horrible trip.
I know it's not a trip I would want to go on. The four men who managed to return to New Spain had become known among the 'Indians' as shamans or healers over the years because of a miraculous recovery of a chief who had been dying. So, they had started to be better treated and eventually were able to travel back, by foot, to New Spain and were actually accompanied by several of the natives on their trek.
@@oldmanandthereadHeard the English first called the people naturals. Too bad it didn't stick.
You would like The Lost City or Z by David Grann
Thanks for your suggestion but I, actually, have already read it. In fact, it generated a big interest in me to read about the pre-history of South America and the Amazon in particular. I've managed to find a few books on the subject but there doesn't seem to be much available. However, what I've read has only increased my fascination. There seems to be a huge amount of evidence that indicates a far more advanced society in the Amazon than we are aware of. I read River of Darkness by Buddy Levy about a small number of Spanish from Pizarro's expedition that traveled down the Amazon and their story of the huge number of cities along the river. It appears that the European diseases introduced by the early explorers wiped out most of the native people long before Europeans began venturing into the Amazon.
@@oldmanandtheread I guess I’m not surprised you already read it