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Francisco De Orellana




Francisco de Orellana (c. 1500 - c. 1549 ) was a Spanish Explorer and Conquistador .

Orellana took part in the Spanish Conquest Of Peru with Francisco Pizarro , and was one of Gonzalo Pizarro 's lieutenants during Gonzalos's 1541 expedition east of Quito into the South America n interior in search of El Dorado .

In December 1541, at what is today the Napo River , Orellana's ship was separated from the main force. In one of the most improbably successful voyages in known history, Orellana managed to sail the length of the Amazon River , arriving at the River 's mouth in August 1542 .

It was on this voyage that the Amazon got its name; Orellana wrote that he was attacked by fierce female warriors, but it is possible that he actually fought long haired male Amerindian warriors.

Orellana died on a subsequent voyage down the Amazon.

The present-day Ecuadorian province of Orellana was named after him.


REFERENCES

  • ''Explorers of the Amazon'', Anthony Smith ISBN 0670813109

  • ''Relación del nuevo descubrimiento del famoso río Grande que descubrió por muy gran ventura el capitán Francisco de Orellana'', an account of the voyage by Orellana's chaplain, Gaspar De Carvajal .