The River Sea: The Amazon in History, Myth, and Legend
Since its discovery by Europeans in 1500, explorers, visionaries, soldiers of fortune, men of God, scientists, and slavers have been drawn to the legendary Amazon. The River Sea is a sweeping chronicle of those brave and hardy souls, ranging from the Spanish seafarer Vicente Pinzón, who discovered the river, to contemporary heroes and heroines, like Sister Dorothy Stang and Chico Mendes, whose efforts to save the rain forest cost them their lives.

Among the vast cast of characters who people this drama of the Amazon are Francisco de Orellana, the first European to traverse the river from the Andes to the sea; the fiery priest Bartolomé de las Casas, defender of the indigenous peoples; the great scientist explorers Alexander von Humboldt and Alfred Russel Wallace; the madman and psychopath Lope de Aguirre; and the Peruvian Evangeline, Isabel Godin, who in 1769 crossed the continent, braving the terrors of the jungles to reunite with her husband, whom she had not seen in twenty years.

The River Sea is a compelling account of five centuries of the history, the myths, and the legends of Río Amazonas, the most exotic and fascinating locale on earth.
1102218764
The River Sea: The Amazon in History, Myth, and Legend
Since its discovery by Europeans in 1500, explorers, visionaries, soldiers of fortune, men of God, scientists, and slavers have been drawn to the legendary Amazon. The River Sea is a sweeping chronicle of those brave and hardy souls, ranging from the Spanish seafarer Vicente Pinzón, who discovered the river, to contemporary heroes and heroines, like Sister Dorothy Stang and Chico Mendes, whose efforts to save the rain forest cost them their lives.

Among the vast cast of characters who people this drama of the Amazon are Francisco de Orellana, the first European to traverse the river from the Andes to the sea; the fiery priest Bartolomé de las Casas, defender of the indigenous peoples; the great scientist explorers Alexander von Humboldt and Alfred Russel Wallace; the madman and psychopath Lope de Aguirre; and the Peruvian Evangeline, Isabel Godin, who in 1769 crossed the continent, braving the terrors of the jungles to reunite with her husband, whom she had not seen in twenty years.

The River Sea is a compelling account of five centuries of the history, the myths, and the legends of Río Amazonas, the most exotic and fascinating locale on earth.
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The River Sea: The Amazon in History, Myth, and Legend

The River Sea: The Amazon in History, Myth, and Legend

by Marshall De Bruhl
The River Sea: The Amazon in History, Myth, and Legend

The River Sea: The Amazon in History, Myth, and Legend

by Marshall De Bruhl

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Overview

Since its discovery by Europeans in 1500, explorers, visionaries, soldiers of fortune, men of God, scientists, and slavers have been drawn to the legendary Amazon. The River Sea is a sweeping chronicle of those brave and hardy souls, ranging from the Spanish seafarer Vicente Pinzón, who discovered the river, to contemporary heroes and heroines, like Sister Dorothy Stang and Chico Mendes, whose efforts to save the rain forest cost them their lives.

Among the vast cast of characters who people this drama of the Amazon are Francisco de Orellana, the first European to traverse the river from the Andes to the sea; the fiery priest Bartolomé de las Casas, defender of the indigenous peoples; the great scientist explorers Alexander von Humboldt and Alfred Russel Wallace; the madman and psychopath Lope de Aguirre; and the Peruvian Evangeline, Isabel Godin, who in 1769 crossed the continent, braving the terrors of the jungles to reunite with her husband, whom she had not seen in twenty years.

The River Sea is a compelling account of five centuries of the history, the myths, and the legends of Río Amazonas, the most exotic and fascinating locale on earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781582438627
Publisher: Catapult
Publication date: 11/01/2010
Sold by: Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format: eBook
Pages: 320
File size: 1 MB

About the Author

Marshall De Bruhl is the author of Firestorm: Allied Air Power and the Destruction of Dresden; Sword of San Jacinto: A Life of Sam Houston; and coeditor of The International Thesaurus of Quotations. He was a book editor and publisher for many years, most notably of The Dictionary of American History and the Dictionary of American Biography. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Chapter 1 The River Sea

From the Andes to the Atlantic 5

Chapter 2 The Incas

The Rise and Fall of the Empire of the Sun 25

Chapter 3 The Search for El Dorado

Gold, Spices, and Blood 37

Chapter 4 Conquistadors for Christ

The Holy Fathers and the Indigenous Peoples 59

Chapter 5 The Great Powers in the Amazon Basin

The Struggle for Control 71

Chapter 6 Nature's Grand Laboratory

European Science Discovers the Amazon 85

Chapter 7 The Peruvian Evangeline

The Journey of María Isabel de Jesus Gramesóny Godin 91

Chapter 8 "I Must Find Out About the Unity of Nature."

The Explorations of Alexander von Humboldt 109

Chapter 9 Three Eminent Victorians in the "Garden of the World"

Wallace, Bates, and Spruce Explore the Amazon 123

Chapter 10 The Great Rubber Boom

An Amazonian Gilded Age 167

Chapter 11 Exploitation, Despoliation, or Conservation

The River Sea in the New Millennium 185

Epilogue 213

Acknowledgments 219

Notes 221

Bibliography 227

Index 231

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