Sir Walter Ralegh's Discoverie of GuianaSir Walter Ralegh's account of his 1595 expedition to the Orinoco in search of the fabled empire of El Dorado was an immediate publishing success and is one of the most important pieces of Elizabethan travel literature. This edition presents, on facing pages, the annotated texts of a previously unpublished copy of Ralegh's fair manuscript draft of The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Bewtifvl Empyre of Gviana and the subsequent printed versions, and demonstrates very clearly how Sir Robert Cecil and Ralegh's few other serious backers induced the reluctant author to alter his manuscript for publication. Lively tales of Amazon women, drinking bouts and swash-buckling adventures, which would have fascinated armchair travellers, were firmly deleted. The focus of his appeal to investors was shifted from an ephemeral golden empire to actual gold mines to which, as his manuscript shows, he had originally paid little attention and for which he had very little evidence. In effect Ralegh was forced to develop a strategy to mediate between what he believed to exist and what he actually found, between his dreams of what he might accomplish and the real obstacles which faced him in the field, between his creative, imaginative response to his recent journey and the need to present it in such a way as to encourage others to undertake another such journey with him. The materials collected in the appendices indicate that while men like John Ley were immediately inspired to explore Guiana, bringing back fabulous tales of monstrous peoples, Ralegh lost interest until he saw a chance to free himself from imprisonment in the Tower by inventing stories of Orinoco gold mines which he had never mentioned in either the draft or the published version of The Discoverie. |
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Page li
... brought back , which he knew ' is as rich as the earth yeildeth ' . He was ' resolved ' there was plenty there to be found , although they had no means to undertake it at the time . ' It was his ' hope ' that what he brought back would ...
... brought back , which he knew ' is as rich as the earth yeildeth ' . He was ' resolved ' there was plenty there to be found , although they had no means to undertake it at the time . ' It was his ' hope ' that what he brought back would ...
Page 236
... brought us as were not to be numbred ; we said we wold goe thyther ; they told us they were now in their Borrachero ; and wold kyll us . we asked the Indian that brought the hens yf it were true , he sayd it was most true . We asked him ...
... brought us as were not to be numbred ; we said we wold goe thyther ; they told us they were now in their Borrachero ; and wold kyll us . we asked the Indian that brought the hens yf it were true , he sayd it was most true . We asked him ...
Page 237
... brought vs , as were not to be num- bred : Wee said we woulde goe thither , they told vs they were now in their Borrachera and would kill vs , we asked the Indi- an , that brought the hens if it were true , he said it was most true : We ...
... brought vs , as were not to be num- bred : Wee said we woulde goe thither , they told vs they were now in their Borrachera and would kill vs , we asked the Indi- an , that brought the hens if it were true , he said it was most true : We ...
Contents
Maps and Illustrations | ix |
Introduction | xvii |
Key to Annotation | xcvii |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
Amazones appear Berreo borderers brought called Captaine capten carried Cecil changed coast desire Discoverie Dorado Empire England English enter expedition farre farther give gold Guiana hand hath haue head hope Iland Indians indicate Indies indigenous inserted in STC John king land late letters Lord Majesty Manoa manuscript March Master meanes miles mountaines mouth nacions notes Omitted from STC Orenoque Orinoco Orinoco delta passage passed Peru port present Prince printed probably promised province Queen Ralegh refers Relation rest rich riuer river Robert seen sent ships side sort Spain Spaniards Spanish stones substituted in STC taken thence thereof things told tooke towne trade Trinidad tyme unto uppon voyage Whitehead women