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 This edition presents, on facing pages, the annotated texts of a previously unpublished copy of Ralegh's fair manuscript draft of The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Bewtifvl Empyre of Gviana and the subsequent printed versions, and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 108
... told us that if we would enter a braunch of a river on the right hand , with our barge and wherries , and leave the galley at ancor the while in the great river , he wold bring us to a town of the Arwacas , where we shold find store of ...
... told us that if we would enter a braunch of a river on the right hand , with our barge and wherries , and leave the galley at ancor the while in the great river , he wold bring us to a town of the Arwacas , where we shold find store of ...
Page 237
... 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 asked him how they made their Borachera , he saide they had many Eagles of Gold ...
... 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 asked him how they made their Borachera , he saide they had many Eagles of Gold ...
Page 238
... told us that yf we came to fight , they wold fill up those Playnes with Indians to fight with us , but if we came in peace ; we shold enter & be well entertayned of them , because they had a greate desire to see Christians : and there ...
... told us that yf we came to fight , they wold fill up those Playnes with Indians to fight with us , but if we came in peace ; we shold enter & be well entertayned of them , because they had a greate desire to see Christians : and there ...
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