El Dorado
El Dorado AmericaThe gilded king. The Spaniards reaching America in the sixteenth century heard rumours of a mysterious people whose cities were paved and plated with solid gold and of a kingdom ruled over by a priest king, called El Dorado, because his body was covered in powdered gold. This garbled account of the Incas encouraged the conquistadors in their pursuit of wealth. Two overriding motives drove these men: acquisitiveness and religious zeal. Above all they sought an adequate financial return for the enduring dangers of battle and voyage. Many of the casualties suffered by the army of Hernando Cortés resulted from soldiers loaded down with booty attempting to cross the swamps surrounding Tenochtitlan.
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