A briefest history of the Amazon

Not much is known about the Pre-Columbian Amazon. This is primarily due to the dampness and high acidity of the Amazonian soil, leading to the decomposition of organic remains before they ever get a chance to fossilize. But due to recent archeology work by Anna Roosevelt, there is reason to believe the basin was extensively inhabited at least 10,900 years ago. There is even evidence to suggest that the rainforests once harbored a well developed civilization. Satellites and archeologists have recorded images of large pyramid complexes, ancient roads, and canals throughout the forests. Other than this, indigenous hunter-gatherers primarily inhabited the Amazon. Until the intrusion by European explorers, they had little interaction with the outside world.

In 1541, Gonzalo Pizarro, younger brother of conquistador Francisco, set off on a major expedition to explore the Amazon in the hopes of finding the legendary city of El Dorado. By the end of the year the expedition was desperately in need of food. Desperate, Pizarro sent his second-in-command, Francisco de Orellana, and a band of 57 men to search for the necessary supplies. Orellana decided not to return prefering to continue drifting down the river instead, thus becoming the first European to travel the length of the Amazon. Along the way, Friar Gaspar de Carvajal, chronicler of Orellana’s adventures, recorded a conflict with women warriors very similar to the Amazons of ancient Greek myths. It was these “Amazonian” warriors that became the most memorable aspect of the journey, eventually naming the river itself, even though their existence has never been proven.

In the following years, many explorers would attempt to follow Orellana’s paddle strokes, including the doomed Pedro de Ursúa (1559) whose love for his wife effectively alienated him from his crew. In 1637, Captain Pedro de Teixeira journeyed upstream to claim the Amazon for Portugal. And then there were those, such as Charles Marie de la Condamine (1743), Alexander von Humboldt (1799), and Alfred Wallace, who traveled the river and traversed her surrounding forests in the name of scientific research. Their research led to a greater awareness of Amazonian diversity, Wallace’s Theory of Evolution, and to the introduction of rubber to the factories of the industrial revolution.

Since then, the Amazon has had to deal with rubber monopolies, deforestation, and the continued decline of indigenous tribes. All of the Amazonian countries have encouraged the settlement of the Amazonian Forests in the hope of spurring on economic development. This has only led to the further endangerment of the forest’s delicate balance and encroached on the rights of the tribes living in the area. With the growth of industry, the Amazon is at grave risk. One can only hope that its beauty and mysteries will continue to live.