gems, jade, Fischer-Book, Acuña

Markham brings together English translations of early Spanish accounts of expeditions into the Amazon basin, principally those associated with Gonzalo Pizarro and Francisco de Orellana in 1539–1542 and Pedro Teixeira’s voyage of 1637–1639. The narratives describe journeys through the Andes and along the Amazon, encounters with Indigenous peoples, settlements, warfare, food and natural resources, geography, rivers, and the difficulties faced by the expeditions. Of particular historical interest is the account of Orellana’s descent of the Amazon and the reported encounter with female warriors that contributed to the river becoming known to Europeans as the River of the Amazons. The volume provides important early testimony concerning European exploration and perceptions of the Amazon basin, although many descriptions reflect the assumptions and uncertainties of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century observers.