Laurence Blair

And they come across these tall warrior women, which they call the Amazons. And they talk about these great cities, which are just kind of glimmering in land. And, you know, there's a A fantastic quote by this chaplain, Garvachal, who says, all those we've passed along this river are people of much intelligence and ingenuity.

They're passing these towns which are crammed cheek by jowl along the riverbanks. And it's almost this fascinating glimpse of this lost world. And they weren't the only ones. Some of your listeners may have heard of Emilio Vespucci, who's the man who gives his name to the Americas. And he also kind of skirts his way down the Amazon coastline. in 1500.

They're passing these towns which are crammed cheek by jowl along the riverbanks. And it's almost this fascinating glimpse of this lost world. And they weren't the only ones. Some of your listeners may have heard of Emilio Vespucci, who's the man who gives his name to the Americas. And he also kind of skirts his way down the Amazon coastline. in 1500.

They're passing these towns which are crammed cheek by jowl along the riverbanks. And it's almost this fascinating glimpse of this lost world. And they weren't the only ones. Some of your listeners may have heard of Emilio Vespucci, who's the man who gives his name to the Americas. And he also kind of skirts his way down the Amazon coastline. in 1500.

And he says, you know, all the ancient authors, the people that you'll be familiar with, Tristan, you know, your Pliny's and your Aristotle's, said, no, no, no. Once you go south of the equator, it's just water. There's nothing there. Or if there is a landmass there, it's completely uninhabited. You know, it's almost a sort of wasteland. But Vespucci says, no, no, no, they've got it wrong.

And he says, you know, all the ancient authors, the people that you'll be familiar with, Tristan, you know, your Pliny's and your Aristotle's, said, no, no, no. Once you go south of the equator, it's just water. There's nothing there. Or if there is a landmass there, it's completely uninhabited. You know, it's almost a sort of wasteland. But Vespucci says, no, no, no, they've got it wrong.

And he says, you know, all the ancient authors, the people that you'll be familiar with, Tristan, you know, your Pliny's and your Aristotle's, said, no, no, no. Once you go south of the equator, it's just water. There's nothing there. Or if there is a landmass there, it's completely uninhabited. You know, it's almost a sort of wasteland. But Vespucci says, no, no, no, they've got it wrong.

Their opinion is false, he says, and utterly opposed to the truth. In those southern parts, I have found a continent more densely peopled than our Europe or Asia or Africa. So they're quite clear. But for centuries, these tales of this almost urbanized Amazon are really relegated to the realm of legend.

Their opinion is false, he says, and utterly opposed to the truth. In those southern parts, I have found a continent more densely peopled than our Europe or Asia or Africa. So they're quite clear. But for centuries, these tales of this almost urbanized Amazon are really relegated to the realm of legend.

Their opinion is false, he says, and utterly opposed to the truth. In those southern parts, I have found a continent more densely peopled than our Europe or Asia or Africa. So they're quite clear. But for centuries, these tales of this almost urbanized Amazon are really relegated to the realm of legend.

I think that's a really fascinating question. And I think part of it is because, well, let's look at these guys who've survived this voyage. They're not the most reliable narrators. As I said, they spend a lot of time kind of tripping on these hallucinogenic herbs. Some of them are being poisoned by tree frog toxins, which can also cause you to have visions of

I think that's a really fascinating question. And I think part of it is because, well, let's look at these guys who've survived this voyage. They're not the most reliable narrators. As I said, they spend a lot of time kind of tripping on these hallucinogenic herbs. Some of them are being poisoned by tree frog toxins, which can also cause you to have visions of

I think that's a really fascinating question. And I think part of it is because, well, let's look at these guys who've survived this voyage. They're not the most reliable narrators. As I said, they spend a lot of time kind of tripping on these hallucinogenic herbs. Some of them are being poisoned by tree frog toxins, which can also cause you to have visions of

And often they don't even dare to disembark. They say that our vessel was so full of arrows that it looked like a porcupine. So how reliable was this testimony?

And often they don't even dare to disembark. They say that our vessel was so full of arrows that it looked like a porcupine. So how reliable was this testimony?

And often they don't even dare to disembark. They say that our vessel was so full of arrows that it looked like a porcupine. So how reliable was this testimony?

And also I think locals, Amazonians, they had an incentive maybe to fob them off a bit and go, listen, if you just carry on another few miles down river, there's this incredible city and it's dripping in gulf and it's got these powerfully built warrior queens who take menace there. as they're captives in war i mean you know what a great way to get these guys to hurry up and move on out of town

And also I think locals, Amazonians, they had an incentive maybe to fob them off a bit and go, listen, if you just carry on another few miles down river, there's this incredible city and it's dripping in gulf and it's got these powerfully built warrior queens who take menace there. as they're captives in war i mean you know what a great way to get these guys to hurry up and move on out of town

And also I think locals, Amazonians, they had an incentive maybe to fob them off a bit and go, listen, if you just carry on another few miles down river, there's this incredible city and it's dripping in gulf and it's got these powerfully built warrior queens who take menace there. as they're captives in war i mean you know what a great way to get these guys to hurry up and move on out of town

I think that's part of it. I think the other part of it is that the diseases which Europeans bring to the new world, which indigenous peoples and nations have very little resistance to, they really inflict a terrible toll in the Amazon. As I say, these are quite densely populated, quite mobile communities with these big trading networks. They send ambassadors to each other. They send