Lope de Aguirre and the Marañón Expedition (1560–1561)

Lope de Aguirre was a Spanish soldier who, in 1561, seized control of an expedition sent from Peru to find the fabled riches of El Dorado. After murdering its leader, Pedro de Ursúa, he renounced his allegiance to King Philip II, led his followers down the Amazon to the Atlantic and spread terror on Margarita Island and in Venezuela, until he was killed in October 1561. The episode became one of the most notorious in the history of Spanish America.

Background

By the 1550s Peru had been shaken by the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire and then by years of civil war among the conquerors, including the assassination of Francisco Pizarro and several rebellions. Many unemployed veterans resented royal attempts to limit their privileges.

Rumours persisted of a rich kingdom called Omagua, and of El Dorado, somewhere in the Amazon lowlands. The viceroy, Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquis of Cañete, licensed the Navarrese captain Pedro de Ursúa to find it, partly to draw restless soldiers away from Peru.

Aguirre, born in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa probably around 1510–1515, had lived in Peru for some two decades and had taken part in its turbulent politics. He joined as a junior officer.

The expedition and the mutiny

After months of boatbuilding on the Huallaga River, the expedition set off in late September 1560. It numbered roughly 300 Spaniards, with several hundred Indigenous auxiliaries and enslaved Africans. Ursúa brought his partner, the mestiza widow Inés de Atienza.

The voyage down the Huallaga and Amazon brought hunger, disease and no sign of gold. Discontent grew, and Ursúa was accused of neglecting command. On the night of 1 January 1561, conspirators including Aguirre killed Ursúa at a settlement the Spaniards called Machifaro.

The nobleman Fernando de Guzmán was made leader. In March 1561 the mutineers formally renounced their allegiance to Philip II and proclaimed Guzmán “prince of Peru, Tierra Firme and Chile”, planning to return and conquer Peru. In May, Aguirre had Guzmán, Inés de Atienza and others killed and took sole command.

Rebellion on the Caribbean

The surviving marañones, named after the Marañón, a common name for the Amazon, reached the Atlantic in about July 1561. Most historians think they followed the Amazon to its mouth, though some argue for an Orinoco route.

In July they landed on Margarita Island off Venezuela, seized it and killed the governor and other residents. During the rebellion in 1561 Aguirre also wrote his famous letter to Philip II. In it he denounced corrupt officials and friars, attacked the king for ingratitude to the conquerors and declared himself in open rebellion, signing as “the Pilgrim”.

Crossing to the mainland, Aguirre landed at Burburata at the end of August and marched inland through Valencia towards Barquisimeto, intending to reach Peru. Royal forces gathered against him, and offers of pardon persuaded many of his men to desert.

Death at Barquisimeto

At Barquisimeto, abandoned by most of his followers, Aguirre killed his daughter Elvira, who had travelled with him, reportedly to spare her from abuse as a traitor’s child. On 27 October 1561 he was shot by some of his own former followers, who had gone over to the royal side. His body was quartered and displayed as a warning.

During the expedition and rebellion Aguirre had ordered the deaths of dozens of his own companions, as well as Indigenous people and colonists. Exact numbers are uncertain.

How we know the story

Much of what is known comes from survivors who had every reason to blame Aguirre and to stress their own reluctance. The most detailed narrative is by the soldier Francisco Vázquez, who took part in the expedition and later deserted. Other accounts were written by fellow participants such as Pedrarias de Almesto, and evidence was gathered in official inquiries after the rebellion.

These sources broadly agree on the main events, but they differ on details such as dates, the number of killings and who was responsible for particular murders. Aguirre’s own letter to the king survives in copies and is generally accepted as authentic. Historians therefore treat the picture of Aguirre as a lone monster with some caution: the mutiny involved many conspirators, and the expedition was troubled long before he took command.

Legacy

Survivors’ accounts, especially that of Francisco Vázquez, made Aguirre the archetype of the cruel, paranoid conquistador, and in Venezuelan folklore he became a ghostly “evil spirit” associated with will-o’-the-wisps. Later writers sometimes portrayed his letter as an early cry for American independence, a reading most historians regard as anachronistic.

He has inspired novels and films, notably Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) and Carlos Saura’s El Dorado (1988). The expedition followed the route earlier taken by Francisco de Orellana, the first European to descend the Amazon.

Timeline

• 1560, September: Ursúa’s expedition leaves the Huallaga River.
• 1561, 1 January: Ursúa is murdered by mutineers.
• 1561, March: The rebels renounce Philip II and proclaim Fernando de Guzmán their prince.
• 1561, May: Aguirre has Guzmán killed and takes command.
• 1561, July: The rebels reach the Atlantic and seize Margarita Island.
• 1561, late August: Aguirre lands at Burburata on the Venezuelan coast.
• 1561, 27 October: Aguirre is killed at Barquisimeto.

Why it matters

The Marañón expedition shows how the search for El Dorado, the frustrations of Peru’s veterans and the brutality of conquest could combine into catastrophe. Aguirre’s open defiance of the Spanish crown made him a uniquely infamous figure, and an enduring symbol of ambition turned to madness.