Sir Walter Raleighs First Journey to El Dorado

Sir Walter Raleigh's First Journey to El Dorado El Dorado, the legendary lost city of gold rumored to be somewhere in the unexplored interior of South America, claimed many victims as thousands of Europeans braved flooded rivers, frosty highlands, endless plains and steamy jungles in the vain search for gold. The most well-known of the obsessed men who searched for it, however, must be Sir Walter Raleigh, the legendary Elizabethan courtier who made two trips to South America to search for it. The Myth of El Dorado There is a grain of truth in the El Dorado myth. The Muisca culture of Colombia had a tradition where their king would cover himself in gold dust and dive into Lake Guatavit: Spanish conquistadors heard the story and began searching for the Kingdom of El Dorado, â€Å"the Gilded One.† Lake Guatavita was dredged and some gold was found, but not very much, so the legend persisted. The supposed location of the lost city changed frequently as dozens of expeditions failed to find it. By 1580 or so the lost city of gold was thought to be in the mountains of present-day Guyana, a harsh and inaccessible place. The city of gold was referred to as El Dorado or Manoa, after a city told of by a Spaniard who had been captive of natives for ten years. Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh was a famous member of the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England, whose favor he enjoyed. He was a true Renaissance man: he wrote history and poems, was a decorated sailor and dedicated explorer and settler. He fell out of favor with the Queen when he secretly married one of her maids in 1592: he was even imprisoned in the Tower of London for a time. He talked his way out of the Tower, however, and convinced the Queen to allow him to mount an expedition to the New World to conquer El Dorado before the Spanish found it. Never one to miss the chance to out-do the Spanish, the Queen agreed to send Raleigh on his quest. The Capture of Trinidad Raleigh and his brother Sir John Gilbert rounded up investors, soldiers, ships, and supplies: on February 6, 1595, they set out from England with five small ships. His expedition was an act of open hostility to Spain, which jealously guarded its New World possessions. They reached the Island of Trinidad, where they cautiously checked out the Spanish forces. The Englishmen attacked and captured the town of San Jose. They took an important prisoner on the raid: Antonio de Berrio, a high-ranking Spaniard who had spent years searching for El Dorado himself. Berrio told Raliegh what he knew about Manoa and El Dorado, trying to discourage the Englishman from continuing on his quest, but his warnings were in vain. The Search for Manoa Raleigh left his ships anchored at Trinidad and took only 100 men to the mainland to begin his search. His plan was to go up the Orinoco River to the Caroni River and then follow it until he reached a legendary lake where he would find the city of Manoa. Raleigh had caught wind of a massive Spanish expedition to the area, so he was in a hurry to get underway. He and his men headed up the Orinoco on a collection of rafts, ship’s boats and even a modified galley. Although they were aided by natives who knew the river, the going was very tough as they had to fight the current of the mighty Orinoco River. The men, a collection of desperate sailors and cut-throats from England, were unruly and difficult to manage. Topiawari Laboriously, Raleigh and his men made their way upriver. They found a friendly village, ruled by an aged chieftain named Topiawari. As he had been doing since arriving on the continent, Raleigh made friends by announcing that he was an enemy of the Spanish, who were widely detested by the natives. Topiawari told Raleigh of a rich culture living in the mountains. Raliegh easily convinced himself that the culture was an offshoot of the rich Inca culture of Peru and that it must be the fabled city of Manoa. The Spanish set out up the Caroni River, sending out scouts to look for gold and mines, all the while making friends with any natives they encountered. His scouts brought back rocks, hoping that further analysis would reveal gold ore. Return to the Coast Although Raleigh thought he was close, he decided to turn around. The rains were increasing, making the rivers even more treacherous, and he also feared being caught by the rumored Spanish expedition. He felt he had enough â€Å"evidence† with his rock samples to drum up much enthusiasm back in England for a return venture. He made an alliance with Topiawari, promising mutual aid when he returned. The English would help fight the Spanish, and the natives would help Raleigh find and conquer Manoa. As part of the deal, Raleigh left two men behind and took Topiawari’s son back go England. The return journey was much easier, as they were traveling downstream: the Englishmen were joyful at seeing their ships still anchored off of Trinidad. Return to England Raleigh paused on his way back to England for a bit of privateering, attacking the Island of Margarita and then the port of Cuman, where he dropped off Berrio, who had remained a prisoner on board Raleigh’s ships while he looked for Manoa. He returned to England in August of 1595 and was disappointed to learn that news of his expedition had preceded him and that it was already considered a failure. Queen Elizabeth had little interest in the rocks he had brought back. His enemies seized upon his journey as an opportunity to slander him, claiming that the rocks were either fake or worthless. Raleigh defended himself ably but was surprised to find very little enthusiasm for a return trip in his home country. The Legacy of Raleigh’s First Search for El Dorado Raleigh would get his return trip to Guyana, but not until 1617 - more than twenty years later. This second journey was a complete failure and directly led to Raleighs execution back in England. In between, Raleigh financed and supported other English expeditions to Guyana, which brought him more proof, but the search for El Dorado was becoming a hard sell. Raleighs greatest accomplishment may have been in creating good relations between the English and the natives of South America: although Topiawari passed away not long after Raleighs first voyage, the goodwill remained and future English explorers benefitted from it. Today, Sir Walter Raleigh is remembered for many things, including his writings and his participation in the 1596 attack on the Spanish port of Cadiz, but he will forever be associated with the vain quest for El Dorado. Source Silverberg, Robert. The Golden Dream: Seekers of El Dorado. Athens: the Ohio University Press, 1985.

Directions for a Child Meteorologists Workstation

Directions for a Child Meteorologist's Workstation A home weather station can entertain your kids regardless of the season. Theyll also learn about weather patterns and the science behind sunny skies and rainy days. The more fun you make your home weather station activities, the more your kids will engross themselves in this fun learning activity. They wont even realize theyre learning as they tackle this science experiment for kids of all ages while the whole family gauges the weather together Rain Gauge No home weather station would be complete without a rain gauge. Your kids can measure everything from the amount of rain thats fallen to how much snow has accumulated. You can buy a rain gauge or its easy enough to make your own. Your most basic rain gauge is to simply put a jar outside, let it collect rain or snow and then stick a ruler inside to see how high the precipitation reaches. Barometer A barometer measures air pressure. Monitoring the changes in air pressure is one way to make predictions about the forecast. The most common barometers are Mercury Barometers or Aneroid Barometers.   Hygrometer A hygrometer measures the relative humidity in the air. Its an important tool in helping forecasters predict the weather. You can buy a hygrometer for about $5. Weather Vane Record the winds direction with a weather vane. The weather vane swivels when the wind blows to show you the direction the breeze is coming from so your kids can record it. Kids can also learn if the wind is blowing north, south, east or west with a weather vane in their home weather station. Anemometer While the weather vane measures the direction the wind is blowing, an anemometer measures the winds speed. Make your own anemometer with items you can find at a hardware store. Use your new anemometer with the weather vane to record wind direction and speed. Windsock A windsock is a more simple way to identify wind direction and speed as opposed to solely using a weather vane and anemometer. Its also fun for kids to watch the sock fly in the wind. Make your own windsock out of a shirt sleeve or pant leg. Your windsock can be flying in about an hour. Compass Even if your weather vane has the N, S, W and E points of direction, kids love holding a compass in their hands. A compass can help kids identify wind direction, which way the clouds are rolling in and can also teach kids how to navigate. Be sure the kids know the compass is for the weather station only. Compasses are an easy buy so if you think your compass will end up on a childs bike or in their backpack instead of staying with the weather station, pick up a few so you can always have one in place. Weather Journal A kids weather journal can have basic information within its pages or be as detailed as you want. Younger children can draw a picture of a sunshine and the letter to mark the winds direction. Older children can record the date, todays weather, wind speed, direction, humidity levels and make weather predictions based on their findings.

Reflective Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reflective Journal - Assignment Example Critical Explanation I can relate my qualities of leadership to the time while I was attending the leadership workshop. After the first part of the workshop which involved lectures. During the first lecture, I was able to understand that the fist important requirement for a good leader is having good and effective communication skills. I believed that though I had proper communication skills I will have to fine-tune it so that it becomes more effective. In the second session various demonstrations were given. The participants were divided into groups and real life demonstration was given to us. I had to demonstrate leadership qualities during a technological change that was supposed to be occurring in a company. The change was basically related to the implementation of new automation software in the company. As a result of new implementation, strong resistance was shown by members of other groups who were from the employees. It reached a position, where the project was scheduled to b e cancelled. However, I discovered that the company is not planning to layoff any employees. I also assured them that the company will arrange training sessions and make everybody familiar with the new working technique. The discussion with the employee representatives turned out to be healthy and thankfully majority of them accepted the necessity of this change. After the success of the demonstration process, the participants as well as the lecturers of the workshop praised me for exhibiting leadership skills. Reflection On the basis of the self assessments I have come to the conclusion that though I have qualities of a good leader I will have to fine-tune my abilities and skills in order to gain recognition and subsequent achievement. To be specific, I would like to undergo special training classes on communication and achieve leadership and assessment skills in one year. In order to further asses myself, I will be carrying out an assessment that reflects about the qualities of le adership present in me. I compared my leadership with Eric Schmidt (Executive Chairman of Google) and Jeff Weiner (CEO of LinkedIn). Though I was sure about my leadership qualities there were few pitfalls. I was exposed to only few situations where I could use my leadership abilities. However, my current knowledge about leadership is a step forward which will help me in learning more complex leadership abilities. 2nd Reflective Journal Description The second journal reflects my experience during workshop training. The workshop training was on personal economics. The major objective behind attending the workshop was to learn money management. The major theme of the workshop was budget management and how to make a career in personal finance management. Apart from managing budget, I also learnt to identify my skills, career interests and utilize them for future growth and development. Critical Explanation The mentor for this workshop was Mr. Brendon Frill, a well known personal economi cs consultant. I found that person to be very nice, patient and kind. The first lesson he gave us was about creating a good impression during interview. We also prepared a life map which helped us in identifying our future goals. The second and third lesson was about preparing personal as well as family budget. I also realized that I had been over-spending from my budget. The fourth lesson was important as it helped me in understanding how to calculate credit and manage the tiny details of a

Organ Transplants Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organ Transplants - Research Paper Example This situation has been reversed with the continued practice of removing such failed organ and seeking alternative functional ones from other organisms to save the life of the victim. However, a number of issues have been cropping up in respect of this operation which calls for further research work to ensure its sustainability. Top in this list is the biology behind the success of a transplant attempt. It is a fact that for a recipient body tissues and the entire system to accept the foreign organ, there must be compatibility in terms of the required blood groups as this is a fundamental basis for ensuring the safety of the recipient even after the procedure (Klein , Lewis & Madsen, 2011). In most cases there tend to be compatibility among family members and in the case that this is not possible, an outsider’s organ can be tested if it can match and if the result is positive the donation procedure can be done and subsequent transplant. Remarkable scientific research has been undertaken to the extent that incompatibility between the donor and recipient can be solved through medical prescription. In this scenario, the recipient is administered with a special treatment that will prevent the body tissues from rejecting the graft. Nevertheless, there are conditions that have always ruled out any possible organ transplant. Such conditions entails a fast spreading cancer on a donor, HIV/AIDS infected person. For a dead donor, thorough medical tests need also to be taken to eliminate any possible health risk on recipient. After the medical assessments, only living and non-defected organs may be removed for donation from the deceased donor. This also means that a dead donor can donate many... This paper makes a conclusion that body organs can undergo some defects that are irreversible and the only solution is replacing them for the victim to survive. This is a common case in accidents, organ failures and genetically related defects. It worth to note therefore that this has become the latest widely used medical remedy to improve the performance of the body and save many endangered lives across the globe. One of the emerging challenges in this application is the exponential population growth that has been piling pressure on the otherwise scarce resources. The author of the paper talks that the number of skilled surgeons is still few to match the increasing number of patients facing such medical conditions. Besides, the number of donors is steadily diminishing as the population size of recipients keep surging and this a matter of great global concern. Some of the reasons that explain the vanishing donor numbers are the emerging infections that equally affect the efficiency o f the alternate organs in living donors and cancerous cells in the cadaverous donors. Several patients are also relatively poor to afford the cost of compensating the donor, operational costs and the treatment that define the entire procedure. This paper approves that global statistics on organ transplant shows a positive result on the outcomes. This calls for increased health promotion by the nurses, community health workers and other stakeholders to continue saving lives. More funding by the governments also needs to be projected towards research and development to develop alternatives.

Antigone :: essays research papers

Antigone Antigone and Ismene are sisters.   They have two brothers who just killed each other and both died.   Creon, whos very powerful, honored one and dishonored the other.   The dishonored brother being left outside, unburied, and prohibited anyone to cry or sympathetic on the dead body.   Antigone who came from a loyal family could not stand to see her brother died unburied, so she asked her sister to go with her to steal and bury   the brother-body. Unwillingly, Ismene affrighted of the law and did not agree with her sister.   So Antigone steal and bury the body by herself.   When Creon know this, he was very upset and order the army to get the one stole the body.   They catch Antigone and take her to Creon.   Antigone has not affraid of the execution which Creon would give.   Ismene, her sister came and said that she had a share in this matter. But Antigon claims to her own motivation.   Haemon is the only son of Creon.   He has not agree with what his father commands.   They argue about who is right to give commands.   Because Haemon had fallen in love with Antigone so he ran a way when his father gave order to kill Antigone.   But then, Creon orders to take Anigone to a locked-tomb.   A blind prophet named Teiresias go with a boy visit Creon and told him what he did was wrong.   At first Creon did not agree, but then after Teiresias gone.   He realized what he did was wrong so he called his servants to release Antigone.   But it was too late, a messenger came with the bad news that Creons son had killed himself.   The story did not stop there, another terrible news came to Creon that the queen is dead.   When Creons wife heard the news of her own son killed himself, she put violence upon herself and died.   Now Creon opens his eyes and see who is right to judge. He had learn a lesson of wisdom in a hard way. The Antigone has many arguments and it is hard to fingure out which one is the main one.   In the beginning   is the argument between Antigone and her sister. And then the argument between Creon and Sentry.   When Antigone was catch, she argue with Creon.   After that Creon argue with his only son.   After Antigone gone, the phopphet came and argue with Creon. In my own opinion, the main argument was about who has the right to judge people.   Creon said he is the highest and he has the right to tell people what

The Grayson Chemical Company

The Grayson Chemical Company I. Problems A. Macro 1. Grayson has become stagnant, failed to change, and is no longer competitive. 2. The current people at Grayson are not acceptable to change. 3. There is a culture of doing things by the book. B. Micro 1. Incompetent managers promoted. 2. Board does not have a consensus of opinion. II. Causes 1. Grayson has not been proactive with its environment. 2. Corporate culture is very resistant to change. 3. Board does not speak with one voice.So entire organization is somewhat disorganized in its operations—no clear direction or focus III. Systems affected The entire organization is affected. The organization is still functioning; however, to be a healthy company and to grow, changes are needed. 1. Structural – with major changes, the structure could be radically altered. 2. Psychosocial – status quo and contentment seems to be prevalent among management. 3. Technical –there is evidence that managers are â€Å"fa irly† competent technically, but this may not be enough to make the kind of changes that Grayson requires. . Managerial – the management currently seems to be comfortable in their positions and performance. The changes that Tom Baker may initiate would likely create turmoil in the management ranks. 5. Goals and values – the system seems to value putting in your time and you will get promoted. Excellence in performance is something not present at Grayson, but complacency seems to be prevalent. IV. Alternatives 1. Maintain status quo—do nothing. 2.Develop a pathfinder style, involve board, and organization members in renewing the company. 3. Develop a persuader style and avoid â€Å"rocking the boat† by making gradual or slow changes. V. Recommendations Develop pathfinder style, involve entire corporation in change process. Establish open communications with board and establish a consensus on what the board wants/expects/desires. Since incompetent man agers have often been promoted, personnel changes should be made after thorough analysis of personnel.

Theme of Life After Death in the Management of Grief, the...

Life After the Death of a Loved-One Death, although it is a part of life, can be very hard on those whom were close to the deceased person. Life provides one with the abundance of love, happiness, and freedom, but death can take all of that away in an instant. It is especially hard on close loved ones because, sometimes, there is an irreconcilable amount of grief. With the loved one gone, life takes on some drastic changes, and requires the to survivor start new routines without the support and companionship of the beloved. â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† â€Å"The Management of Grief,† and â€Å"The Jewelry† deal with the theme of life after the death of a loved-one. In â€Å"the Story of an Hour,† a woman learns of the alleged death†¦show more content†¦When the woman goes to the park one day, she experiences an epiphany. The story says: Then as I stood in the path looking north to Queen’s Park and west to the university, I heard the voices of my family one last time. Your time has come, they said, Go, be brave. I do not know where this voyage I have begun will end. I do not know which direction I will take. I dropped the package on a park bench and started walking (Mukherjee 406). Like â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† this story does not go into how the woman’s life would have been lived. However, the woman in â€Å"The Management of Grief† is not happy about the death of her husband and sons, so obviously, she would have to deal with the grief that comes with the death of a loved-one. Whether or not the woman found her way in life is not known, but presumably, she moved on and started a new life. In â€Å"The Jewelry,† a man loses his wife to pneumonia. Before he lost her, their life was great and they were quite content. He never found out how they lived so contently until after his wife’s death. As he looks through his wife’s fake jewelry he makes a startling discovery that the jewelry was real. Apparently she had many suitors that gave her gifts of jewelry and money while she went out with her friends. He decides to sell the jewelry for a small fortune, which he proceeds to live off of. Even though the loss of