The Loss of El Dorado

The Loss of El Dorado, by the Nobel Prize winner V.S. Naipaul, is a history book about Venezuela and Trinidad. It was published in 1969. The title refers to the El Dorado legend. Naipaul looks at the Spanish/British colonial rivalry in the Orinoco basin, drawing on contemporary sources written in Spanish and English. The book examines the obsessive quest for gold which was typical of the first Europeans to explore the region. In particular, Sir ... more

The Loss of El Dorado, by the Nobel Prize winner V.S. Naipaul, is a history book about Venezuela and Trinidad. It was published in 1969. The title refers to the El Dorado legend. Naipaul looks at the Spanish/British colonial rivalry in the Orinoco basin, drawing on contemporary sources written in Spanish and English. The book examines the obsessive quest for gold which was typical of the first Europeans to explore the region. In particular, Sir Walter Raleigh's voyages are examined with a psychological depth more typical of novels than historical works. In the second half of the book the focus shifts to Trinidad which was under British rule from the end of the eighteenth century, but Naipaul also looks at Venezuela's wars of independence. Like most of Naipaul's work, "The Loss of El Dorado" has received considerable critical recognition. On publication its admirers included the Cambridge historian John H. Plumb. However, the author has confessed to not being completely happy with his... less