biography
| name: |
Orellana, Francisco de
|
pronunciation:
[orelyahna]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (c.1490–c.1546)
|
| biography:
| Explorer, born in Trujillo, WC Spain. He went to Peru with Francisco Pizarro. After crossing the Andes in 1541, he descended the Amazon R to its mouth. The river's original name was Rio Santa Maria de la Mar Dulce; but Orellana is said to have renamed it after an attack by a tribe in which he believed women, like the Amazons of Greek mythology, were fighting alongside men. |
|
|
