Case file · Folklore / legend
Lope de Aguirre, 'the Wrath of God'
On 1 January 1561, on the middle Amazon, Lope de Aguirre and fellow mutineers murdered Pedro de Ursúa, leader of an expedition seeking Omagua and El Dorado, and turned it into a rampage down the river.
1561 CE · -3.40, -67.50 · status: legend
The account
Aguirre declared rebellion against Philip II, reached the Atlantic and terrorised Margarita Island before being killed at Barquisimeto in October 1561. Venezuelan folklore says his soul wanders the llanos as a ghost light, the 'fuego de Aguirre'. The point used here is approximate, on the Amazon above the Putumayo mouth.
The sceptical view
The ghost-light legend grew up long after his death; the expedition itself is well documented by survivors' chronicles.