Gianni Gundalupi and Antony Shuggar
Published by Robinson London
The book has four sections. Antiquity South America,Africa Asia and Oceania.
Tales on the discovery of lesser known civilizations as far as Europeans are concerned. History as we study know is written from the point of view of Europeans. They called Africa as a Dark continent as it was beyond their sphere of knowledge.
In the Antiquity session there is mention about the Chinese Admiral cheng Ho and his expeditions in the southern seas. Cheng Ho was the commander of a fleet with sixty junks with a total crew of 27000 men. There was a Chronicler also Ma Huan who wrote an account of the first expeditions with the impressive title of Ying-Yaisheng-lan or the triumphant vision of the boundless ocean . In 1405 their first expedition visited Vietnam, Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, Malabar Cost, Aden and back, a voyage two years long, The second expedition was in 1409 for Malacca,Sumatra,South India and in the 4th expedition they have visited even Kenya (Port Malinidi).
The south American expeditions were in search of the Golden one , El Doradao.This mythical King was said to live in a town of pure Gold in the center of a Great lake ; at sunrise the walls of El dorado’s golden city shown so brightly that it seemed there a was a second sunriseIn mid seventeenth century Francisco de orellana, the unfortunate conquistador and Gonzallo Pizazaro travelled across Andes From Quito Peru in search of this mythical city, in vain.
In the chapter the Man who met the Amazons they describes about the pursuit of Gonzalo Jinmenez Quesada, Bernard O’Brian etc. O’Brian claimed that they had a meeting with a Queen of Amazons. In Greek language Amazon means ‘She who is without a Breast’. In the mythical Kingdom of Amazons as described, there are only women and ruled by their Queen.
In the ‘Penelope of Riobamba’ depicts the saga of a French scientist Godin who married Isabela. Godin later left for Europe and then came back to South America. The story is a courageous attempt of Isabela and their children travelling down Amazon for meeting her husband.
The Nude Baroness describes a settlement in the Islands of Galapagos. The mysterious events that led to the deaths of many of the Inhabitants is the main theme of this passage. Baroness Elisa was her name.
Part III is about African Expeditions. The expeditions of Burton, Speck, Stanley, Livingstone etc into the wild jungle of Africa were described in immense detail. Discovering the sources of Nile was one of the main activity. The European discovery of Lake Victoria, the stories of cannibals, the fights with Slave Traders, the customs of the local tribes etc, were told in this part.
The round the world Trip of Magallan along the costs of South America, the Krakatova Volcano explosion in 1883 etc. were handled in subsequent sections
In general the book gives a glimpse the courage and cruelty of European explorers, who treated the native population with contempt and the main pursuit was only wealth.
Anil Kumar.R