In 1595, Sir Walter Ralegh embarked on an expedition in search of the fabled El Dorado or the ‘city of gold’ in an attempt to return to favour at the court of Elizabeth I. He travelled to Guiana, a region on the northern coast of South America, planning to explore the Orinoco River. Capturing the Spanish settlement of San José de Oruña (now St Joseph) on Trinidad and using it as a base, Ralegh and his men ventured 400 miles into the interior of Guiana, reaching the Guiana Highlands, but failing in their mission to find El Dorado. On his return to England, Raleigh published an account of the expedition, The Discovery of the large, rich and beautiful Empire of Guiana in 1596. The book exaggerated the region’s resources, Ralegh’s achievements (he found little beyond what was already known) and claimed that there was ample evidence for the existence of a city of gold. Nevertheless, the book was very popular in England, in France and in the Netherlands. On his release from prison in 1617 -- having been imprisoned by James I for 12 years -- Ralegh led a second expedition in search of El Dorado. The failure of this second voyage led to his execution on his return to England in 1618.

In 1831, Britain united its three South American colonies, the former Dutch colonies of Berbice, Essequibo and Demerara, into one, known as British Guiana (now Guyana). The colonies had been ceded to Britain by the Dutch in 1814 but their borders and geography remained relatively unknown. Between 1837 and 1840, the German-born surveyor Robert Schomburgk worked in the Guiana as head of a Royal Geographical Society surveying expedition. During the course of the expedition, Schomburgk explored the source of the Essequibo River, becoming the first European to do so.

On his return to London in 1840, he published the first comprehensive study of Guiana (see RCIN 1077478) and returned to the colony in 1841 to define its borders with neighbouring Venezuela and Brazil. He remained influential in advocating for increased investment in Guiana and in 1848 edited this reprint of Ralegh’s Discovery of Guiana.