Orellana is said to have named the river after an attack by a tribe in which women, like the Amazon warriors of Greek mythology, were fighting alongside men.
After reaching the Atlantic Ocean, Orellana traveled north up the South American coast and sailed back to Spain. He reported on the women warriors and the great hoards of gold and cinnamon that he found in South America. He was given permission to exploit the lands he had explored, but his return trip to the Amazon in 1544 was a disaster. Men and ships were lost on the passage and Orellana himself was drowned when his own vessel capsized near the mouth of the Amazon.
