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Percy Fawcett

Percy Fawcett. Ryan Mercurio. Introduction. Percy Harrison Fawcett was an English explorer in the early 1900’s. He explored the Amazon Rainforest and refined the borders of Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil. While in the Royal Geographic Society.

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Percy Fawcett

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  1. Percy Fawcett Ryan Mercurio

  2. Introduction • Percy Harrison Fawcett was an English explorer in the early 1900’s. • He explored the Amazon Rainforest and refined the borders of Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil. While in the Royal Geographic Society. • He is most famous for his pursuit of the city of Z, a city made completely of gold. • He and his expedition went into the forest in 1921 and never returned.

  3. Army Years • In 1884, Fawcett joined the Royal Artillery and was stationed in Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka). • In 1888, Fawcett was told of a place called Galla-pita-Galla, or rock upon rock, a cave with great riches inside. • Fawcett searched for Galla-pita-Galla, but could not find it. This search inspired him to become an explorer.

  4. Joining the RGS • Wanting to follow his model, David Livingstone, on February 4th 1900, Fawcett joined the Royal Geographic Society. • Fawcett took a class at the Society and easily passed. • In 1901, Fawcett was given his first expedition

  5. First Expedition- Morocco 1901 • On Fawcett’s first expedition, he went as a spy instead of an explorer. • His cover was as a cartographer, with maps, telescopes, and binoculars. • He took notes on villages, water, politics, and their army.

  6. First Amazonian Expedition- 1906 • Fawcett’s first jungle expedition was in 1906 to the Brazil-Bolivia border. • His job was to refine the border. • He went with Arthur Chivers, a man named Willis, and some native guides. • Fawcett’s team was in bad health, and many men died. They were attacked badly by mosquitoes at night and many found themselves with diseases, such as malaria. They also ran into deadly snakes, such as pit vipers and anacondas. • Fawcett’s party finished their task nearly a year ahead of schedule.

  7. Northern Brazil - 1911 • In 1911, the Royal Geographic Society paired Fawcett with James Murray, a famous Antarctic explorer. • James Murray was not used to the Amazon, and quickly fell behind Fawcett’s quick pace. • Murray, against the advice of Fawcett, tried to keep up by leaving behind his nearly sixty pound pack of belongings, including his bed. • Murray was attacked by different parasites, and it wasn’t long before he had gangrene, had maggots living in his back, and had malaria. • Fawcett prematurely ended the expedition to bring Murray to civilization, and was extremely displeased with Murray, saying that he had single-handedly ruined his expedition.

  8. Other Expeditions Fawcett went on three other expeditions from 1911-1914. The expeditions were all to the Amazon Rainforest, and were all successes. Fawcett and his men endured hardship each mission, but Fawcett was already addicted to Amazonia, and could not stop coming back. Fawcett always tried to be peaceful with the native tribes, some of which were cannibalistic. One time, Fawcett even walked directly into a shower of poisoned arrows to convey his message of friendship. Fawcett was told stories of a lost kingdom hidden in the rainforest in many of his adventures. Many had searched for it, but all had failed.

  9. World War I • Fawcett was forced to join the army in 1914 to fight on the western front against the Germans. • While at war, Fawcett was awarded the Founder’s Gold Medal from the Royal Geographic Society. • Fawcett was used to the terrible conditions, and survived the trenches easily. • Fawcett was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1916, and led more than nine hundred men. • To some Fawcett is still known as Colonel Fawcett.

  10. Hard Times Following World War One, Fawcett’s family moved to Los Angeles, California. They were too poor to keep living in California, so they moved back to England, separating Jack Fawcett from his best friend, Raleigh Rimmel. Fawcett tried hard to start an expedition, but couldn’t get funding.

  11. Later Expeditions • Fawcett finally put together an expedition to look for Z in 1920, with two other men. • The men both got sick quickly, and the expedition was stopped less than two months before it had started. • In August, 1921, Fawcett set out alone to find the city of Z, and claimed to have seen it from a mountaintop, but had to turn around from lack of food.

  12. The Final Expedition • It was February, 1925, and Fawcett was in his late-fifties. • Fawcett was confident that he would find Z this time, after lots of research. • Fawcett’s son, Jack, was coming along with Fawcett for the first time, and they also brought along Raleigh Rimmel, Jack’s best friend. • Fawcett was promised millions of dollars if he could find Z. • The expedition entered the forest and never returned. • Many search parties were sent, but many of them got lost in the forest as well, and none found Fawcett. • Most people believe that Fawcett was killed by natives.

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