The Real Aguirre Was Even More Wrathful Than in Herzog’s Classic Film
Aguirre, the Wrath of God depicted—if you can imagine such a thing—but a single chapter in Lope de Aguirre’s world-class madness.
Werner Herzog’s 1972 historical epic Aguirre, the Wrath of God deals in the sort of outsized themes — anger, hubris, madness — that are rarely experienced by actual human beings all at once and/or at such a heightened degree. But in the case of Lope de Aguirre, the historical basis for the film’s titular character, the truth is actually stranger, more histrionic, and more violent than fiction.
Indeed, when it comes to the subjects of Aguirre, the myth of El Dorado, and Spain’s South American conquest, Aguirre doesn’t so much reflect history as much as it cleverly bobs and weaves with history.
Lope de Aguirre
Lope de Aguirre’s unstable and violent behavior didn’t start with the expedition searching for El Dorado.
Which is interesting considering the beginning of the film doesn’t really hint at the breadth and depth of Aguirre’s violent history. We get a sense of the turn the character will take based on a) he’s being depicted by Klaus Kinski and b) no reasonable person would bring their daughter on such a dangerous expedition like this is Bring Your Child Into the Famously Hostile World of the Amazon Day.
The real Aguirre’s story started in the early 16th-century in Spain’s Basque Country. His family was merely vaguely noble and since he wasn’t the eldest son his immediate prospects were limited. So when he heard that there was good business in plundering the New World for all it was worth he set out for Peru.
Only he arrived too late to cash in on that particular venture. The fame and fortune that had been seized by the likes of Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro was long gone. But Aguirre’s predisposition toward murder really amped up his employability. Various skirmishes and civil wars had broken out throughout Peru in the wake of Pizarro’s assassination, and there was no shortage of people looking to hire capable soldiers. Said soldiers just couldn’t be picky about who’s side they fought for. And picky Aguirre was not.
By the time 1551 rolled around Aguirre found himself in the city of Potosí where he was sentenced to a public flogging by judge Francisco de Esquivel. What Aguirre did to earn this punishment is difficult to ascertain. There are reports that the ruling was due to his abusive treatment of the indigenous people. But since Spain’s entire presence in South America was based on the horrific abuse of the native population this was either an excuse on Esquivel’s part or Aguirre’s actions were deplorable beyond compare. If it was anyone else it would be difficult to fathom the latter being true, but since this is Lope de Aguirre we’re talking about such cruelty is not off the table.
Whatever prompted the flogging, Aguirre was so infuriated that he spent the next three years pursuing Esquivel up and down the west coast of South America. Knowing that a murder-tornado was on his tail, Esquivel fled from Lima up to Quito and then back down to Cusco. According to legend, Aguirre chased his quarry on foot and sans shoes. Lope de Aguirre was undoubtedly a terrible person but what he lacked in moral fortitude he made up for in moxie.
Esquivel eventually committed the rookie mistake of falling asleep. (Tip! When the guy looking for revenge requires only his lust for murder to propel him forward nap-time is a no go!) Aguirre killed Esquivel while the judge dozed in his library.
Fortunately for Aguirre (and unfortunately for everybody else) the fact that he was good at killing outweighed his crimes of … killing people. After being pardoned for the murder of a governor, Aguirre continued to fight as soldier before joining the ill-fated (is there any other kind?) expedition to El Dorado.
The events in Aguirre, the Wrath of God were probably not that far off from what we know of the real expedition. Aguirre lead a mutiny against the expedition’s leader, Pedro de Ursúa, and made himself the informal commander of the group. Though Pizarro (who is depicted as leading the initial expedition) would have been dead by this point in history and the Inez in the film chooses to walk off into the forest she — along with Aguirre’s puppet Fracisco de Guzman and anyone else suspected of having noble blood — would be executed on Aguirre’s orders.
But while the film concludes with Kinski floating down the Amazon with only a swarm of monkeys for company, the real Aguirre’s story didn’t end there.
Not only did Aguirre not succumb to the sprawling forest, he and his meager band of half-starved conquistadors managed to overtake Isla Margarita, killing its governor as well as plenty of innocent people. Again, terrible person — impressive moxie.
It was only when Aguirre set his sights on mainland Panama that his rebellion fell apart. Upon reaching Venezuela Aguirre was surrounded and, knowing that the end was nigh, killed several of his followers and even his own daughter, Elvira, reasoning that “someone that I loved so much should not come to be bedded by uncouth people.”
His life came to a fittingly gruesome end as he was soon after captured, shot, and beheaded with his body cut into pieces and shipped off to several towns to serve as a warning.
The “Legend” of El Dorado
After the Spanish conquest and sack of the Inca empire the Indians invented the legend of El Dorado, a land of gold, located in the swamps of the Amazon tributaries.
A large expedition of Spanish adventurers, led by Pizarro, set off from the Peruvian sierras in late 1560. The only document to survive from this lost expedition is the diary of the monk Gaspar de Carvajal.
The epigraph of Aguirre sets up the futility of the characters’ mission, but it doesn’t entirely reflect the motivations of their historical counterparts.
In actuality, the real Pedro de Ursúa had no real intention of finding El Dorado. The true purpose of the expedition was to give the idle veterans — who knew no life other than fighting — something to do. If you’re trekking through the Amazon you’re not going to have enough energy left over to start any trouble.
It actually makes it rather fitting that Herzog also used the tactic of tuckering out your difficult colleague out to get what you want. Herzog and Kinski clashed over the actor’s portrayal of Aguirre with Kinski insisting on making his performance as unhinged as possible while Herzog wanted something more subdued. Unable to compromise, Herzog riled Kinski up until he’d exhausted himself so that by the time the camera was rolling Herzog was able to get the relatively understated performance from his lead actor.
In any the case, the idea of risking a great deal of time, money, and human lives in pursuit of a magical city that never existed in the first place makes for a great, Shakespearean tragedy. The reality was that the ill-fated expedition was more like the worst busywork of all time.
“The Word of God”
The scene in which the Incan man delivers a sick burn / play on words when presented with Carvajal’s Bible is a sort of nesting doll of legend and fact.
The scene is a direct echo of an account of when Atahualpa, the last Incan king, was presented with a Bible by a Spanish friar. Atahualpa was then said to have held the book to his ear, not knowing what to do with it, and asked why the book did not speak to him.
Except there’s no evidence that actually happened.
The story (or as close as we can reasonably get to the real story) is that Atahualpa and his retinue were met by Vincente de Valverde, a Dominican friar, who informed the king that there was this religion called Catholicism and since the native population were so-called heathens this guy half a world a way called “the pope” had decided that the invading Spanish force was entitled to the Incan empire.
Because this line of thinking doesn’t follow any objective logic Atahualpa responded that he didn’t understand and would become “no man’s tributary.” Valverde then gave the Bible he was carrying to Atahualpa who, after inspecting it for a moment, threw it to the ground. Which is the correct response to a hostile force saying your stuff is their stuff now and if you don’t give it to up willingly they’ll murder you and by the way here’s a pamphlet.
