# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/francisco-de-orellana
# Generated: 2026-09-01T00:29:27.733Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/francisco-de-orellana"
name: "Francisco de Orellana"
slug: "francisco-de-orellana"
description: "He sailed the entire length of the Amazon in 1542 — a river no European had traversed — and lived to tell about it, one of the least likely survival stories in the age of conquest."
tagline: "Spanish explorer and conquistador"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Francisco_de_Orellana_Portrait.jpg?width=1200"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "Spain"
  isoCode: "ES"
profileType:
  name: "Other"
  slug: "other"
birthDate: "1511"
deathDate: "1546"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           56.6
  momentum:             3.20115356885364
  historical:           22.067028
  currentAttention:     17.78418649363133
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  60
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Historical Figures"
    slug: "historical-figures"
  - name: "Journalist"
    slug: "journalist"
  - name: "Early Modern Era"
    slug: "early-modern-era"
sources:
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    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q207901"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Francisco%20de%20Orellana"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
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    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fransisko_de_Orelyana"
    title: "Fransisko de Orelyana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "Франсіска дэ Арэльяна"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE_%D0%B4%D0%B5_%D0%9E%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%BD%D0%B0"
    title: "Франсиско де Ореляна"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Orellana"
    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
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    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
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  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A6%CF%81%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B8%CE%AF%CF%83%CE%BA%CE%BF_%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%B5_%CE%9F%CF%81%CE%B5%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%AC%CE%BD%CE%B1"
    title: "Φρανθίσκο ντε Ορεγιάνα"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Orellana"
    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Orellana"
    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Orellana"
    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Orellana"
    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ext.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Orellana"
    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "فرانسیسکو ده اوریانا"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Orellana"
    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Orellana"
    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Orellana"
    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%A7%D7%95_%D7%93%D7%94_%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%99%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%94"
    title: "פרנסיסקו דה אורייאנה"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Orellana"
    title: "Francisco de Orellana"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "فرانثيسكو دي أوريانا"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AB%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%88_%D8%AF%D9%89_%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7"
    title: "فرانثيسكو دى اوريانا"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Francisco de Orellana was a Spanish conquistador who carved his name into South American exploration through sheer endurance and accident. He founded Guayaquil in present-day Ecuador before circumstances thrust him into the expedition that defined him. In 1542, he became the first known European to navigate the Amazon from the Andes to the Atlantic, reaching the river's mouth on 24 August after months battling current, indigenous resistance, and starvation. He and his men then sailed up the coast to Cubagua Island near Venezuela. The triumph didn't last: he returned for a second Amazon expedition and died on the river in November 1546.