7-13-12: “A Murderous Fellow”

This conversation first aired September 19, 2011.

“He was a murderous fellow in a time of murderous fellows.”

So begins the description of the conquistador Lope de Aguirre, in a book by Maryland author Evan Balkan. Depending on who you ask, Aguirre was either a bloodthirsty madman or the first true revolutionary of the Americas. In the year 1560, he joined an expedition in search of El Dorado. Then he violently took over the expedition and led it in a revolt against the king of Spain.

Nathan Sterner gets a lesson in revolution and ruthlessness from Evan Balkan, author of The Wrath of God: Lope de Aguirre, Revolutionary of the Americas, on University of New Mexico Press.

UPDATE: Evan Balkan is releasing his new book, Walking Baltimore, in the fall.

Audio for this segment will be available by the end of the day, July 13, 2012.