How did Spanish conquistadores like Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada sail up the Magdalena?

7 comments

What do you mean by how?

They used smaller ships than what was used on the ocean
- But how did the sail against the current?
  
  Same as today
  
  Use oars and stay near the sides.
  
  If you took a bunch of fit people and tried to paddle it you could but it’s hard work and you want to shore anytime you wanted to break to avoid losing all progress
  
  If they had the wind then they wouldn’t need it
  
  Magdelena was a miserable trip though
The Magdalena has a deep draft for much of the initial part. After that they probably used barques and other shallower draft boats.
- But how did the sail against the current?
  
  They would use oars if they were in a barque. On the big boats they just used a sail. River currents are nothing compared to ocean currents.

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