The Lost City of Gold

Candide and Cacambo mistakenly arrived at Eldorado, where they had everything. This country was monotheistic, there were no disputes over religion, there was no need of prisons, no inquisition and it was impossible for outsiders to get to it. Eldorado was pretty much the perfect country for Candide because the month that he was there he suffered no misfortune, he was equal to the rest, and had all the resources he needed. Love and greed overcame Candide and he decided to leave Eldorado and take mounts of jewels to pay for Cunégonde. “We can now pay off the Governor of Buenos Ayres, if Lady Cunégonde should be held ransom. Let’s go to Cayenne and set sail, and we will then see what kingdom we can buy”, said Candide. This is a clear example that shows Candide was not satisfied if he was not with his love, but it also shows Candide could become like the greedy European colonizers. I don’t know what will happen to Candide with his riches, but I can predict it won’t be good. The real critic of the colonizers was the King of Eldorado, who said, “A man should be satisfied with what works moderately well. I have no right to detain strangers against their will; that would be a tyranny which neither our customs nor our laws could justify. All men are free”. All this was precisely what the colonizers did with Native Americans. It is evident that Voltaire is mocking the European ways presenting Eldorado as a utopia, but he could also mean that a country like Eldorado (perfect) can’t exist because actually El Dorado, the “Lost City of Gold”, was never found.