Percy Fawcett
and The Lost City Of Z

Percy Harrison Fawcett was born on 18 August 1867 into a family of wealthy and intellectual origin. His father, Edward Boyd Fawcett, was a prominent member of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), which certainly influenced Percy’s life choices. At a young age, he was attracted to adventure stories, natural history and great discoveries. After studying at a military school, he joined the British army where he served as an artillery officer. This military training will be of great help to him on his expeditions, as it has taught him skills in mapping and survival.

Percy Fawcett's first expedition in South America occurred in 1906, when he was commissioned by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) to map and survey uncharted areas of the Bolivian and Brazilian borderlands. His mission was to delineate boundaries between Bolivia and Brazil as part of a government agreement to settle territorial disputes in the region. This was a crucial task at the time, as the area was largely unexplored, and there was a demand for accurate cartographic data.

This initial expedition marked the beginning of Fawcett's enduring connection to South America and the Amazon. It laid the foundation for his later expeditions and his obsessive quest for the mythical "Lost City of Z," which he believed was hidden deep in the Amazon jungle. Fawcett's reports and insights during this first journey established him as a key figure in the exploration of one of the world's last frontiers.

1920: The "Lost City of Z" theory From 1920, after several successful expeditions to unexplored areas in South America, Fawcett became obsessed with the idea that an advanced civilization, unknown to the western world, could exist in the Amazon jungle. He calls this civilization the "City of Z", a place he imagines to be full of treasures and ancient knowledge. He bases this hypothesis on his research in the archives and on the accounts of indigenous peoples, including a manuscript called "Manuscript 512" from the 18th century, written by a Portuguese explorer who supposedly discovered a large stone city in the heart of the Amazon. At that time, the great pre-Columbian cities such as Machu Picchu were still little known to the general public, which made it plausible in Fawcett’s eyes that these mysterious cities existed.

In April 1925, Percy Fawcett launched his final expedition to find the Lost City of Z. This time he was not alone; he was accompanied by his eldest son, Jack Fawcett, and his friend, Raleigh Rimmell. The expedition is funded in part by private patrons, fascinated by Fawcett’s stories. They enter the jungle following a specific route, with few men to remain discreet and avoid alarming hostile tribes. In May 1925, Fawcett sent his last letter to his wife, signaling that they had entered unexplored territory near a place called "Dead Horse Camp" (the camp of the dead horse), in the heart of Mato Grosso in Brazil. Then, no news. The expedition seems to have disappeared in the jungle without leaving a trace. There are many theories about what might have happened to them: disease, attack of indigenous tribes, or loss in the forest. Their disappearance becomes one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century.

After Fawcett’s disappearance in 1925, rumors and legends began to circulate. His disappearance intrigues and led relief expeditions for decades, with more than 100 people searching for it. Some of them are killed. There are many hypotheses about what happened to Fawcett: some say that he would have been killed by a hostile indigenous tribe, others suggest that he became the chief of a tribe, or even that he would have found the famous "City of Z" and chose never to return. In 1951, a team finds human bones which, upon examination, are not Fawcett’s. Other reports indicate that Fawcett may have Found refuge with a local tribe. However, the mystery surrounding Fawcett and the City of Z continues to Fascinate adventure-seekers and explorers. In 2009, writer David Grann published "The Lost City of Z," a book that ignited interest in Fawcett’s story and explores his theories in a new light.