Is Outer Banks Based on a True Story? Is El Dorado From OBX Real?

Shreeyantra Rai

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Is Outer Banks Based on a True Story? Is El Dorado From OBX Real?

No, Outer Banks is not based on a true story. However, the creator Pate was inspired to write the story by his childhood there. Similarly, El Dorado in OBX is not a real place, however, the story is reportedly based on a true story. 

Outer Banks is a Netflix original series that has taken the streaming service by storm. Fans can’t get enough of the intrigue and adventure that fill the plot. On February 23, the third season of the Pogues premiered on Netflix, and diehard fans can’t wait to see what happens next in Season 4.

Even in the winter months and into the first days of spring, the series is the best entertainment to help you feel like it’s summer. When John B and his friends dash about (a lot!) in pursuit of gold and treasure, you can’t help but feel like Pogue. The series was compared to a Goonies-style adventure when it was initially announced. It makes sense for teenagers to be chasing after the bad guys while looking for gold in a beach town.

Although the adventure may bring to mind the ’80s movie, Outer Banks is actually more of a young adult drama series with deeper character development. On the other hand, many viewers have been wanting to know if the show is based on a true story. Well, here’s your answer.

Previously, we touched on if Topper dies and Blackbeard.

No, Outer Banks Is Not Based on a True Story: The Netflix Show Is Completely Fictional!

No, Outer Banks is not based on a true story. Josh Pate, Shannon Burke, and Jonas Pate are the creators of this teenage action drama. They wanted to create a coming-of-age story that was both more somber in tone and action-packed. Classics like The Goonies, The Outsiders, and not to mention Robert Louis Stevenson‘s Treasure Island had an influence on them.

Pate was inspired to write the Outer Banks narrative by his childhood there. He was raised close by, thus his knowledge of the area allowed him to utilize greater creativity when writing the story. To focus it on a treasure quest seemed to make the most sense to him. He told,

It’s just a weird teenage fantasy, I guess, to be let in on a mystery that you can go on with your friends. It’s a time-honored genre that goes back to Robert Louis Stevenson.

Likewise, the Outer Banks is a series of islands off the coast of North Carolina that are renowned for legends of shipwrecks carrying valuable treasures. Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures: Outer Banks tells the tale of 25 shipwrecks that occurred along the coast.

When it comes to the Royal Merchant described in the series, a ship with that name once existed, but it sank in 1641 off the coast of Cornwall, England. The ship was carrying nearly $1.5 billion in gold and $1 million in silver, making the catastrophe renowned. In 2019, 20 miles south of the wreckage site, the anchor to this vessel was found.

However, the story given to El Dorado is based on a true story, even if there is no evidence that El Dorado is as real as presented in Outer Banks season 3. According to history, Spanish explorer Diego de Ordaz discovered a gold-rich city similar to El Dorado in 1531 while on an expedition near the Orinoco river. Ordaz passed away on his way home from this unsuccessful gold-hunting trip, presumably from poisoning, but this wasn’t enough to discourage other people from pursuing the city. The ongoing hunt for El Dorado has never provided any conclusive proof that the fabled city of gold is indeed genuine.

Several of the key components of El Dorado’s actual history are kept in Outer Banks, such as its location close to the Orinoco river and the story that it was first discovered by a Spanish soldier. Yet, as shown in the series, no soldier has ever discovered gold pearls from El Dorado. It supported the mythology by connecting a fictitious curse with the numerous deaths that resulted from people pursuing the city.

Additionally, El Dorado in the Outer Banks becomes a reality thanks to the native Kalingo people, who wrote the Gnomon of Solana, which contained a cipher with hints and directions to locate the city of gold.

Before leaving, find out if Outer Banks is appropriate for 12 years old.

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