In a time where many people criticize America for trying to spread its ideaologies in places it may not be wanted and more generally, for its "better than the rest of the world" attitude, what initially struck me when reading this week, was how common it was in the times of Columbus to have this same attitude that is now frowned upon, to say the least. One thing these explorers seem to have in common, aside from their excitement and curiousity about their discoveries, is how casually they seem to be when swooping in and taking over a new land. It is alsmost as if they feel, since they were the first of their kind to discover these new lands, they are granted rights to have them under their rule. Columbus mentions that he has seized all of the Canary Islands for the King and Queen, and is rather insistent that these uncivilized people become Christian. Mancall notes that "Columbus's initial report has barely a critical word to offer about his journey and is bathed instead in triumphal rhetoric." Indeed, Columbus writes his report as though he has just won possesion of land simply by finding it. The arrogance that eminates from his assumptions leaves me feeling a bit naive for thinking that these people were merely interested in the new world for the sake of exploring other lands and cultures. And while Vespucci's account is far less over the top than Columbus', it still reads with a somehwat condescending tone toward the Brazilian natives. However, while reading his account I was intrigued by how much knowledge of these people he was able to gain. Perhaps I am being ignorant, but how was any language barrier overcome? It seems like all of these explorers were able to gain a considerable amount of information about these strange people, who seemed to welcome them, instead of considering them a threat, which might have been my guess of their reactions. Columbus suggests that the people thought he was sent from the heavens, which would explain why they didn't kill him, however, how were they able to understand each other so well in just a few weeks? I found their accounts facinating, and yet somewhat puzzling.