European Explorers

Please read the following selections and then answer the questions in the space provided.

Christopher Columbus, Letter to Luis de Sant’ Angel (1493)

Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, "Indians of the Rio Grande" (1528-1536)

Bartolomé de Las Casas, "Of the Island of Hispaniola" (1542)

1 Did the European explorers and missionaries confront the Native Americans with an open mind? What kind of preconceptions did they have?
2 Are any of these reports more reliable than the other two?
3 Considering that each report is in some manner biased and self-serving, how can we claim to know anything about early Native cultures?


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