European Exploration Research Paper

The early expansion and exploration of many Europeans made a huge impact on both Europe and the Americas in the age of naval advancement and the surge of conquests from across the sea. (pg. 359-360) Many western cultures in Europe had the desire and fantasy of the exotic external world they had yet to understand and know. (pg. 361) This desire, along with material, religious, and competitive motives, is what drew naval advancement and the will to expand and travel among various European countries. (pg. 360-361) This intense will to explore eastern cultures was commonly referred to as “wanderlust.” (pg. 361) Expansion and exploration led to the pursuit of technological advantage in the form of new naval vessels and utilities that made sailing
(pg. 372) While we got a positive view of the Americas from Columbus, we see the dark side of the exploration of the conquistadors from the account of Bernardino de Sahagún. (Account) We see many times where the natives are terrorized, plundered, and intimidated throughout. (Account) Instead of the simplicity of the natives being admired and understood, it is entirely manipulated. (Account) From this account, we can easily deduct that a huge impact exploration had on natives is that their peace was disrupted, their empires were invaded, and the resources of their land were drained. (Account) La Malinche fits more into the story of Bernardino, considering that it focuses more on the negative interaction between the Spaniards and Mexicans and the intimidation tactics used. (La Malinche) However, the good side of Cortés is shown more often. (La Malinche) I find it hard to imagine how it was being one of the only translators and the wife of a Spaniard conquistador in the middle of both peaceful and tense conflicts. (La Malinche) She especially had trouble in some situations where she had to translate threats, and tried to make the threats sound as least violent and horrible as possible. (La