How did religion influence the perceptions and expectations of the individuals in these different encounters between Europeans and the inhabitants of the New World?

How did Afonso’s relations with the Portuguese compare to Mexicans’ relations with Spaniards?

How did Columbus’s reactions to Native Americans compare with Díaz’s?

How did the responses of the people Columbus first encountered compare with the reception the Mexicans gave to the conquistadors? How do they compare to Cabeza de Vaca’s experiences with Indians in Texas and the Southwest? What might account for the differences?

How did Europeans’ expectations shape their understanding of the New World? How did Native Americans’ expectations influence their perception of Europeans? How did New World experiences of both Europeans and Native Americans change their expectations about each other?

What did Europeans and non-Europeans seek from each other, according to these accounts? To what extent did each group gain (or lose) from the encounters, according to these documents?