“Voyages of Discovery” In the “Voyages of Discovery” section of “Beginnings to 1700,” Wayne Franklin portrays European efforts to hurriedly claim the lands of the New World. After the publication of Columbus’ letter to the Spanish monarchy that described the lavish riches of the West Indies, many Europeans began to take the voyage across the Atlantic to explore much of this new land. Franklin writes, “this second European wave quickly gathered momentum and extended itself far to the north and south of the Caribbean basin that Columbus explored” (8). After initial exploration, many European nations, predominately Spain, held an aggressive presence in the West Indies and claimed much of the “unclaimed” land: “Within fifty years of 1492, the …show more content…
Hernan Cortes describes the problematic relations with the natives in “from Second Letter to the Spanish Crown”: “The inhabitants of [Temixtitan] wished to betray us they were very well equipped for it by the design of the city, for once the bridges had been removed they could starve us to death without our being able to reach the mainland” (38-39).
“Literary Consequences of 1492” In the “Literary Consequences of 1492” section of “Beginnings to 1700,” Wayne Franklin illustrates the cultural response to literature of the era and describes literature 's impact on the ways of life in both the Americas and Europe. Literature in this time period was often spread to many due to the invention of the printing press. The vast discoveries of the West Indies were often discussed in letters that were later published, making many Europeans desire for the wealth and riches of the “New World.” Franklin writes, “from [columbus’] letter on, the printing press and the European expansion into America were reciprocal parts of a single engine” (11). The invention of the printing press and rapid spread of information ultimately led to the early colonization of the Americas on a large scale. However, after Europe settled the Americas, the mass decimation of the native