ABSTRACT
Since the beginning of the Age of Discovery in the 15th century when some Western Europeans ventured out and encountered new worlds with their strange flora and fauna, and peoples alien and exotic to them, there has been a tremendous expansion of knowledge. So massive has been this increase that it is very difficult for scholars at the beginning of the 21st century to place themselves in the positions and minds of those early explorers. However, from the records they left we can trace some of what they experienced, their shock at the discovery of other societies, and the development of their attitudes toward other human beings. In doing so, we can achieve some comprehension of how great this historical transformation has been.
