Upon beginning this book, I was struck by a very strange thing – the expedition is composed of many Frenchmen. Though not a particularly major point, the class so far has been composed of narratives told by Portuguese or Spanish explorers. This is logical – the majority of early settlements in the New World were settled by these two countries. However, the French, English, and Dutch all played roles in colonization as well, though not to any relevant degree in Central or South America. The inclusion of the French narrative in this class (or any narrative outside of the “Latin American” one) is very interesting to me. Renaissance Mapping – the course name – automatically denotes for me European mapping, which is why this course has been fascinating. Instead of mapping Europe, it is mapping the unknown. And since mapping the unknown depends so heavily on personal views and interpretations, the inclusion of another nation into this canon of literature presents an entirely new set of viewpoints and interpretations and thus, an entirely new set of maps.