... the time or shortly after the voyage took place. This leaves for less chance of the truth being blurred by the passing of time. The Diary, on the other hand, is a secondary source, this mainly because the diary was not written by Columbus himself but by Las Casas. It was also not written at the time of the voyage but sometime after allowing for some of the accounts to be lost to time. This being the case the diaries lack some of the credibility that is available from the letter making it less useful for the purpose of historical recreation. The pieces also allow you to see and gauge the reactions between the Indians and the Spanish. The reactions were generally positive nature and one of friendship. "these things pleased them greatly and they became marvellously friendly towards us"1. This reaction was almost identical on most of the islands ...

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