I agree with Reséndez’s arguments about culture and hospitality because each group of natives treated the outsiders differently, based on the circumstances. The outsiders became enslaved by the natives on the island of Malhado, because from the perspective of the natives, the outsiders were useless (they couldn’t hunt or do any of the ‘manly’ jobs). However, as the outsiders made their way south towards Pánuco, they began to develop reputations as healers, and thus each group of natives that they encountered began treating them with great respect. Reséndez did a good job of arguing that sometimes the natives treated them poorly, and other times with great respect. I agree with Reséndez, but I also want to add more details to the explanations as to why each group treated them different.

In terms of hospitality, most groups of natives seemed to be relatively hospitable to the outsiders; the natives often provided them with food, drink, and other resources. Certain groups were not hospitable at all. The Camones killed all the Europeans they saw on sight. Several groups threw rocks, fired arrows, and otherwise harassed and attacked the Europeans. I believe the lack of hospitality from these groups can be attributed to a fear of the unknown. Alternatively, once the last four outsiders became known as healers, the natives went out of their way to be hospitable to them. The four were brought food and drink, as well as the ill of that particular group. It was also said that many native women were attracted to the four. Thus, the hospitality of the natives varied greatly on which group of natives the outsiders encountered and the circumstances in which they encountered them.

Thus, Reséndez’s theory of native hospitality is extremely useful because it sheds light on the difficult problem of creolization. Reséndez argued that the reaction and hospitality of the natives towards the outsiders varied greatly, and this gives us an inside look into the clash of these different peoples. Sometimes, when the natives first saw the outsiders, they were unkind, and other times they were friendly. It shows that when two different cultures collide, there is no telling what may happen. The results could be positive or negative.