When Christopher Columbus wrote the letter responding to accusations of misconduct in his administration of Spanish possessions
in the Indies in the late 1490s, he demonstrated limited comprehension
of Indigenous America's complex societies and cultures.

What did Columbus get wrong in his depictions of Indigenous
Americans, and why was he unable, and unwilling, to more fully
appreciate the world into which he had arrived? Consider both practical
and conceptual factors that might have limited his understanding.