This is John Batchel, a conversation about exploring with Matthew Lockwood, University of Alabama.

His book is the exploration we grew up with as grade school children,

but from the point of view of the people who were so-called discovered,

as they discovered the Eurasians who were in front of them in these large ships

or small ships. In this particular passage, Matthew introduces us to the Teno of the Caribbean

and their first trip to Europe, how some traveled as enslaved, some traveled as ambassadors, and what they

made, what is available in the record, and what they made of these strange people in Spain and

Barcelona staring at them in the street. Much more of this tonight. Here's Matthew Lockwood.

I mean, I think they are,

the Teno are indigenous people from the Caribbean. They are the people who greet Columbus when he arrives. And I think one of the really interesting things about the idea of discovery is that

it is very much in the eye of the beholder.

It's all about perspective. So Columbus is thought of discovering the America in 1492 when he arrives in the

Bahamas. But for the Tino, this is a discovery of something new as well. This moment is a moment

of discovery from their perspective, too.

They are discovering new worlds and new peoples as well. And so I wanted to write this familiar

story from their perspective as much as it's possible to recover that perspective. And they are some of the first to, not only to meet and greet

a person from Eurasia, but to travel to Europe as well. And so just as Columbus discovers the

Americas in 1492, these Taino ambassadors also discover Europe for their own people.

And they go for a number of reasons.

There are some who go as slaves.

There are some who Columbus enslaves and takes back to Europe.

But there are also some who go as ambassadors.

...