Hans Staden Essay

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The Return of Hans Staden: A Go-Between in the Atlantic World by Duffy and Metcalf is a thrilling tale of the Atlantic adventures of the German born Hans Staden. This book pieces together history in an attempt to navigate the reader through the life and many journeys of Staden. I was amazed by the incredible story of Staden while reading this book, but some parts of this story seemed to be too good to be true. Regardless, the story of his travels, capture, and ransom are still fascinating. There was one major movement that caught my attention while reading, and this movement has nothing to do with sailing. The movement, which is more of a transformation, deals with Staden’s change from being a fearless traveler into a prisoner, who was all about preserving his own life. There are many factors that played into Staden’s change after his capture, but I believe that the best place to start is from the beginning. Staden was born in Hesse, a German principality of the Holy Roman Empire. He was born right around the time that Vasco de Gama made his successful trip to India. His family had a good reputation in the area, and Hans had “learned a trade,” (Duffy and Metcalf 12). Hans is thought to have gained all he knows about guns and warfare during the religious wars that were going on throughout Germany during the Reformation. So, knowing that Hans was a soldier who also knew some kind of trade I gathered that he was a smart and well-informed man (Duffy and Metcalf 12-20). Hans had a strong desire to travel to India. Perhaps he wanted to know more about the world. Maybe he was just bored with the routine life that Hesse had given him. No matter the reason, he was driven enough to take action and leave. This may not sound daring, but for a simple man from Hesse it was. This is the first time that I noticed Staden’s daredevil behavior come into play in he

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