Describing a Foreign Culture

The travelers saw each location they went as a brand-new learning opportunity. Once they traveled to new locations, they anticipated learning new knowledge. They became intrigued by the similarities and differences between the cultures of their home countries and the locations they visited. It was definitely a memorable event. They did not offer women in their host societies high places because they believed that women belonged to a weaker gender.

These documents were written by men who had extraordinary understanding of the societies they were describing. They were motivated by the need to learn more about the other cultures to travel far away from their home countries. They aimed at addressing the deficiencies in their societies using the knowledge they gain on their visit.

Assessing the Credibility of Sources

The information that could be most valuable for historians seeking to understand India, China and West Africa is the one regarding to the religions of the three nations. There is a high level of perceived similarities, however significant differences can be also observed. The statement on the fact that India is richer in terms of Buddhism knowledge could be viewed with some level of skepticism.

Considering Outsiders Accounts

The main advantage of historians drawing from foreign observations is that they are able to acquire a wide range of knowledge that can be used as a basis of comparison. They are also able to observe the differences and similarities that exist in the different cultures. The limitation however is that they may have a biased conclusion as they are likely to base it on one culture and tend to disregard the other.