Americans in today's society view their home country as a melting pot of culture, customs, and beliefs. America has become the most culturally diverse nation in the world, but this feat has not happened quickly. The most culturally diverse country in the world consisted, in its oldest form, of wild, untouched lands and a race of people who lived to worship the land on which they thrived. It was only after their lands were explored and colonized by civilizations from the far west that America began to see the cultural transformation we see today. Toward the end of the 1400s, America began to radically transform into the United States. Changes in American identity manifest in characteristics such as immense freedom, ethnocentrism, and deception. By the late 1400s, there was a delay in the progression of the world's civilizations. England and the rest of Europe are very busy, but most Europeans are growing tired of monarchical government. John Winthrop, the eventual governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, described England at the time as “this sinful land…this land is weary of its inhabitants.” » (378) This unease with government is the fuel some English citizens need to pursue the immense freedom in the New World. The powers of the far west (Persia, India, Japan, China) prospered at the time when Christopher Columbus received the blessing of Queen Isabella to begin his journey to the New World. The region is rich thanks to prolonged and masterful use of the silk trade. Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus heard of vast gold reserves in the area and made it his mission to find gold. Columbus boards the Mayflower heading for the gold of India, but unknowingly he is on the verge of making the greatest discovery in the history of European explorers. One of the primary characteristics of American identity is immense freedom. At this time in the 15th century, there were a few religions in England, all of which struggled to practice freely under the English (Catholic) monarch. John Winthrop and William Bradford are two examples of English citizens who wanted to seek religious freedom in the New World. Winthrop was a Puritan who said he wanted to “build a city on the hill” in the New World, a city “the Company of Christ united in Love.” It was a big step by Britain's religious monarch. Winthrop was able to establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony on the premise that each colonist “bear one another’s burdens.” This helpful spirit has helped shape America today. William Bradford wanted to establish a church, in the new world, "of ancient purity, free from all European entanglements." “The free education of Plymouth Colony by William Bradford, like Winthrop, set the tone for the religiously free American mainframe. Although the America we live in today is a glorious mix of cultures and races, there is a deep ethnocentric past. Ethnocentrism is defined as "judging another culture solely by the values ​​and norms of one's own culture", or racism in modern terms. Cabeza de Vaca recounted in “Relation de Vaca” how the Native Americans appeared to the Spanish explorer as savages. De Vaca's characterization of Native Americans as "savages" is similar to that of other explorers. This characterization most likely derives from the explorer's thirst and greed for occupied lands.