“Of Cannibals”

E250760

“Of Cannibals” is an influential essay by Michel de Montaigne that uses reports of indigenous peoples in the New World to question European notions of barbarism, culture, and moral superiority.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
essay "Des cannibales" 1
“Of Cannibals” canonical 1

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Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf essay
philosophical essay
associatedConcept barbarism
civilization
noble savage
relativism
author Michel de Montaigne
compares European cruelty and so-called savagery
contrasts European warfare with ritual cannibalism
countryOfOrigin France
firstPublication circa 1580
genre Renaissance humanist literature
essay
hasForm prose
historicalContext Age of Exploration
surface form: Age of Discovery

French Renaissance
includedInWork Essais
influenced Enlightenment debates on the noble savage
European views of New World peoples
later discussions of cultural relativism
languageFeature comparative cultural analysis
first-person reflection
literaryMovement Renaissance humanism
mainTheme New World indigenous peoples
critique of European ethnocentrism
cultural relativism
moral superiority and humility
nature versus custom
questioning of barbarism
notableFor critical view of European colonial attitudes
early articulation of cultural relativism
influential role in essay as a literary form
originalLanguage French
partOfSeries Essais
surface form: Essais, Book I
philosophicalTradition skepticism
publicationCentury 16th century
questions European moral superiority
European notions of barbarism
the reliability of custom and tradition
settingDescribed Brazil
subject European civilization
cannibalism
indigenous peoples of the Americas
usesSourceMaterial reports of Brazilian indigenous peoples
travel accounts of the New World

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Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Michel de Montaigne hasPartInWork “Of Cannibals”
Essais hasPart “Of Cannibals”
this entity surface form: essay "Des cannibales"