HIST 200AHistory 200A- Term Essay actual one. Michel de Montaigne’s Essais, Relativism, and the Implications of Overseas Expansion

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Michel de Montaigne’s (1533-1592) essay “Of Cannibals,” is from a collection of essays called Essais (1580) in which Montaigne provides insight into human nature1. In this piece, he describes ... what the people of Brazil, the Tupinamba tribe, do during their ceremonies, particularly how bodies of the dead are eaten to honor the dead. Montaigne is using cultural relativism, where someone’s values and beliefs should be judged based on their own culture rather than that of the person judging and is comparing claims of Indigenous cannibalism to the barbarianism of 16th century Europe2. Michel de Montaigne was born in Guyenne, France, in 1533. His great-grandfather made a fortune and became a lord, so Montaigne was born into a wealthy family. His father’s family was Marrano (Spanish and Portuguese Jews) while his mother’s family was recently converted Protestant3. Montaigne had a poor relationship with his mother, even though he lived near her, and she survived him, he only mentions her in his Essais twice, while he mentions his father frequently4. [Show More]

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