A descoberta do novo mundo em Montaigne: uma leitura Dos Canibais

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reflect on the discovery of the New World from Montaigne's perspective in the mid-sixteenth century and to elucidate how the author thought about Brazilian cannibals in his essay “Dos Canibais” (I, xxxi). It is important to say that in this research we take the position that Montaigne would have read the accounts present in travel literature, in addition to the source that the author mentions in his work. This position is endorsed by commentators such as Lestringant (2006), Souza Filho (2006), Birchal (2007) and Scolarick (2016). That's why we think it's important to make an assessment of the travel literature that was in force at the time of the discovery, which is very important for the making of the essays “Dos canibais” (I, xxxi), so that we have an idea of how the image of the indigenous was being formed by the literature of the time. We will recall the concepts of barbarian and savage that were so widely circulated in 16th century European society and disseminated throughout the literary, intellectual and cultural world. These narratives end up constructing an image of the Brazilian native that Montaigne does not agree with and the author ends up giving another, less aggressive and violent meaning to the image of the Brazilian natives. We will also look at the philosopher's and commentators' impressions of morality and war in native society. We will also look at the meeting between the Brazilian natives and King Charles IX and what led the author to write this account in his essay. In the context of the Montaignian discourse, we will reflect on the skepticism within it and its influence on the author's essay dedicated to the discovery of a New World and new peoples. To do this, we will make a brief historical digression about Pyrrhic skepticism and academic skepticism so that it is possible to understand how they appear in the author's thinking and, consequently, give the go-ahead for the appearance of his criticism of the colonizers.