É necessário expiar o renascimento?: A abertura antropológica do século XVI

Abstract

The article introduces a very thorough analysis regarding the bibliography concerning the French presence in the American continent in the 16th century, in particular, the classic and contemporary interpretations by Jean de Léry, André Thevet, Rabelais and Montaigne. Arising from the invention of the past of the French empire in the last decades of the 19th century, going through the proposed theories by the post-war anthropology, the author analyzes the anachronism, retrospective delusions and arbitrariness implied by many experts in order to perceive the significance attributed to the works previously mentioned and their authors. Following the analysis of various intellectual and political contexts, the article explores the boundaries of the discerning post-colonial European consciousness, thus, proposing an elucidative perspective that points to article dilemmas and enables to acquire a complex scheme of interactions and reciprocal apprehensions between the old and new world societies.