Seeing and Knowing the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Exchange and Alliance Between France and the New World During the French Wars of Religion

When the Norman and Breton armateurs sent their ships to the New World in the sixteenth century, they had faith that through the ability to negotiate with the Indigenous peoples with whom they sought to trade, the leaders of these expeditions would return to Saint-Malo or Dieppe with precious cargo. Among these were brazilwood (used to dye cloth), chinaroot (to relieve symptoms of the pox), and furs for the European market. Storms or attacks by hostile vessels could destroy or reduce the value of the profit, but over the years the financial return proved advantageous. How and why this risky but profitable venture fell into the hands of Breton and Norman financiers lies at the heart of our story. The consequences of their investment in Brazil, Canada, and Florida would change the world, and the strategies used by the merchant mariners they sent out were key to the success of their enterprise. Seeing and Knowing the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Exchange and Alliance Between France and the New World During the French Wars of Religion is the first analysis of accounts or relations by French naval expeditions to focus on specific strategies of encounter and trade from Canada to Brazil, including the area of Florida and South Carolina. Since the expeditions took place during the French Wars of Religion an effort is made to examine how differences of religion and character affected the success of the alliance and exchange. The work is suitable for inclusion in undergraduate/graduate French, history, cultural studies, or anthropology courses.

Professor emerita of Arizona State University and former Dean of Humanties of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Deborah N. Losse is the author of four books on early modern literature and culture: Rhetoric at Play: Rabelais and Satirical Eulogy (1980); Sampling the Book: Renaissance Prologues and the French Conteurs (1994); Montaigne and Brief Narrative Form: Shaping the Essay (2013); Syphilis: Medicine, Metaphor, and Religious Conflict (2015); and Volery and Venery in the French Wars of Religion (2018). She is the author of numerous articles on early modern culture.