«I found other people who ate men: The deformity of their gesture says it»: (re)visiting the cannibal in the Columbian writtings
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Abstract
This essay revisits the descriptions and the references of the cannibal in the writings of Christopher Columbus. It examines the complexities and the contradictions of the colonial discourse as well as the construction of the colonial subject in accordance with Christian and mercantile ideologies. It considers the widely popular discourses of the time, personal and colonial desires as well as the evidence presented by Columbus and others. Faced with second-hand knowledge, lack of physical evidence and miscommunications, the writings reveal the manipulative and often contradictory nature of the enterprise and of Columbus himself. Last but not least, this study reflects on important shifts in the narrative that signal religious and cultural manoeuvres necessary in the appropriation of the Other, cannibal or not, to justify personal and national gains.
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References
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