Le Bresil dans l'imaginaire français (XVIè-XVIIè s.)

Abstract

The author intends to show, with the help of examples used in the economic, social, and religious environments, thai Brazil occupies in the French imaginary, during this time period, a level which surpasses the conventional image of an exotic tropical. The naval entreprises of the Nortnands, their enterprises of missionaires and Britons obedient to the Catholic Church, the attempts of the Huguenots to search for a providential refuge, the implementation of the first transatlantic commerce and its effects on the French economy are all aspects of actionsn inspired by the"Brazilian dream". In the Geld of artistic creations and intellectual speculation, the first image of a Dew and different humanity was; for the French, that of the Tupinambá" Indians, present even in France to become actors of public shows. Furthermore, they were the first Christians baptized in the royal court, the first"savages" in the popular vision and the first Native American speakers of Michael de Montaigne. The Brazilian Indians, from the reign of Henry II to the King Sun, were in France the only representatives of the New World; they were the same as tbe flora and fauna of Brazil.