Jean De Léry
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Jean de Léry (1536–1613) was an explorer, writer and
Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...
pastor born in Lamargelle,
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,
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. Scholars disagree about whether he was a member of the lesser nobility or merely a shoemaker. Either way, he was not a public figure prior to accompanying a small group of fellow
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
s to their new colony on an island in the Bay of
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,
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from 1557 to 1558. There he produced the first known transcriptions of native American music: two chants of the Tupinambá, near Rio de Janeiro. The colony,
France Antarctique France Antarctique (formerly also spelled ''France antartique'') was a French colony in Rio de Janeiro, in modern-day Brazil, which existed between 1555 and 1567, and had control over the coast from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio. The colony quickl ...
was founded by the
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de Villegaignon, with promises of religious freedom, but on arrival, the Chevalier contested the Protestants' beliefs and persecuted them. After eight months the Protestants left their colony and survived for a short time on the mainland, living amongst the Tupinambá Indians. These events were the basis of de Lery's book, ''History of a Voyage to the Land of Brazil, Also Called America'' (1578). Exhausted and starving, they then returned to France aboard a pirate ship. Throughout this book, Léry describes his voyage across the Atlantic to
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. On the way he encounters never before seen ocean wildlife that foreshadows many more discoveries to follow. While on the ship he and his men develop new skills of judging and navigating the winds, stars, currents, and tides. Upon arrival, Léry and his men are exposed to what seems to be an entirely new world. Throughout the body, the crew encounters a wide variety of people in an area not yet affected by European
colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...
. With the main goals set at
Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
, these men face many more challenges than expected, however make discoveries and encounter new things beyond their wildest dreams. Léry witnessed the Tupinambá engage in war and cannibalize their enemies. On his return to France, de Léry married unhappily and became a Protestant minister. He endured and chronicled the Siege of Sancerre, remarking in his book, ''History of the City of Sancerre'' (1574) that his hardships in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
served him well, because he taught his fellow soldiers to make hammocks and eat anything, including shoe soles (though
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well document ...
still repelled him). During the siege of Sancerre, a Calvinist married couple and an old woman were caught boiling the couple's dead daughter in a cauldron for food. Léry devoted the tenth chapter of his account of the siege to describing and evaluating this episode of European Protestant cannibalism. Historian Adam Asher Duker has argued that Léry equated the residents of Sancerre with the cannibalistic Israelites of the Old Testament, and that he believed his own Huguenot community to be the worst of all cannibals, as they ate each other despite their highest understanding of the will of God.


Works

* ''L'histoire mémorable du siège et de la famine de Sancerre'' (1573) * ''Histoire d'un voyage fait en la terre de Brésil'' (1578)


Honours

In 1829, botanist
José Mariano de Conceição Vellozo José Mariano de Conceição Vellozo (also called José Mariano da Conceição Velloso) (1742–1811) was a Colonial Brazilian botanist who catalogued specimens, for example: '' Cedrela fissilis'' Vell. in ''Florae Fluminensis'' (1825–27; 1831). ...
published a genus of
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s from South America, belonging to the family
Icacinaceae The Icacinaceae, also called the white pear family, are a family (biology), family of flowering plants,"Icacinaceae" At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website (see ''External links'' below). consisting of trees, shrub ...
, as ''
Leretia ''Leretia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Icacinaceae. The only species is ''Leretia cordata'' Its native range is Costa Rica to southern Tropical America. It is also found in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, ...
'' in his honour.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lery, Jean de French Calvinist and Reformed ministers French explorers French Protestant missionaries Huguenots 1536 births 1613 deaths Protestant missionaries in Brazil 16th-century Calvinist and Reformed ministers French expatriates in Brazil France Antarctique