Focus on New World Scene and explain the Interpretation.
After its publication, Mundus Novum became widely distributed throughout Europe and began to shape the European view of the Americas and the native populations that resided there. While some elements of this book were accurate, such as specific descriptions of their attire and the tradition of cannibalism, it gave the Native American population a negative connotation among European readers and missionaries. By describing them as "savages", Vespucci's work, alongside others who described Native American people in this way, became the foundation for colonists, explorers, and missionaries alike to travel to what we know today as North and South America to try and convert them to a more European way of life via Christianity.One of the main reasons behind the European quest to convert Native American populations to Christianity was the tradition of cannibalism found that was prevalent in the culture of some tribes.. While the Tupinamba tribe did practice a form of cannibalism, this practice cannot be made of every Native tribe in America at that time. Even amongst tribes that did participate in cannibalistic tendencies, this tradition was not as lawless and common as Vespucci's work made it out to be. Tribal wars were very common amongst different tribes of Native Americans. If the Tupinamba tribe captured a warrior of an opposing clan, they would set a date for when the tribe would kill them and prepare a feast in their honor. During their captivity, the tribe would take great care in treating their prisoner with respect, even sometimes gifting them a wife until they were due to be killedAnother reason behind the European movement to Christianize the native peoples of the Americas was due to their differing lifestyles, such as their attire and primitive way of life. Though New World Scene shows the Tupinamba people dressed in what many Europeans thought was traditional Native American attire, many features of their clothing, interactions, and practices were proven not to be factual by historians. The feather headpieces worn in the print were relatively accurate, and some indigenous tribes wore bracelets and "crowns" made of feathers; however the feather skirts worn by the figures were not accurate. More commonly, the Tupinamba tribe wore close to nothing with no shoes or bottoms. The purpose of this change in depiction is thought to be because of an attempt to make them seem more relatable, or recognizable, to a Western European audience. By giving them characteristics and clothing materials that viewers recognized, they would be able to connect with these new people. The Tupinamba people also commonly used a 'hunting and gathering' type of social structure in order to provide food for their tribe. They slept in hammocks, lived in long thatch huts, and promoted those who lived in these huts to become the tribal council. This was how many Native American tribes lived; it was simply their way of life. To many Europeans, though, this way of life seemed underdeveloped and in need of assistance. This soon became another reason for why missionaries and colonizers felt as though they needed to spread a more European way of life to native populations by traveling to America.
New World Mundus Novum Americas Native American people Tupinamba tribe