Myth of the Savage and the Beginnings of French Colonialism in the Americas

In The Myth of the Savage, Olive P. Dickason explores Europe's response to the richly varied spectrum of Amerindian societies during the late fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Renaissance Europeans assessed New World information in the light of Christian orthodoxy and practical political ideology, using the concept of savagery to explain the New World peoples.
Dr. Dickason examines the early contacts between Amerindians and explorers, the variety of societies in the New World, the development of European beliefs and attitudes towards Amerindians, the origins of the concept of "l'homme sauvage," relations between the Amerindians and early colonists and missionaries, and the outcome of colonization of the New World.
Drawings and maps by early explorers and colonists also propagated the myths and Dr. Dickason has extensively used illustrations to emphasize Europe's concept of the New World.