In pre-modern and early modern Europe, cannibalism in the New World sparked interest in explorers and scholars. The European notion of the American cannibal, as was made clear by several published texts and "first-hand  accounts, was that of a ferocious wild man, who had no culture or language and ate human flesh for nourishment. There was the issue of a major language barrier between the American natives and the Europeans, so these "first-hand  accounts are not totally accurate, thus it is hard to get a complete picture of the native culture of America. Coming from Europe and having a European mindset, the explorers and scholars encountered new and strange things that they did not really understand. They saw things that were unlike anything they had back at home, like cannibal tribes taking men prisoner and killing and eating them. Europe during the late sixteenth century was in turmoil due to religious wars between the Huguenots and the Catholics. There was widespread famine and atrocities committed in the name of religion. Michel de Montaigne lived during this time of turmoil and pioneered the writing of subjective essays. He was an extremely intelligent and learned man, as is evident in his writings. He witnessed these atrocities being committed in his own society and in his text, "Of Cannibals", he writes about his discussions with his friend, Jean de Léry, who had spent some time with the Tupinamba tribe in Brazil. Montaigne writes about cannibals from the observations of Léry, but did not mean for his essay to give a general description of cannibals. Rather, when Montaigne writes of cannibals, he is really reflecting upon his own society. Montaigne opens his essay by referencing King Pyrrhus's passage into Italy and warns his readers to keep an open mind when dealing with foreign things. He also emphasizes the need for his readers to not rely on popular opinion when passing judgments. Already, he is hinting at his opinion of European society and popular th