In “Of Cannibals,” Michel de Montaigne asks his readers to refrain from denigrating other cultures whose values ​​differ. He argues that the term barbarism is used to pejoratively label nations whose rituals may appear primitive, but warns against such indulgences. It does so by contrasting the presumed political, social and moral leader, European civilization, with that of the newly discovered Americas. During the mid-16th century, many Europeans were complacent in their position of superiority, viewing non-Europeans as inferior beings, perhaps to justify their continued domination. This opinion also prevailed in Montaigne's home country of France, despite decades of civil war and internal conflict. Montaigne was deeply saddened by the blatant classism, religious hatred and intolerance that reigned in his homeland. Using this essay to highlight specific New World practices, Montaigne concluded that the injustices in European civilization were much greater in their level of barbarism. A constant source of praise for the inhabitants of the New World he was...