How did Michel de Montaigne’s views on Indigenous peoples show cultural relativism?

Michel de Montaigne’s perspective on Indigenous peoples serves as a notable historical example of cultural relativism. By engaging with travel accounts and meeting Brazilian Indigenous individuals brought to France, Montaigne challenged the ethnocentric biases prevalent in 16th-century Europe.12

His views demonstrated cultural relativism in the following ways:

• Rejection of "Barbarism": Montaigne argued that the Indigenous peoples of the New World possessed personal dignity, a sense of beauty, and a commendable fidelity to their own nature. He inverted the contemporary European narrative by suggesting that the true "barbarians" were the Western Europeans, whose colonial conquests and internal religious wars were marked by cruelty, fanaticism, and corruption.12
• Critique of European Superiority: By comparing the customs of the New World with those of his own society, he highlighted that what Europeans deemed "civilized" was often merely a product of local custom rather than an objective moral standard. This skepticism toward his own culture’s claims of superiority allowed him to view Indigenous societies with empathy and respect.12
• Indignation at Injustice: His observations led him to express genuine compassion for the suffering and humiliation inflicted upon Indigenous populations by their conquerors, further distancing himself from the prevailing colonial justifications of his time.12