Why did Michel de Montaigne criticize European conquest of the New World?

Michel de Montaigne criticized the European conquest of the New World because he viewed the Indigenous peoples as possessing a cultural and personal dignity, beauty, and fidelity to their own nature that he found superior to the inhabitants of western Europe.12

Through his interest in travel accounts and his 1562 meeting with three Brazilian Indians, Montaigne developed a perspective of cultural relativism and tolerance that was rare for his era. He argued that the European conquerors, through their actions in the New World and their own internal conflicts, had proven themselves to be the true barbarians. Consequently, the suffering and humiliation inflicted upon the Indigenous populations by these conquerors deeply provoked his indignation and compassion.12