George Psalmanazar

George Psalmanazar ( 1679 – 3 May 1763) was a Frenchman who claimed to be the first native of Formosa (today Taiwan) to visit Europe. For some years, he convinced many in Britain; however, he was eventually revealed to be of European origin. He subsequently became a theological essayist, and a friend and acquaintance of Samuel Johnson and other noted figures in 18th-century literary London. Early life Although Psalmanazar intentionally obscured many details of his early life, it is believed that he was born in southern France, perhaps in Languedoc or Provence, some time between 1679 and 1684. His birth name is unknown. According to his posthumously published autobiography, he was educated in a Franciscan school and then a Jesuit academy. In both these institutions he claimed to have been celebrated by his teachers for what he called "my uncommon genius for languages". Indeed, by his own account Psalmanazar was something of a child prodigy. He claims that he attained fluency in Latin by the age of seven or eight, and excelled in competition with children twice his age. Later encounters with a sophistic philosophy tutor made him disenchanted with academicism, however, and he discontinued his education around the time he was fifteen or sixteen. Career as an impostor Continental Europe In order to travel safely and affordably in France, Psalmanazar first pretended to be an Irish pilgrim on his way to Rome. After learning English, forging a passport, and stealing a pilgrim's cloak and staff from the reliquary of a local church he set off, but he soon found that many people he met were familiar with Ireland and were able to see through his disguise. Deciding that a more exotic disguise was needed, Psalmanazar drew upon the missionary reports about East Asia that he had heard of from his Jesuit tutors and decided to impersonate a Japanese convert. At some point he further embellished this new persona by pretending to be a "Japanese " and exhibiting an array of appropriately bizarre customs, such as eating raw meat spiced with cardamom and sleeping while sitting upright in a chair.