Cannibalism in travel literature

The theme of cannibalism was most prevalent during the age of Exploration. Marco Polo, Sir John Mandeville, Christopher Columbus, and Bernal Diaz Del Castillo all make mention of cannibalism in their respective travel writings. There is a specific reason why this theme appeared predominantly during this period of time. The newly discovered land was presented as being full of natural resources. The presence of cannibalism labeled the natives as fierce, aggressive, wild, and barbaric. When cannibalism was accounted for by the religion of the natives, it gave the Europeans a reason to conv…