George Psalmanazar -Fake Formosan and Fabulist
locating his identity outside the horizon of European perception, he shielded his story from inspection.
Short version- a fair skinned blonde man claiming to be a native of Formosa (he had never been there)
arrives in England (from the European continent) in 1703
speaks a language he made up,
writes a book including an alphabet and language he made up and
launches a Formosa frenzy.
George Psalmanazar Fooled 18th Century English Society
George Psalmanazar (not his name, no one has ever found out his name) after years of wandering Europe initially pretended to be an Irish pilgrim so he could ask for alms. However, enough people he ran into knew Ireland, so he then developed a persona as a Japanese person who had been kidnapped by Jesuits. He then decided to say he was from Formosa (a place no one knew) and made up a lot of bizarre customs like eating raw meat, following a made-up calendar and speaking in a made-up language
While in the Netherlands Psalmanazar met an Anglican Scottish priest who convinced him to be converted (a coup for the priest) and to go to England. When in England Psalmanazar’s pretense coincided with growing public interest in exotic places as well as general distrust of Catholics and especially Jesuits.1
An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa, an Island subject to the Emperor of Japan.
In 1704 Psalmanazar wrote a book that was completely made up: An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa, an Island subject to the Emperor of Japan. He made up EVERYHING including a non-existent capital city called Xternetsa, customs, money, and an alphabet. He wrote that in Formosa men were always naked except for gold plates that covered their private parts.
According to Psalmanazar— Formosans ate snakes and men were polygamous, wives could be eaten by husbands if they were adulterous. Every year Formosans sacrificed the hearts of 18,000 young boys to gods, and priests ate the bodies. 2
The book sold all copies in two English editions. It was also published in French and German. Psalmanazar was invited to lecture on Formosan culture and language before several learned societies. He was offered an opportunity to teach Formosan at Oxford.
Eventually found out
By 1706 Psalmanazar had been figured out and confessed to some people he had made up his background. Nevertheless, he was well-liked and continued to work in publishing until his death even becoming friends with Samuel Johnson.
He left behind a memoir, Memoirs of ** **, Commonly Known by the Name of George Psalmanazar; a Reputed Native of Formosa in which he confessed all his fakery. (picture at top is this memoir).
Jack Lynch has written about Psalmanazar in “Forgery as Performance Art.”3 [Link to article in footnotes.] Also, there is a short YouTube about him that gives more detail. (See below).
George Psalmanazar: The Man from Nowhere
Lynch, Jack. 2008. Deception and Detection in Eighteenth-Century Britain. Aldershot, England: Ashgate.
Keevak, Michael. 2004. The Pretended Asian : George Psalmanazar’s Eighteenth-Century Formosan Hoax. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
Lynch, Jack (2005) "FORGERY AS PERFORMANCE ART The Strange Case of George Psalmanazar," 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era: Vol. 11, Article 3, 21-35.
An amazingly talented 18th-century charlatan, on the level of Cagliostro and St. Germain. Perhaps today he could make a living as a reality TV show host.
This guy rules