Revisiting first contacts on the Amazon 1500-1562

Abstract

This article revisits four well-known accounts of the first European encounters with Amerindians in the Amazon. The sporadic character of these encounters make the impact on Amerindian societies irregular and uneven. My analysis is directed to the present condition as encountered, especially the variety of contacts. This approach obliges the text be treated as a whole, rather than being read selectively. Maintaining the integrity of the text allows us to see the different kinds of relations in their contexts. My intention is to use these reports to search for the bridges across cultural separations. Each drew the other towards them, in their own ways. These steps opened the way for the “refounding” of indigenous riverine societies in the seventeenth century.