Entdeckung der Alten Welt Zum Funktionsgewinn früher Amerikareiseberichte in der barocken Kompilatorik

While some American travelogues developed a relativist mode of cultural description already in the 16th century, it was not until the early 18th century that it became fashionable to criticize the ›civilized European‹ by comparing him with the ›good savage‹. The article peruses a number of 17th century collections and compilations of earlier American travel books, and argues that they provide an important link between Humanism and the Early Enlightenment. In particular, in their selections they challenge the temporal attributions of new and old, thus enabling the association of America with nativeness and Europe with modernity. Title: The Discovery of the Old World. Functions of Early American Travelogues in Baroque Compilations