thumb|right|Hans Staden by H. J. Winkelmann, 1664

Hans Staden (c. 1525 – c. 1576) was a German soldier and explorer who voyaged to South America in the middle of the sixteenth century, where he was captured by the Tupinambá people of Brazil. He managed to survive and return safe to Europe. In his widely read True History: An Account of Cannibal Captivity in Brazil, he claimed that the native people that held him captive practiced cannibalism.

Trips to South America

Staden was born in Homberg in the Landgraviate of Hesse. He had received a good education and was in moderate circumstances when desire for travel led him to enlist in 1547 on a ship that was bound for Brazil. He returned from this first trip on 8 October 1548, and, going to Seville, enlisted for a second trip as a volunteer in an expedition for Río de la Plata which sailed in March 1549. On reaching the mouth of the river, two ships sank in a storm. After vainly trying to build a barque, part of the shipwrecked crew set out overland for Asunción. The rest of the crew, including Staden (a knowledgeable gunman), sailed upon the third vessel for the island of São Vicente, but were also wrecked. Staden, with a few survivors, reached the continent in 1552, where he was hired by the Portuguese thanks to his knowledge of the cannon.

A few weeks later, while engaged in a hunting expedition, Staden was captured by a party belonging to the Tupinambá people of Brazil, an enemy group of the Tupinikin people and their Portuguese allies. As Staden was part of a Portuguese crew, he was perceived of as an enemy of the Tupinamba and they carried him to their village (the predecessor of today's Ubatuba) where he claimed he was to be devoured at the next festivity. However, Staden allegedly won the favor of the Tupinamba Chief Cunhambebe by translating between the Tupinamba and European traders as well as predicting a Tupinikin attack on the tribe, thus his life was spared. The Portuguese tried several times to negotiate for Staden's ransom, but the Indians declined all overtures. At last he made his escape on a French ship, and on 22 February 1555, arrived at Honfleur, in Normandy, and from there went immediately to his native city.

Narrative of his captivity

thumb|right|300px|Original 1557 Hans Staden [[woodcut of the Tupinambá portrayed in a cannibalistic feast; Staden is the naked bearded man at right labeled "H+S"]]

After his return to Europe, the support of Dr. Johann Dryander in Marburg enabled Staden to publish an account of his captivity, entitled Warhaftige Historia und beschreibung eyner Landtschafft der Wilden Nacketen, Grimmigen Menschfresser-Leuthen in der Newenwelt America gelegen (True Story and Description of a Country of Wild, Naked, Grim, Man-eating People in the New World, America) (1557); the book was printed by Andreas Kolbe.

The Warhaftige Historia provided detailed descriptions of Tupinambá life and customs, illustrated by woodcuts. The book became an international bestseller and was translated into Latin and many other European languages, reaching a total of 76 editions. Theodor de Bry produced illustrative engravings of Staden's story for his book Grand Voyages to America (1593), volume 3.

Work as a "go-between"

Though little is known about Staden outside of his written travel accounts, his writings proved that one way to find favor in a hostile setting was to establish oneself as a mediator between groups in a position known as a go-between. In captivity, Staden used his extensive knowledge of Tupinambá culture, religious veneration, and allegiance with the French to take on the role of a transactional go-between. As he had learned about South American indigenous culture and politics on a previous expedition, Staden first aimed to manipulate the Tupinambá into granting him his freedom. He began to view himself in more nationalistic terms as a German, who could not rely on the Portuguese and French as Christian Europeans to save him. Staden quickly changed course and became an important transactional go-between who shared information of an anticipated attack by the Tupinambá's enemies, the Tupinikin. When the attack happened, the Tupinambá's trust in Staden grew. Other scholars defend the book as an important and reliable ethnohistorical source on Brazil's indigenous population. Others note the significance of Staden in the study of Atlantic history.

  • Como Era Gostoso o meu Francês (How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman), a 1970 film, was based on Staden's stories (but did not include him as a character) and adds a subplot about the main character's love affair with a young native woman.

References

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Original German edition, 1557.
  • English translation by the Hakluyt Society, 1874.
  • New English translation, 2008.

Secondary sources

  • Warhaftige Historia und beschreibung eyner Landtschafft der Wilden Nacketen, Grimmigen Menschfresser-Leuthen in der Newenwelt America gelegen, original German edition, 1557
  • As aventuras de Hans Staden, with complete facsimile of the 1557 German edition
  • The Captivity of Hans Stade of Hesse, in A.D. 1547-1555, Among the Wild Tribes of Eastern Brazil, English translation, 1874, with annotations by Richard Francis Burton
  • Hans Staden in Wolfhagen; 2007 conference agenda
  • "Hans Staden among the Tupinambas" by Harry J. Brown
  • Short review of Staden's book, withwoodcuts