Person

Jean de Léry

1536–1613 · 16th century

Jean de Léry was a French Protestant pastor and writer who was one of the Calvinists sent from Geneva to the colony of France Antarctique in the bay of Rio de Janeiro in 1557. After quarrelling with the governor Villegaignon, he lived for some months among the Tupinambá. His History of a Voyage to the Land of Brazil, published in 1578, became a classic of early ethnography and travel writing.

Jean de Léry
Image: Jean de Léry · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

France Antarctique

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Jean de Léry. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jean-de-lery
MLA
“Jean de Léry.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jean-de-lery. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Jean de Léry.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jean-de-lery.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Jean de Léry’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jean-de-lery (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻