Jean de Léry
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Jean de Léry (1536 - 1613) was an explorer, writer and Reformed Pastor born in Lamargelle, Cote d'Or, France. Little is known of his early life; and he might have remained unknown had he not accompanied a group of Protestants to their new colony on an island in the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The colony was founded by the Chevalier de Villegaignon, with promises of religious freedom, but on arrival, the Chevalier contested the Protestants' beliefs and persecuted them. After eight months the Protestants left their colony and settled on the mainland, near the Tupinamba Indians. These events were the basis of de Lery's book, History of a Voyage to the Land of Brazil, Also Called America (1578).
On his return to France, de Lery married unhappily and became a Protestant minister. He endured the Siege of Sancerre, remarking in his book, History of the City of Sancerre (1574) that his hardships in Brazil served him well, because he taught his fellow soldiers to make hammocks and eat anything, including shoe soles (though cannibalism still repelled him).
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