Who gave us the term Cannibals for "Man-eaters" and what islanders did the term originally refer to?

zbeckabee

Cannibal 1553, from Sp. canibal "a savage, cannibal," from Caniba, Christopher Columbus' rendition of the Caribs' name for themselves, Galibi "brave men." The natives were believed to be anthropophagites. Columbus, seeking evidence that he was in Asia, thought the name meant the natives were subjects of the Great Khan. Shakespeare's Caliban (in "The Tempest") is a version of this word, with -n- and -l- interchanged, found in Hakluyt's "Voyages" (1599). Cannibalize of machinery, etc., first recorded 1943, reflecting war-time shortages. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=cannibal&searchmode=none HOWEVER, cannibalism existed long before 1553. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism Dec 29 08, 5:32 PM