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1679 – 3 May 1763) was a Frenchman who claimed to be the first native of Formosa (today Taiwan) to visit Europe.

For some years, he convinced many in Britain, but he was eventually revealed to be of European origin. He subsequently became a theological essayist, and a friend and acquaintance of Samuel Johnson and other noted figures in 18th-century literary London.

Although Psalmanazar intentionally obscured many details of his early life, it is believed that he was born in southern France, perhaps in Languedoc or Provence, some time between 1679 and 1684.

Deciding that a more exotic disguise was needed, Psalmanazar drew upon the missionary reports about East Asia that he had heard of from his Jesuit tutors and decided to impersonate a Japanese Christian convert. Due to a lack of Western knowledge of Japanese cultures, Psalmanazar displayed fictitious customs to convince the public of the authenticity of his background. Having failed to reach Rome, Psalmanazar travelled through various German principalities between 1700 and 1702. In late 1702, Psalmanazar met the Scottish priest Alexander Innes, who was the chaplain of a Scottish army unit. Afterwards Innes claimed that he had converted the heathen to Christianity and christened him George Psalmanazar (after the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V, who is referenced in the Bible).

When they reached London, news of the exotic foreigner with bizarre habits spread quickly and Psalmanazar achieved a high level of fame. Psalmanazar declared himself to be a reformed heathen who now practised Anglicanism. Building upon this growing interest in his life, Psalmanazar published a book in 1704, An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa, an Island subject to the Emperor of Japan. According to Psalmanazar, Formosa was a prosperous country with a capital city called Xternetsa.

Psalmanazar's book also described the Formosan language, an early example of a constructed language.

After its publication, Psalmanazar was invited to lecture on Formosan culture and language before several learned societies, and it was even proposed that he be summoned to lecture at the University of Oxford.

Psalmanazar's claims became increasingly less credible as time went on and knowledge of Formosa from other sources began to contradict his claims. In the following years Psalmanazar worked for a time as a clerk in an army regiment until some clergymen gave him money to study theology. Psalmanazar then participated in the literary milieu of Grub Street, writing pamphlets, editing books and undertaking other low-paid and unglamorous tasks.

In later years Johnson recalled that Psalmanazar had been well known in his neighbourhood as an eccentric but saintly figure, "whereof he was so well known and esteemed, that scarce any person, even children, passed him without showing him signs of respect". Psalmanazar also interacted with a number of other important English literary figures of his age. In A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift ridicules Psalmanazar in passing, sardonically citing "the famous Salamanaazor, a Native of the island of Formosa, who came from thence to London, above twenty Years ago," as an eminent proponent of cannibalism. A novel by Tobias Smollett refers mockingly to "Psalmanazar, who, after having drudged half a century in the literary mill in all the simplicity and abstinence of an Asiatic, subsists on the charity of a few booksellers, just sufficient to keep him from the parish".

George Psalmanazar died on 3 May 1763 in Ironmonger Row, London, England. He left behind him an autobiography, Memoirs of ****, Commonly Known by the Name of George Psalmanazar; a Reputed Native of Formosa, which first appeared in 1764.

The Pretended Asian: George Psalmanazar's Eighteenth-Century Formosan Hoax. "Forgery as Performance Art: The Strange Case of George Psalmanazar". The Formosa Fraud: The Story of the Fake Writings of George Psalmanazar, One of the Greatest Charlatans in Literary History.

Quick Facts

• He left behind him an autobiography, Memoirs of ****, Commonly Known by the Name of George Psalmanazar; a Reputed Native of Formosa, which first appeared in 1764.
• The Formosa Fraud: The Story of the Fake Writings of George Psalmanazar, One of the Greatest Charlatans in Literary History.
• Afterwards Innes claimed that he had converted the heathen to Christianity and christened him George Psalmanazar (after the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V, who is referenced in the Bible).
• Although Psalmanazar intentionally obscured many details of his early life, it is believed that he was born in southern France, perhaps in Languedoc or Provence, some time between 1679 and 1684.
• George Psalmanazar died on 3 May 1763 in Ironmonger Row, London, England.

Source material: Wikipedia - "George Psalmanazar". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.