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Fake Formosa

Two books from Leiden University’s Special Collections, both written by George Psalmanazar. To the left Description de l'ile Formosa en Asie (1705) and to the right Memoirs of ****, Commonly Known as George Psalmanazar (1764).

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  • George Psalmanazar’s Fake Formosa

    story by Jacqueline Hylkema.

    George Psalmanazar became famous overnight in 1703 when he claimed to be a native of Formosa, today’s Taiwan. Only after his death did he publicly confess that he had made everything up and had never set foot outside Europe.

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