Framing Japan

The 15th-century philologist and forgery hunter Lorenzo Valla once remarked that liars should have good memories. If you want to make your lies convincing, they need to be consistent.

George Psalmanazar had an excellent memory. However, at the very start of his deception, he had pretended to be Japanese. In order not to contradict himself, Psalmanazar claimed that Formosa belonged to Japan. This was incorrect – it was Chinese – but it kept Psalmanazar’s lies consistent.

The map in An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa has been framed in such a way that it emphasizes Japan and thus reinforces the credibility of Psalmanazar’s claims.