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  1. Jan 2022
    1. The men, they noted, wereprimarily occupied in hunting and, occasionally, war, which meantthey could in a sense be considered natural aristocrats. The idea ofthe ‘noble savage’ can be traced back to such estimations.Originally, it didn’t refer to nobility of character but simply to the factthat the Indian men concerned themselves with hunting and fighting,which back at home were largely the business of noblemen.

      The idea of the "noble savage" can be traced back to early French encounters with indigenous Americans who felt that because the men occupied themselves with hunting and war that they were more like the French noblemen who employed themselves in similar pursuits.