Though probably born in France, Psalmanazar claimed to be a native of the island of Formosa kidnapped by European missionaries and brought to Europe against his will. In that capacity he authored several works, including the far-fetched yet very successful An historical and geographical description of Formosa (1704) and a number of contributions to the seven volume An universal history; from the earliest account of time to the present (with G. Sale, A. Bower, G. Shelvocke, J. Campbell, J. Swinton, etc., 1736-44). His Memoirs of ****, commonly known by the name of George Psalmanazar: a reputed native of Formosa (1764) was published posthumously.