Balboamurder

What it is

This engraving was made by Theodor de Bry in 1594, based on Peter Martyr's written account. It depicts Vasco Núñez de Balboa ordering war dogs to attack Indigenous men of Quarequá in a public town square.

Why it matters

Created decades after the events it shows, this print helped shape the "Black Legend," a tradition of imagery and writing that emphasized Spanish cruelty toward Indigenous peoples in the Americas. It shows how later European artists and publishers used earlier written accounts to create powerful, lasting visual images of conquest.

Look closer

• De Bry never witnessed this event — what choices did he make in how he depicted it?
• How does the composition, with armored soldiers watching and dogs attacking unarmed figures, shape how a viewer feels about the scene?
• Why might later publishers have wanted to create vivid images like this one for European audiences?