Narratio regionum Indicarum per Hispanos quosdam devastatarum verissima

What it is

This is a 1598 printed edition of Bartolomé de las Casas's account of Spanish violence in the Americas, published with engraved illustrations by Theodor de Bry. The engravings depict scenes of soldiers attacking Indigenous people, enslaved laborers, and an Indigenous ruler.

Why it matters

Published decades after Las Casas's original text, this Latin edition shows how his writing was reused by Protestant printers in Europe to attack Catholic Spain's reputation. The dramatic engravings turned his account into visual propaganda, feeding what later became known as the 'Black Legend' of Spanish cruelty.

Look closer

• Why might a Protestant printer in 1598 want to publish a Spanish friar's criticism of Spain?
• How do the engraved images shape the way a reader feels about the events, compared to words alone?
• What is left out of an image designed to shock or persuade?