Secondary sourcePainting1614

Spaniards Forcing Indians to Eat Human Flesh

Jodocus van Winghe · 1614

An engraving from the 1614 Narratio depicting Spanish soldiers forcing Indigenous people to eat human flesh, illustrating Las Casas's accounts of cruelty.

This engraving illustrates atrocities Las Casas described in his writings about Spanish treatment of Indigenous peoples.

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Engraved detail of a 1614 print: on the left a nude woman with long hair reaches toward a man seated at a table; hanging limbs and cut pieces of flesh are displayed on a wooden rack and table. Armored Spanish soldiers with a spear and sword stand at right, and figures struggle in the foreground. — Jodocus van Winghe, engraving from Narratio regionum indicarum, 1614.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraving made by Jodocus van Winghe for a 1614 book, Narratio regionum indicarum, which drew on the writings of Bartolomé de las Casas describing Spanish treatment of Indigenous people in the Americas.

The scene shows a nude woman reaching toward a seated man, with cut and hanging pieces of human flesh displayed nearby, while armored Spanish soldiers stand with weapons.

Why it matters

Las Casas's written testimony about Spanish cruelty inspired generations of artists and publishers across Europe to create graphic images like this one, which shaped how Europeans saw the conquest of the Americas. These images were political as well as historical — used to criticize Spain's empire.

Look closer

Who made this image, and decades after the events it shows — what does that mean for how reliable it is?
Why might an engraver choose to show such a disturbing scene in such graphic detail?
What is left out of this image that a full historical account might include?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Bartolomé de las Casas on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the 1598 print 'Narratio regionum Indicarum per Hispanos quosdam devastatarum verissima', an engraved frontispiece with a central text block flanked by scenes of Spanish soldiers attacking indigenous people, enslaved laborers carrying goods, and a seated indigenous ruler. A red library stamp is visible.

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Signature of Bartolomé de las Casas

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