Secondary sourceBook1656

The Tears of the Indians

Bartolomé de las Casas; translated by John Phillips · 1656

John Phillips's 1656 English translation of Las Casas's account of Spanish atrocities against Indigenous peoples, dedicated to Oliver Cromwell.

This is an English translation of Las Casas's own account of Spanish cruelty, later used for English political propaganda against Spain.

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Black and white engraved plate titled 'Teares of the Indians, or Inquisition for Bloud, Being a Relation of the Spanish Massacres in those parts', signed R. Gaywood fecit. Four framed scenes show Spanish soldiers torturing and killing naked Indigenous people by burning, hanging, and impaling. — R. Gaywood, engraved title plate, in The Tears of the Indians, trans. John Phillips, 1656. British Library.

About this source

What it is

This is a 1656 English translation, by John Phillips, of Bartolomé de las Casas's 1551 work describing the destruction of Indigenous peoples by Spanish colonizers. It is held by the British Library and includes an engraved title plate by R. Gaywood.

Why it matters

Las Casas, who said he witnessed these events, wrote the original Spanish text to expose atrocities. A century later, Phillips translated it into English and dedicated it to Oliver Cromwell, using Las Casas's account to justify England's military campaign against Spain, known as the Western Design. This shows how Las Casas's testimony was later reused for political purposes far from its original aim.

Look closer

Why would an English translator dedicate this book to Cromwell a century after it was written?
What does the engraved title page suggest about how the publisher wanted readers to react?
How might a translation change the purpose of an original text, even if the words are similar?

This book 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.