Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePainting1664

Torture of Indians by Spaniards

Unknown engraver, after Bartolomé de las Casas's text · 1664

A 1664 engraving illustrating Las Casas's writings, showing Spanish soldiers torturing Indigenous captives.

This illustration visualizes torture described in Las Casas's own written account of Spanish abuses.

Ask Bartolomé de las Casas about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Engraving numbered 14 showing Spanish soldiers in armor and helmets torturing naked indigenous men. One captive is held on a stool while a man pours liquid into his mouth and others hold him down. Behind them, a painted scene depicts battle, and a man in a hat watches. Objects, a rope, and a pot lie on the floor.
Illustration 14 from Regionum Indicarum, after Bartolomé de las Casas, 1664.

About this source

What it is

This is plate 14 from a 1664 illustrated edition of Las Casas's account of the Spanish conquest, showing soldiers torturing a bound Indigenous captive while others look on.

Why it matters

Though created long after Las Casas wrote his original account, this engraving reflects how his descriptions of cruelty were turned into vivid images for European readers, spreading awareness of the abuses he documented.

Look closer

  • What does the engraver choose to show in detail, and what is left in the background?
  • Why might this scene have been printed nearly a century after the events it depicts?
  • How might such images have shaped opinions about Spanish colonization at the time?

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.

More Bartolomé de las Casas sources

Meet the AI Bartolomé de las Casas →
Title page of the 1552 Seville edition of Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias, in black and red letterpress with a woodcut border, a central coat of arms with two eagles, and columns on each side. Text reads Brevísima relación, by Bartolomé de las Casas, Año 1552.Book

Secondary source

A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies

Bartolomé de las Casas · 1552

Title page of the 1542 Leyes Nuevas, a black-and-white woodcut with the Habsburg imperial double-headed eagle and coat of arms of Charles V, flanked by putti, under the inscription 'CAROLVS V IMPERATOR' and 'REX HISPANIE'. Printed text below reads 'Leyes y ordenanças nueuamête hechas por su Magestad...' and 'Con priuilegio imperial'.Document

Primary source

New Laws of 1542

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor · 20 November 1542

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.Painting

Secondary source

Narratio regionum Indicarum per Hispanos quosdam devastatarum verissima

Bartolomé de las Casas · 1598

Title page of a 1552 Spanish printed book in black and red type, framed by a woodcut border with a coat of arms at top and decorative columns and floral panels. Text begins 'Aquí se contiene una disputa o controversia' and ends 'Año 1552'.Book

Primary source

Disputa o controversia con Ginés de Sepúlveda

Bartolomé de las Casas · 1552

Handwritten ink signature in an old script reading partly 'Obispo de Chiapas' and 'de las Casas' with large looping flourishes on aged parchment-colored paper.Document

Primary source

Signature of Bartolomé de las Casas

Bartolomé de las Casas · November 1559

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Bartolomé de las Casas now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions