A Geographical Description of All the Countries in the Known World, Part 1 · Subpart 209 – Subpart 210
A brief Narrative of some of the barbarous, and inhumane cruelties exercised by the Spaniards upon the Indians in this American world, collected out of their own Authors.
Bartholomew de las Casas, a Dom…nick Frier, and Bishop in America, who wrote in the year 1542. saith thus of them. The Indians are a simple, harmless people, loyal to their Lords, and such as gave no occasion of offence to the Spaniards, till by their extream injuries they provoked them thereto. To these Lambs (saith hee) the Spaniards came as cruel, and hungry Tygers, Bears, and Lions, intending nothing for these forty years but blood, and slaughter to satisfie their avarice and ambition: Insomuch that of three millions of Natives, that they found in Hispaniola there remains not one.
Cuba, and the other Islands indured the like miseries; and in the firm land ten Kingdomes, greater than all Spain, were dis-peopled, and left desolate, in which there perished not less than twelve millions by their tyranny, hee might as truly have said fifty millions.
Their cruelties at their first planting in Hispaniola drave the poor Indians to their shifts, and to their weak defence, which so enraged these Lions, that they spared neither man, woman, nor child: yea they ripped up the great bellied women▪ and used to lay wagers which of them could with greatest dexterity cut off an Indians head, or cut him in sunder in the midst: They would pluck the Infants by the heels from their Mothers breasts, and dash out their brains against the stones, or throw them into the River. They set up Gibbets, and in honour of Christ, and his Apostles (as they used prophanely to say) they would both hang, and burn them. Others they took, and cutting their hands almost off, bid them carry letters to their Country-men, who for fear of these Tyrants were fled into the Mountains: The Nobles, and chiefest men they broiled on Gridirons: I once (saith mine Author) saw four or five of them thus roasted, and when they made a lamentable noise, they stopped their mouthes, and so made them indure the torment till they dyed. They kept Dogs to hunt them out of their coverts, which devoured these poor souls: and if at any time an Indian thus provoked, killed a Spaniard, they made a Law, that one hundred of them should bee slain for him: One of the Kings proffered to till the ground for them for fifty miles space, if they would spare him, and his people from the Mines; but for recompence, the Spanish Captain defloured his wife, and took him prisoner, and sent him into Spain, where hee perished by the way.
In another Province of Hispaniola, the Spanish Governour called before him three hundred Indian Lords, some of them hee burned, slew others with the sword, and hanged up the Queen; as they did also in another Province: and for the rest which remained after these Butcheries, they shared them amongst them for slaves. The men they consumed in the Mines, the women by tillage, and by heavy burdens that they made them to carry, and both by famine, scourging, and other miseries.
And thus they did in all other places whithersoever they came: In the Islands of St. John, and Jamica were six hundred thousand Inhabitants, and within few years, there were scarcely two …undred left in either of them: In Cuba a Cacique, or Lord, called all his subjects together, and shewed them a box of gold, saying, This is the Spaniards God, and made them dance about it, and then hurled it into the River: And afterwards being taken, and condemned to the fire, when hee was bound to the stake, a Frier came and preached to him about Heaven, and Hell: The Cacique asked if any Spaniards were in Heaven? yea (said the Frier) such as were good: Then said the Cacique, I will rather go to Hell, than come where any of that cruel Nation are.
I was once present (saith Casas) when the Inhabitants of a Town brought us forth victuals, and met us with great kindness, and the Spaniards without any cause given, slew three thousand of them, neither sparing age, nor sex. At another time (saith hee) at their request, I sent to other Towns to meet us, promising them good usage, and when two and twenty Caciques met us, our Captain against all Faith, caused them to bee burned; which base usage caused the poor Indians to hang themselves: so that a Spaniard seeing them take this course, hee made them beleeve that hee would also hang himself, to persecute them in the other world, which kept some from this self-execution. Six thousand Children dyed in three, or four months space of Famine, their Parents being sent away to the Mines; the rest they hunted out in the Mountains, and desolate Islands. In the Land of Lucaia they destroyed all, and when they shipped multitudes of them for the Mines in Hispaniola, for want of food, a third part of them commonly perished by the way, so that an unskilful Pilot might have been directed his way by these floating Carkasses. The like havock they made in the Continent, almost unpeopling all places whether they came. From Dariena to Nicaragua, they slew four hundred thousand people with Dogs, sword, fire, and other torments.
They used to send Friers to Preach, that under pain of confiscation, and losse of Lands, Liberty, Life, &c. they should acknowledge God, and the King of Spain: yea they would steal to some places, and half a mile off of the citys by night they would make this Proclamation where none heard it, and then in the Night whilst they were asleep, fire their houses, slaying, and taking Captive at their pleasures, and then fall to search for gold. A certain Cacique gave the Spanish Governour the weight of nine thousand Crowns in gold, and hee by way of requital to extort more, bound him to a post, and putting fire to his feet, forced him to send home for three thousand more, and yet not satisfied, hee persisted to torment him, till the marrow came forth of his feet, wherewith hee died; when any of the Indians fainted under their grievous burdens, or for want of food, the Spaniards, least they should loose time in undoing the chain wherein they were tyed, they would cut off his head, and so let the body fall out. At another time they robbed the Nicaraguans of their Corn: whereby thirty thousand of them died of famine, and a mother was driven to eat her own child: besides, five hundred thousand were carried away into bondage, and fifty or sixty thousand more were slain in their warres: so that in one of the most populous Regions in the World (saith Casas) there remain not above four or five thousand persons. Cortes used to have four Kings to wait upon him: hee burned sixty Kings, their children looking on. Another Spaniard cast four of their Kings to bee devoured by his dogs.
In New-Spain from the year 1518 to 1530. within the compasse of four hundred and eighty miles about Mexico, they destroyed above four millions of people by fire, and sword, besides those that dyed by miserable servitude and drudgery. In the Province of Naco and Honduras in the space of eleven years, two millions of men perished by the same ways. In Guatimala, in sixteen years space, were destroied five millions of souls. Alvarado, who was the instrument of this destruction dyed by the fall of his horse, and had his City of Guatimala destroyed, and overwhelmed by a threefold deluge, of Earth, water, and stones. In his expeditions, he forced the Indians by ten, or twenty thousand at a time to go with him, allowing them no other sustenance, but the flesh of their slain enemys, keeping in his Army Shambles of mans flesh.
In Panuco and Xalisco, they exercised the like cruelties: One of the Spaniards forced eight thousand of the Indians to wall about his Garden, and suffered them all to perish with Famine. In Machuachan they tortured the King that came forth to meet them, that they might extort gold from him: they set his feet in the stocks, and put fire thereto, binding his hands to a Post behind him, and then had a boy standing by, that basted his roasted feet with Oil: Another stood with a Cross-bow bent against his breast, and a third stood with Dogs ready to devour him, by these tortures hee dyed. They forced the Indians to bring them their gods, hoping they had been of gold, but when their golden hopes failed, they forced them to redeem them again with Gold. Yea where the Fryers had forced the Indians to cast away their gods, the Spaniards brought more from other places to sell them. In the Province of St. Martha, they laid utterly waste and desolate four hundred and fifty miles of land, by destroying the Inhabitants: The like they did in the Kingdome of Venezula, where they destroyed four or five millions. Besides, they carried of them Captive out of the Continent into the Islands, a million of People.
They spared no sort of persons; plucked the Children from the breasts to quarter them to their dogs, tortured Kings with new devices borrowed either from the Inquisition, or from hell: they used to cut off the Noses, and hands of men and women that lived peaceably with them: they sold Fathers, Mothers, Children, asunder into diverse places, and to diverse persons never to meet again: they used to ly with the women, that being with child they might yeild them the more mony in their sale. The Spanish Priests used to devote them with Curses to the Devil, and taught them vices by their evil practises and examples, insomuch as one said, Hee would perswade the King of Spain to send no more Priests into America. They teach them Usury, Lying, Swearing, Blasphemy. A Caciques son that was towardly in his youth, and proved after dissolute, being asked the reason of it, said, since I was a Christian, I have learned to swear several sorts of Oaths, to Dice, to Lye, to swagger, and now I want nothing but a Concubine, to make mee a compleat Christian: This made them to say, that of all Gods the Christians God was the worst, which had such bad servants, and to wish for their own gods again, of whom they never received so much hurt as from the Christians. A Christian (said one of them) is one that impiously demands Maiz, Honey, Silk, Raiment, an Indian woman to lye with; they call for gold and silver, are idle and will not work, are Gamesters, Dicers, wicked Blasphemers, Backbiters, Quarrellers, &c. And taking a peece of Gold, hee said, Loe this is the Christians God: For this they kill us, and one another, for this they play, blaspheme, curse, steal, and do all manner of villanies.
In Peru they had publike places of torture, whereinto they might put a thousand of the miserable Creatures at once, by exquisite tortures to force them to a confession of their hidden treasures: such as escaped these, used to hang themselves in the Mountains, and their wives by them, and their little children at their feet. By Dogs at Land they worried them, and in their Pearl fishings, exposed them to the ravenous Sharks in the seas; by fire, and sword consuming twenty millions of people, since the Jesuits went amongst them. These and infinite more, have been the cruelties which the cruel Spaniards have exercised upon the poor, naked, innocent people: Our Author, a Papist, that relates these things, least any should think that hee wrote too much, protests that they were a thousand times worse than hee had set down, the Reading whereof might astonish the sence of the Reader, amaze his Reason, exceed his faith, and fill his heart with horror, and uncouth passions. It is no marvel that God follows such bloody beasts with his vengeance, as lately hee hath done (if the relation be true) which cometh from the mouths of some of themselves, lately taken by some of our Frigots upon the Coast of Spain, as they came out of these Countryes, whereof the Narrative follows.
The Marquesse of Baydex, now taken by our Fleet neer Cadiz, upon examination saith, that above five months since there happened in Lima a fearfull Earthquake, and a most miraculous rain of fire in Peru, insomuch that the whole City of Lima is swallowed up, and destroyed, as also the City of Calao, in which places there perished above eleven thousand Spaniards, and (through the wonderful distinguishing hand of God) not above one hundred Indians. In the City of Lima the King of Spain hath lost by the Earthquake, one hundred Millions of silver ready wrought up. Also the famous Mines of Potozi, where they had their greatest quantities of silver, are destroyed in a wonderfull manner, so that the hill is not to be seen, but all is plain, nor is there any further possibility of having gold, or silver in Peru: Some of the Spaniards themselves acknowledge, that this judgement is justly befaln them for their cruelty to the poor Indians, who crying to God for vengeance, have pulled down this visible hand of God upon them.
Lima and Potosi Described.
In Lima no houses are covered on the tops, because it never rains, and is a hot Countrey: no City in India is richer.
Over the top of the Mountain of Potosi, there always hangs a cloud even in the clearest day. The hill riseth in the form of a Pyramis, being three Leagues high, environed with cold air: at the foot of it standeth the fair City of Potosi, within six leagues about grows no grasse, Corn, nor wood: the entrance, and Mine works are so dangerous, that few that go in return again. The metal lies above two hundred fathoms deep, the King of Spain receives thence yearly, eight, or ten millions of silver.
Lima, is the cheifest City in Peru, standing within two Leagues of the South sea, containing about two thousand houses, is very rich, and of more trade than all the Cities of Peru besides. It is the seat of the Vice-Roy, the Arch-Bishop, and of the Inquisition.
FINIS.