Girolamo Benzoni’s The History of the New World (1565) is a foundational text in the development of the Black Legend, the stereotypical portrayal of Spaniards as uniquely evil and exploitative colonizers. Though long overshadowed by Bartolomé de las Casas’s Brevíssima relación de la destrucción de las Indias, Benzoni’s book probably had a greater impact in his own time, appearing in seventeen editions, in multiple languages, by the end of the sixteenth century. A resident of the Duchy of Milan, Benzoni built on an Italian tradition of both resenting and belittling the Spaniards. His account consistently presents them in a negative light, as untrustworthy, braggadocian upstarts who delight in heedless destruction: “You find among the Spaniards not just cruel people but the very cruelest of people” (51). Moreover, he asserts that their unchecked greed and ambition has proven counterproductive, wiping out the population of potentially valuable regions and impeding missionary efforts. Benzoni objects not to the concept of colonization but to the Spaniards’ methods; in effect, they have given Europeans a bad name. He clearly relishes relating Spanish failures and reversals, including an incident when one group of natives poured molten gold down the throats of their would-be conquerors. But his text lacks Las Casas’s systematic presentation of evidence and moral purpose. Benzoni frankly admits that he came to the Americas to satisfy his curiosity and to find riches. His work is less a treatise than an adventurous travelogue with a captious narrator. Benzoni journeys through the Antilles, Central America, and the Andes, reporting on “what I saw in the Indies.” However, this matter-of-fact approach can be highly effective. For example, Benzoni’s anecdotes convincingly demonstrate the uncritical acceptance and sheer pervasiveness of indigenous slavery in the Caribbean islands.Yet while he sees the Indians as victims, they are not, in his account, innocents, nor do they give him cause for self-reflection. In this regard, ironically, he echoes his Spanish hosts. Benzoni’s ethnography proves highly selective. Although he frequently references indigenous life ways—sleeping in hammocks, smoking tobacco (which he sees as a hallucinogen)—none of the groups he discusses truly emerge as distinct peoples. His account revolves around an implicit, and sometimes explicit, contrast between the European and the indigenous, almost always to the latter’s detriment. He maintains that Indians are cowardly and easily terrified. He presents indigenous beliefs and practices as profoundly backward, mistaken, and immoral: the Indians continue to worship idols and hold congress with Satan, and revel in polygamy and abandoned sexuality. They “sleep together like chickens” (41), he writes—one of several animal comparisons in the text. Above all, he routinely describes them as cannibals. Benzoni’s depiction of the native inhabitants resonates with his larger vision of the colonial landscape. During his sojourn in the 1540s and 1550s, the Spanish Crown made significant efforts to rein in the conquistadores’ excesses and forge a more stable society. Yet Benzoni’s New World is, for the most part, not that of burgeoning urban centers ruled by royal officials, but of untamed and treacherous terrain, a place where mere survival is difficult and physically taxing. Though he mentions several marvelous creatures and plants, such as manatees, opossums, and syphilis-curing sarsaparilla, he generally has little use for American nature and its products: he finds maize tolerable, but hates manioc, considers potatoes insipid, and (at least initially) regards cacao as pig swill.This account, then, gives readers insight into “the invention of America” by showing how one observer assimilated new lands and peoples into his conceptual universe. Through his writing, Benzoni transformed first impressions into lasting and iconic images: above all, the native savage—not noble (except in resisting the Spaniards), stubbornly attached to unchristian and uncivilized ways, and ultimately unequal to the encounter with Europeans. This makes The History of the New World a fitting entry in the Latin American Originals series, which presents superb English translations of significant but neglected primary sources. The editors have clarified Benzoni’s frequently awkward prose, and stripped away large swathes of historical narrative copied from other books, in order to emphasize his original contribution. The result is a compact and accessible text, ideal for classroom use.
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May 11, 2021
José L Santana 
Open Access
