Understanding Columbus Day: The Spanish Colonialism Collection at Museum of the Bible

The museum’s collections span various time periods and cultural movements: Roman Egypt, the Protestant Reformation, Revolutionary America, and more. One of the latest initiatives in the Digital Imaging Lab is digitally preserving Spanish Colonial objects in our Steinbock collection. Most of these objects span from the early 1500s to the early 1700s and document the events of this historical period in different parts of Latin America, such as Mexico, Peru, and the Caribbean islands. Because it is Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s take a closer look at these objects and the definitive holiday of this time of year: Columbus Day.

One of the strongest driving forces behind European colonization was religion. The Spanish Empire claimed the majority of the New World and conquered and incorporated indigenous communities by converting them to Roman Catholicism. Indigenous languages vary immensely. To overcome this barrier, Franciscan missionaries used literary works for their evangelism and even learned to preach in indigenous languages. Priest and grammarian Alonso de Molina published a bilingual dictionary in 1555 to assist: Vocabulario en Lengua Castellana y Mexicana. This dictionary is often considered to be the most important and relevant dictionary of Classical Nahuatl, an Aztecan language group, which was spoken widely throughout New Spain. Even though this dictionary has been reprinted in seven editions, the most famous was made in Mexico City in 1571 because it contains a Nahuatl-to-Spanish section as well as a Spanish-to-Nahuatl section. The 1571 edition is part of our collections (figs. 2 and 3).

This book was edited by Antonio de Espinosa, the second printer in the New World, who was trained by the first printer, Juan Pablos, in the 1550s. This edition is printed in a double-column format, and each alphabetical section is marked with a decorative woodcut initial (fig. 4). Due to heavy use at multiple Mexican mission convents, this copy has several facsimile leaves.

Figure 4: Notice the decorative woodcut initial E on this page. Image © Museum of the Bible, 2025. All rights reserved.

In addition to learning aids like the Vocabulario, our collection hosts artifacts that document the colonization of the Americas. One of the most notable examples is Americae Pars Quarta made in 1594 by Dutch engraver and publisher Theodor de Bry. This is the fourth part of De Bry’s Les Grand Voyagers, which contains the beginning of Girolamo Benzoni’s Historia del Mondo Nuovo. Despite his fame, De Bry’s engravings are subject to scrutiny because he never crossed the Atlantic himself.

At the time, illustrated portrayals of indigenous people tended to include the resources of the Americas that were available for conquest. This book includes the earliest non-Spanish account of colonizing the Americas, ranging from Columbus to Magellan and imperial conquest. Benzoni’s account was first published in 1565, when the controversy over treatment of indigenous populations was attracting attention (fig. 5).

Figure 5: Illustration of colonizers looting gold. Image © Museum of the Bible, 2025. All rights reserved.

Aside from historical accounts, Spanish missionaries also recorded the naturalia of the New World. Jesuit missionary and naturalist José de Acosta was sent to Lima, Peru, in 1569, where a new order had been established. He then spent nearly 20 years traveling throughout Latin America, founding colleges and documenting the natural world. His travels included Peru, Panama, and Mexico before returning to Spain to continue his work in academia in 1587. Our collection hosts his work De Natura Novi Orbis, which was written just years before his death (fig. 6). The copy that we have dates to 1596, and it is the first philosophical account of the natural history in the Americas. It also includes his musings on converting indigenous communities to Christianity, and it is known today as a landmark study of cultural diversity (fig. 7). In general, his works document his scientific studies, such as Incan and Aztec farming practices and his hypothesis of indigenous people originally migrating from Asia.

Finally, let’s take a look at one of our Spanish Colonial objects currently on display. On Floor 2 of the museum, we feature artifacts that exemplify the Bible’s impact on the world. Bartolomé de las Casas was a Spanish lawyer and clergyman who first encountered indigenous people when he documented Columbus’s return to Seville in 1493. He traveled to Cuba himself in 1503, where he participated in raids against the Taíno people. In the early 1500s, Dominican opposition to enslaving indigenous communities rose and de las Casas argued against them in favor of the encomienda, the Spanish labor system built on conquest. It wasn’t until he served as a chaplain in 1513 that de las Casas witnessed the brutalities inflicted on the Ciboney and Guanahatabey peoples that would change his convictions, a change that was also influenced by his reading of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 34:18–22:

If one sacrifices from what has been wrongfully obtained, the offering is blemished; the gifts of the lawless are not acceptable. The Most High is not pleased with the offerings of the ungodly; and he is not propitiated for sins by a multitude of sacrifices. Like one who kills a son before his father’s eyes is the man who offers a sacrifice from the property of the poor. The bread of the needy is the life of the poor; whoever deprives them of it is a man of blood. To take away a neighbor’s living is to murder him; to deprive an employee of his wages is to shed blood.

He studied this verse for a Pentecost sermon and concluded that all of Spain’s actions in the New World were ultimately illegal and unjust. This also led him to free his enslaved people and condemn encomienda and calling others to do the same. De las Casas returned to Spain in 1515 with the hopes of convincing King Ferdinand to end the encomienda system, but the king died before their scheduled audience. Eventually, de las Casas was given the official title of “Protector of the Indians” and became a prominent writer and activist who advocated for the use of black slaves as opposed to indigenous, which critics cite as contributing to establishing the Transatlantic Slave Trade. De las Casas’s most influential work, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, describe the atrocities that indigenous communities suffered, and this text was reprinted in several languages (fig. 8 and 9). Our copy is a Latin translation from 1664. At times, the images he described were later depicted by De Bry. De las Casas ultimately rose to the role of Bishop of Chiapas and later retracted his views on African enslavement, coming to condemn all forms of slavery. Today, he is regarded as one of the first advocates for universal human rights.

While colonial history may be complicated and harsh, it is important we understand its nuances in order to better understand these peoples today. Our artifacts explore the role that the Bible plays in the evolution of human civilization. The interaction and integration of different cultures propel the world throughout history, and Hispanic Heritage Month is a perfect opportunity to appreciate the variety in Latin American and Hispanic cultures. These communities are the result of centuries of blending European and indigenous traditions and teachings, and our collection gives us the resources to learn about them.

Published October 13, 2025