Selected quad for the lemma: woman_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
woman_n	breast_n	child_n	milk_n	2,381	5	10.1992	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A69842	An account of the first voyages and discoveries made by the Spaniards in America containing the most exact relation hitherto publish'd, of their unparallel'd cruelties on the Indians, in the destruction of above forty millions of people : with the propositions offer'd to the King of Spain to prevent the further ruin of the West-Indies / by Don Bartholomew de las Casas, Bishop of Chiapa, who was an eye-witness of their cruelties ; illustrated with cuts ; to which is added, The art of travelling, shewing how a man may dispose his travels to the best advantage.; Selections. English. 1699	Casas, Bartolomé de las, 1474-1566.	1699 (1699)	Wing C797; ESTC R21602	188,943	313

number of the Inhabitants of this Kingdom by divers kinds of cruel Punishments Some they burn'd alive they cut off the Arms and Legs of others and made Slaves of the rest There are so many things to be said of the ill Treatment and Cruelty the Spaniards exercis'd against the People of this Island that 't is impossible to recount 'em all and if that could be done the recital of 'em would appear incredible and yet the Indians gave the Spaniards no occasion to engage in so barbarous a War against 'em and to commit such Violences upon 'em but one may truly say these poor Creatures liv'd in as great Subjection and Obedience to the Spaniards as the most submissive and obsequious Order of Monks do in the most regular and well-disciplin'd Monastery so that there was no lawful occasion given 'em to rob those of their Property or condemn 'em to a rigorous Slavery who had found means of escaping their bloody Massacres 'T is further to be observ'd that the Indians offer'd no Affront to the Spaniards when they first arriv'd in America So that they had no colourable Pretext for Revenge or the least right to punish 'em after so cruel a manner As for those Sins the Punishment of which God has reserv'd to himself such as Hatred Envy the passionate desire of Revenge the Spaniards had no occasion to reproach 'em on this account since these People have scarce more Strength and Courage than Children of ten Years old On the other side the Indians had a thousand just Reasons to make War with the Spaniards tho these had no reasonable pretence to treat them as they did with a barbarity equal to that of the most savage and inhuman Tyrants After this unjust War was ended with the Destruction and Massacre of all the Inhabitants of these Countries having reserv'd few besides the Women and Children they divided these among themselves some keeping 30 of them others 40 others 100 some 200 according to the Interest they had in the Tyrant of the Island whom they honour'd with the Title of Governor for 't was he that gave 'em these Indians on condition they would cause 'em to be instructed in the Maxims of the Catholick Religion tho the Persons to whose care he committed 'em were the most ignorant cruel covetous and vitious of all Mankind These as might well have been expected took no care to instruct 'em but confined the men to the Mines to get out Gold with incredible Toil and Labour they us'd the Women for Husbandry and Tillage tho this last was a Labour hard enough for men of the most robust and vigorous Constitution They fed 'em only with Herbs or such like Food that had but little Substance or Nourishment in it So that the Milk dry'd up in the Breasts of the Women that gave suck and their Children in a little time pin'd away and dyed with Faintness and Hunger The Men having no Conversation with the Women but dwelling in separate Houses there could be no farther propagation of Children by ' em Thus at length the Men perish'd in the Mines with Hunger and Labour the Women dyed under the pressure of their servitude in the Fields so that all the Inhabitants of this populous Island were exterminated in a short time And indeed if the same course were taken every where else all Mankind would be destroy'd in the space of a few Years The Spaniards oblig'd these poor Creatures to carry Burdens of fourscore or a hundred pound weight for a hundred or two hundred Leagues And that they might travel the more at ease they would make these Indians carry them in Chairs and Horse-litters on their Shoulders They us'd 'em like Beasts of Burden to carry their Utensils and what they pleas'd either for their Profit or Pleasure so that the Backs and Shoulders of these poor Slaves were black with Bruises occasion'd by the great weight of their Burdens These incredible Fatigues did not secure 'em from Blows with Cudgels and Whips accompanied with Curses nor from a great many other Punishments But 't would be endless to describe all the Miserie 's these unfortunate People were made to suffer it would require whole Volumes and the reading of so deplorable a Story would deeply affect and soften every Mind not quite divested of Humanity It is to be observ'd that the Destruction and Desolation of these Provinces began since the Death of the most serene Queen Isabella who departed this Life in the Year 1504. Before this time the Spaniards never durst exercise their Cruelties on the People of this Island nor destroy their Country if they offer'd 'em any Violence 't was as it were by stealth and with great Precaution But after the Death of this Princess the Desolation became general Before this fatal time they took great care to conceal whatever Hardships they made these People endure because the Queen was marvellously zealous both to promote the Instruction and Salvation of the Inhabitants of this new World and to advance their Temporal Advantages and accordingly she gave us many Examples of her Piety and Zeal In whatever part of America the Spaniards set their Feet they perpetrated the same abominable Villanies and Massacres to oppress and exterminate these poor Innocents They seem'd to take Pleasure in the invention of new kinds of Torments and their Fury augmented every day more and more till God Almighty provok'd by so many horrid Crimes abandon'd 'em to a reprobate Sense and permitted 'em to fall as it were from deep to deep and from one Precipice to another Of the Islands of St. John and Jamaica IN the Year 1509 the Spaniards went into the Islands of St. John and Jamaica which resemble delicious Gardens with the same Intentions and Designs they had carried on in the Island of Hispaniola Here they committed a world of Robberies and Cruelties just as they had done in other places where-ever they came The Marks of their Devastations and Murders were every where to be seen They laid all places desolate where they arriv'd exposing Men to the Mercy of Beasts And after having inflicted all sorts of Torments on 'em put 'em in the Mines to work like Slaves as long as they liv'd They entirely depopulated these Countries so that in these two Islands where there were computed to have been above 600000. Inhabitants before their Arrival there are scarce 200 now to be found The rest being all destroy'd with Misery and Hardship and that without having any Pains taken with 'em to instruct 'em in our Religion or to administer the Sacraments to ' em Of the Island of Cuba THE Spaniards pass'd into the Island of Cuba in the year 1511 which contains as much ground in length as from Vallidolid to Rome There were formerly fine and flourishing Provinces to be seen fill'd with vast numbers of People who met with no milder or kinder Treatment from the Spaniards than the rest On the contrary they seem'd to have redoubled

a Body of Indians that had retreated into the Mountains to avoid the Tyranny of their Persecutors in a great rage fell upon the poor Wretches and killing all the Men they could catch carried away three or fourscore Women Prisoners The Indians that escap'd being highly incens'd came in Arms to attack the Spaniards to try if they could oblige 'em to let go their Prey These seeing the Indians draw near 'em and being unwilling to surrender the Booty they had taken stab'd the Women and Maids in the presence of their Husbands and Fathers who were seiz'd with Horror and Despair at the sight of so lamentable a Tragedy and smiting their Breasts cry'd out O merciless Men O cruel Spaniards who can murder poor Women that never offended you without Pity And indeed they must be more savage and bloody than Beasts of Prey who can be capable of such brutish Actions as these One of the greatest Lords of this Country whose Name was Paris had a House about ten or fifteen Leagues distance from Panama he was very rich having a great quantity of Gold in his possession When the Spaniards came to his House he receiv'd 'em with as much Kindness and Civility as if they had been his Relations He frankly gave the Captain the value of 15000 Crowns This Captain and the Spaniards that accompanied him concluded that this Indian must needs have immense Treasures from the parcel of Gold he had given 'em and since they had undertaken this Journey on purpose to rob him to make the more sure of succeeding in their Design they pretended they would be gone and accordingly took their leave of him but return'd in the middle of the Night and rushing into the City unexpectedly they set it on fire and destroy'd abundance of the Citizens in the Flames and carried away thence 50 or 60000 Crowns A Person of the most considerable Quality of any in this City escap'd the fury of this Fire and after a Respite of three or four days having got as many Men together as he could fell upon the Spaniards by surprize kill'd about fifty of 'em and retook all the Spoil of the City which they had burnt and particularly the Value of 40000 Crowns of which they had plunder'd him the rest of the Spaniards made the best of their way and escap'd but not without a great many Wounds Soon after this they return'd with a greater Force to attack this Cacique and destroy'd the greatest part of his Troops making Slaves of the rest Of the Province of Nicaraqua IN the Year 1522 the forementioned Governor undertook to subdue the Province of Nicaraqua The great Fertility of this Country the Goodness of the Air and the vast number of the Inhabitants cannot be sufficiently express'd There were Cities in this Province four Leagues in length The great quantities of excellent Fruits that grow there drew together those great multitudes of People These Cities being situate in vast Plains the People had no Mountains near in which to hide themselves besides the Climat is so sweet and the Country so agreeable that the Inhabitants could not easily resolve to quit it and consequently were the more expos'd to the Outrages and Persecutions of the Spaniards yet they suffer'd all with as much patience as was possible that they might not be oblig'd to change their Dwelling And tho these People are naturally of a mild and peaceable Temper the Governor or rather the Tyrant with the Ministers of his Cruelty resolv'd to treat the Indians of this Province after the same manner he had done those of other Kingdoms Here he committed so many Enormities such Robberies and Massacres that 't is impossible for any Pen to relate 'em all He sent 50 Troopers into this Province which is bigger than the Country of Rousillon who massacred almost all the Inhabitants without any regard to Age Sex or Quality If these poor Creatures fail'd to bring 'em a certain measure of Corn which they exacted of 'em or did not send into their Service such a number of Slaves as they demanded they kill'd 'em without Mercy And this being a plain Country as has been said there was no place to shelter 'em from the Spanish Horse who pursu'd 'em with the utmost Fury The General permitted these Villains to commit all the Insolencies and Robberies they pleas'd and to take as great a number of Prisoners as they desir'd These they sometimes loaded with Chains of sixty or eighty Pound weight so that of 4000 Captives scarce six were able to endure this Fatigue the rest all dy'd by the way under the intolerable weight of their Fetters That they might not have the trouble to open the Chains of such as dy'd with Hunger Thirst Weariness and Toil they cut off their Heads When the Indians saw the Spaniards prepare for these kind of Journeys well knowing they were never likely to see their Friends and Country-men any more they with many deep Sighs and Groans and floods of Tears utter'd their Complaints after this manner Time was say they when we have travell'd these Journeys to serve the Christians and have been suffer'd after a certain space of time to return home to our Wives and Children but now there is no hope of any such return and this Separation must be for ever One day a Fancy came into the Governors Head to make a new distribution of the Indians he took 'em away from those for whom he had no kindness and gave a greater number to those he respected This chopping and changing of Slaves occasion'd a great scarcity for one Year there being but a very small Crop on the ground The Spaniards endeavour'd to supply this defect by taking from the Indians all the Corn and other Provisions which they had laid up in store for the Subsistence of their Families This Disorder produc'd a Famin among 'em which destroy'd above thirty thousand People There was one Woman so intolerably press'd with Hunger that she kill'd her Child to appease her Appetite All the Cities and Fields round 'em are like pleasant Gardens which the Spaniards cultivated according to the share each one had assign'd him by Lot and to save their own Revenues they fed upon the Stores that belong'd to the Indians and liv'd at their Charge devouring in a few days what these poor People had been a long time getting together with a great deal of Care and Toil. There was no Spaniard but had an Estate of his own and kept abundance of Indians in his House to manure his Land and to do other Domestick Business and none of these were exempted from Slavery their Nobles their Women and Children were made to work day and night for the advantage of the Spaniards who exacted Tasks of 'em quite beyond their Strength and miserably wore 'em out with excess of Labour and Hardship They drove 'em out of their Houses and took possession of 'em they seiz'd their Goods and Lands and instantly consum'd their Provisions