Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History

In 1493, Dr. Diego Álvarez Chanca, a physician accompanying Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas, documented the discovery of human bones in a Caribbean village. This fueled Spanish suspicions that some Indigenous groups practiced cannibalism. The Spaniards quickly divided the natives into two groups: the peaceful Arawaks (or Taínos) and the warlike Caribs, whom they believed were violent raiders with “the annoying habit of eating their captives” (100). In Spain, however, some were skeptical of Columbus’s “vivid and self-serving imagination” (102).

The Caribs were described as brutal warriors who raided neighboring islands, consumed captives, and supposedly interacted with fierce Amazonian women who bore only female warriors, while male children were taken by the Caribs. While these stories were likely exaggerated and remain unverified, they played into European folklore about monstrous races and strange customs. Columbus’s accounts included tales of Indigenous people with dog-like faces, single eyes, or long tails. These descriptions were widely accepted, as European thought at the time entertained the existence of such creatures.

Columbus’s primary goal was gold, but his exaggerated reports of cannibalism became a tool for justifying the enslavement of Indigenous people. With Spain’s backing, he imposed a gold tribute system, forcing natives to deliver gold under threat of brutal punishment, including mutilation and execution.