CULTURAL READINGS: Colonization & Print in the Americas Jay I.
Kislak Foundation | Antonio de Mendoza, | Relacion de las
ceremonias...de los Indios de la Provencia de Mechoaca.
Manuscript: mid-18th century? |Mendoza, a Spanish nobleman, was
appointed as the first Viceroy of New Spain in 1535. In his
effort on behalf of the Spanish Crown to consolidate the Spanish
conquests, Mendoza undertook to survey New Spain, and the Codex
Mendoza, compiled c. 1541, records information about
Tenochtitlan, as well as Aztec society and laws. This manuscript
is an 18th century copy of a separate 16th century work
investigating native customs and government. It contains
numerous watercolors depicting Mexican village life, religious
ceremonies, and even scenes of cannibalism. While the visual
materials may simply reflect Spanish impressions, Mendoza's work
nonetheless seems to have been based in part on testimony by
native informants.| |Other page from this manuscript| Print and
Native Cultures |Exhibition Contents | Introducti