The Codex Kingsborough, also known as the Codex Tepetlaoztoc, is a 16th-century

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Wit ...

n pictorial manuscript detailing the history of

Tepetlaoztoc Tepetlaoztoc or Tepetlaoxtoc ( Nahuatl for "tepetate-cave place", ) is an archaeological site located in the Central Mexico plateau region of Mesoamerica, which was an Aztec/Nahua settlement during the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chron ...

and abuse of the indigenous Tepetlaoztoc population by the Spanish ''

encomenderos The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

'' who took control after the

Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the eve ...

. It is in the collections of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

History

The manuscript was commissioned by the inhabitants of Tepetlaoztoc and its indigenous governor, Luis de Tepada after the

Spanish colonization of the Americas Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions ...

had begun. It was part of a lawsuit brought by Tepetlaoztoc's inhabitants against the Spanish ''encomenderos'', complaining about the mistreatment of the indigenous population, and was probably presented to the

Council of the Indies The Council of the Indies ( es, Consejo de las Indias), officially the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias, link=no, ), was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire for the Amer ...

. It consists of seventy-two

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

on European paper, six of which are blank. It was made circa 1550s. At some point the codex came into the possession of the antiquarian and scholar of Mesoamerica

Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough (16 November 1795 – 27 February 1837) was an Irish antiquarian who sought to prove that the indigenous peoples of the Americas were a Lost Tribe of Israel. His principal contribution was in making availab ...

, after whom the codex is commonly known. After his death in 1837, it was bought by a bookseller named Rodd in 1843, and later bought from him by the

References

* Kingsborough, Codex Artefacts from Africa, Oceania and the Americas in the British Museum 16th-century manuscripts Mexico–United Kingdom relations {{manuscript-art-stub