Ramirez Codex
Encyclopedia
Spanish conquest of Mexico
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The invasion began in February 1519 and was acclaimed victorious on August 13, 1521, by a coalition army of Spanish conquistadors and Tlaxcalan warriors led by Hernán Cortés...
codex
Codex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
from the late 16th century entitled Relación del origen de los indios que hábitan esta Nueva España según sus Historias ("Relation of the Origin of the Indians who Inhabit this New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
according to their Histories").
Ascribed to Juan de Tovar, most scholars believe that he based this work on an earlier Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
source (now lost), that is presumed to have been compiled by one or more Christianized Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
s sometime shortly after the conquest. This earlier document (or documents) is often referred to as "Crónica X
Crónica X
"Crónica X" is the name given by Mesoamerican researchers to a postulated primary-source early 16th century historical work on the traditional history of the Aztec and other central Mexican peoples, which some researchers theorize formed the basis for several other extant 16th century documents...
" ("Chronicle X") and is proposed to be to be the original or influential source of a number of early manuscripts (such as the Ramírez, Durán and Acosta
Juan de Acosta
Juan de Acosta is a municipality and town in the Colombian department of Atlántico.-External links:...
codices), based on similarities in their content.
The Tovar manuscript was created using traditional indigenous techniques and consists of four manuscripts that narrate the history of the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
s, from their peregrination into the Anahuac valley to the fall of Tenochtitlan. It also discusses some aspects of the Aztec religion.
The Ramírez Codex (Tovar manuscript) was discovered in 1856 by José Fernando Ramírez
José Fernando Ramírez
José Fernando Ramírez was a distinguished Mexican historian in the 19th century.Ramírez was born in Parral, Chihuahua but grew up in Durango, where he became a prominent liberal politician. After graduating with a degree in law from San Luis Gonzaga he was elected several times to the Chamber of...
in the library of the convent of San Francisco in Mexico . There remain two extant copies of the codex. One is located in the Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
's Museo Nacional de Antropología
Museo Nacional de Antropología
The Museo Nacional de Antropología is a national museum of Mexico. Located in the area between Paseo de la Reforma and Calle Mahatma Gandhi within Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, the museum contains significant archaeological and anthropological artifacts from the pre-Columbian heritage of...
, while the other is in the library of John Carter Brown
John Carter Brown
John Carter Brown II was a book collector whose library formed the basis of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University.-Biography:...
, in Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
.
The codex was first published in 1847 as a preface to Crónica mexicayotl
Crónica Mexicayotl
The Crónica Mexicayotl is a chronicle of the Aztec empire that was written in the Nahuatl language by Fernando Alvarado Tezozómoc around 1598. Given that its author belonged to the Aztec royal lineage, the manuscript documents the Aztec version of the history of central Mexico. It was written in...
, a 1598 work by Fernando Alvarado Tezozomoc
Fernando Alvarado Tezozómoc
Fernando or Hernando Alvarado Tezozómoc was a colonial Nahua noble. A son of Diego de Alvarado Huanitzin and Francisca de Moctezuma , Tezozómoc worked as an interpreter for the Real Audiencia...
.