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Secondary sourceBook1540

Relation of Michoacan

Jerónimo de Alcalá · 1540

A Purépecha manuscript describing the Tarascan empire, including an embassy sent seeking alliance against the Spaniards during the crisis of Moctezuma's successors.

Records the embassy sent by Moctezuma's successors seeking Tarascan help against the Spaniards.

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Painted page from a colonial manuscript showing Spanish horsemen with lances at top left, Spanish-dressed figures standing in a row, a thatched building with stacked goods at right, indigenous porters with burdens crossing a river, and agave plants and figures in the foreground.
Relation of Michoacan, manuscript, 1540. Library of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

About this source

What it is

Written around 1540 by Fray Jerónimo de Alcalá, this manuscript records the traditions and history of the Tarascan (Purépecha) Empire. It is held today in the Library of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Why it matters

The document records an embassy sent by Moctezuma's successors to the Tarascan ruler, asking for an alliance against the Spaniards. It shows how one of the Mexica's great rivals viewed the crisis of Tenochtitlan from the outside, offering a perspective beyond the Aztec capital itself.

Look closer

  • Why might the Purépecha have been asked for help, and why might they have refused or hesitated?
  • What does the image of Spaniards arriving tell you about how indigenous artists depicted the newcomers?
  • Whose point of view is missing from this source?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Montezuma II on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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