Diego Muñoz Camargo (c. 1529 – 1599) was the author of ''

History of Tlaxcala ''History of Tlaxcala'' (Spanish: ''Historia de Tlaxcala'') is an alphabetic text in Spanish with illustrations written by and under the supervision of Diego Muñoz Camargo in the years leading up to 1585. Muñoz Camargo's work is divided into t ...

'', an illustrated

codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

that highlights the religious, cultural, and military history of the

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

n people.

Life

Diego Muñoz Camargo was born in Spanish colonial Mexico of a Spanish father and Indian mother. He acted as official interpreter for the Spanish, particularly the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

. He was also a chronicler of some note, belonging to a group of mestizo chroniclers with

Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

and

Fernando Alvarado Tezozomoc Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

. His ''History of Tlaxcala'', one version of a work of various forms stands as an important source for Tlaxcala, in Mexico. Muñoz Camargo was a businessman who entered into lucrative cross-cultural enterprises. He was able to do this since his father was one of the original Spanish conquistadors of Mexico. He was very active in other realms too. Besides business, he acted as a tutor for the Seminole peoples

Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie ...

brought to Mexico with him, he took urban Tlaxcalan peoples north to Chichimec country ostensibly to ‘civilize’ them, and he took a keen interest in the Spanish chronicles being composed which he inserted into a historical frame with Tlaxcalan tlacuilo manuscripts. This led him to become one of the first Spanish-language chroniclers of Tlaxcala.

Bibliography

Primary Reference

*Muñoz Camargo, Diego. ''Historia de Tlaxcala (Ms. 210 de la Biblioteca Nacional de París)''.

Secondary Sources

*Gibson, Charles. "The Identity of Diego Muñoz Camargo." *Leibsohn, Dana, and Barbara E. Mundy, "Reckoning with Mestizaje," Vistas: Visual Culture in Spanish America, 1520–1820 (2015). *Mignolo, Walter D. "El mandato y la ofrenda: la Descripción de la ciudad y provincia de Tlaxcala, de Diego Muñoz Camargo, y las relaciones de Indias.” *Miller, Marilyn. “Covert Mestizaje and the Strategy of ‘Passing’ in Diego Muñoz Camargo’s Historia de Tlaxcala.” *Mörner, Magnus and Charles Gibson. “Diego Muñoz Camargo and the Segregation Policy of the Spanish Crown.” *Velazco, Salvador. ''Visiones de Anáhuac: reconstrucciones historiografías y etnicidades emergentes en el México colonial: Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, Diego Muñoz Camargo y Hernando Alvarado Tezozómoc''.Guadalajara: Universidad de Guadalajara, 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz Camargo, Diego Colonial Mexico Governors of Tlaxcala Novohispanic Mesoamericanists Historians of Mesoamerica Aztec scholars Mestizo writers 1520s births 1599 deaths Tlaxcaltec nobility 16th-century Mesoamericanists 16th-century Mexican historians Nobility of the Americas