| Royal Palace Library in Madrid. 138 pp. International edition: 980 copies. The Veitia codex is evidence of the prolonged effort of a great family of mestizo, creole and Spanish (as well as foreign) researches in the service of the Spanish Crown whose persistent intellectual yearning and curiosity for centuries kept alive an interest in Mesoamerican cultures. They deserve a privileged position in the sciences of the Americas. Their disciplines helped to forge a national identity which served as the seed of the indepence spirit in the Americas. Of all the enlightened, erudite figures of the age, Lorenzo Boturini stands out. His disciple Mariano Veitia, born in Puebla de los Angeles (Mexico), carried on the work of the master and undertook to write an Hispanic history of Mexico based on Boturinis material. The latter was transported to Spain by the decree of King Charles III. The Veitia codex was one of the many documents that the author was using in this historical writing. Never has archive documentation on the life and customs of indigenous peoples ever been so complete. Complementary volume: study, transcription and notes by Jose Alcina Franch. Presentation by Francisco Morales Padron. 166 pp. Hard case. |