This manuscript was copied in the eighteenth century from a sixteenth-century original in the library at the El Escorial outside Madrid, which holds the library of King Phillip II of Spain (1527–1598), who reigned 1556–1598.  The text contains numerous watercolors depicting village life, religious ceremonies, and warfare among the Indians.  Although the images reflect Spanish impressions of the Indians, the work seems to have been based in part on information from native informants.