The Relacion de Michoacan (1539-1541) is one of the earliest surviving illustrated manuscripts from colonial Mexico. Commissioned by the Spanish viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, the Relacion was produced by a Franciscan friar together with indigenous noble informants and anonymous native artists who created its forty-four illustrations. To this day, the Relacion remains the primary source for studying the pre-Columbian practices and history of the people known as Tarascans or P'urhepecha. However, much remains to be said about how the Relacion's colonial setting...