Boxer Codex

The English historian Charles Ralph Boxer purchased the manuscript in 1947 from the collection of Lord Ilchester in London.

Boxer recognized the importance of what he called the "Manila Manuscript" and published a paper in 1950 with a detailed description of the codex.

Most of the drawings appear to have been copied or adapted from materials brought to the Philippines from China by Martín de Rada: the Shānhǎi Jīng (山海经, The Classic of Mountains and Seas), and books from the shenmo (神魔) genre, which depict deities and demons.

The remaining drawings represent individuals, often a male and female pair, as inhabitants from tributaries of China and Taiwan with their distinctive costume; some of these have been refashioned as warriors.

[4] The Boxer Codex depicts the Tagalogs, Visayans, Zambals, Cagayanes or possibly Ibanags, and Negritos of the Philippines in vivid color.

Reception of the Manila galleon by the Chamorro in the Ladrones Islands , c. 1590