BOXER CODEX: FROM THE ARCHIVES TO THE APP WORLD

The objective of the project is to publish selections of the Manuscript of Manila with its illustrations in an interactive multimedia Website and mobile app to reach a wider audience. The website and app will include triggered animations and music, and transcribed text that is easier for the public to understand than the original calligraphy. The goals are to engage an audience that usually will not have access to real archival materials in order to create interest, introduce paleography and show the audience the importance of cultural encounters, and commercial and scientific exchanges. In order to achieve these goals we need to adapt to the medium that younger generations, for whom digital access is prevalent, find attractive and engaging. The Manuscript of Manila also known as the Boxer Codex is a "Relacion" or official account of the travels of Spanish explorers in South East Asia, China and Japan during the last decade of the XVI century. This small travel journal was lost from the late 1500's until 1948, it is written in Spanish with some Chinese characters. The actual history of the book is also part of the story too.