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Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Boston Globe
A 500-year-old receipt for supplies to conquer an empire is returned to Mexico
The FBI said that it returned the document Wednesday, and that no one would face prosecution in the theft because the document had changed hands many times since it vanished. The document 'outlines the payment of pesos of common gold for expenses in preparation for discovery of the spice lands,' Special Agent Jessica Dittmer, a member of the FBI's Art Crime Team, said in a statement, 'so it really gives a lot of flavor as to the planning and preparation for unchartered territory back then.' Those 'spice lands' were eastern and southeastern Asia. European explorers sailed west in the hopes of finding a faster route to the region, and instead landed in the Americas. Advertisement In 1993, while archivists at the General Archive of the Nation in Mexico were creating microfilms of their collection of documents signed by Cortés, they discovered that 15 pages of the manuscript were missing. The archive used a distinctive wax numbering system from 1985 to 1986, which helped FBI investigators to authenticate the stolen page, the FBI said. The archivists had noted which numbered pages had been stolen and had recorded the precise rip pattern in the torn pages. Advertisement 'This 1527 manuscript, signed by Hernán Cortés, captures a pivotal moment when the Pacific routes were opening and New Spain sought to connect the Americas with Asia,' a spokesperson from the Mexican Embassy in Washington said in a statement Thursday. 'Linked to an expedition to the Spice Islands (Maluku Islands, in present-day Indonesia), it is part of the legacy of the Hospital de Jesús, founded by Cortés.' Cortés founded the hospital in 1524. Investigators said they believed that the archivists' careful accounting would help them find the pages that were still missing. They said that they had added this missing page to the National Stolen Art File, an FBI database of artworks and cultural artifacts known to be stolen. Though they did not detail their investigative process, they said that open-source research had revealed that the document was in the United States, though they did not say who had it. Last year, Mexico asked that the Art Crime Team help to search for this particular page, the FBI said. The New York City Police Department, the U.S. Justice Department, the Mexican government and the FBI's office in Atlanta took part in the investigation, officials said. The document, dated Feb. 20, 1527, contains a full accounting of the logistical details related to Cortés' journey to what would eventually become the territory of New Spain, which included present-day Mexico and parts of the United States, Central America and the Caribbean, Dittmer said. New Spain, a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire, was founded in the early 16th century and existed until Mexico declared its independence in 1821. 'Pieces like this are considered protected cultural property and represent valuable moments in Mexico's history, so this is something that the Mexicans have in their archives for the purpose of understanding history better,' Dittmer said in a statement. Advertisement Cortés reached the shores of present-day Mexico in 1519, aiming to overthrow the emperor Montezuma in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, which is now Mexico City. The Aztecs initially beat back the Spanish invasion, but Cortés made alliances with local groups that opposed the Aztecs and returned in 1521. His second siege was successful, and he took over the city after burning it to ruins. The Spanish ruler, Charles V, named Cortés the governor of New Spain in 1522. Cortés and the Spanish settlers brought with them diseases like smallpox, which ripped through the native population. Within five years, disease had killed as many as 15 million Aztecs. 'The United States, for better or for worse, is one of the largest, if not the largest, consumer of art and antiquities,' said Veh Bezdikian, a supervisory special agent with the FBI in New York. This is the second Cortés document that the FBI has returned to Mexico in recent years. In 2022, the FBI discovered another page of the purchase order signed by Cortés that had made its way to private auction blocks across the United States. The Art Crime Team is still looking for other missing pages from Mexico's national archives.
New York Post
4 days ago
- New York Post
FBI returns stolen 16th-century manuscript signed by conquistador Cortes to Mexico
The FBI has returned a priceless 16th-century manuscript bearing the signature of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés to Mexico, officials said Thursday. Archivists at Mexico's General Archive of the Nation were shocked when they discovered 15 pages of the manuscript missing during their efforts to microfilm the collection in 1993, with officials believing the rare documents were stolen between then and 1985. 'Pieces like this are considered protected cultural property and represent valuable moments in Mexico's history,' Special Agent Jessica Dittmer, with the FBI's Art Crime Team, said as the US handed the documents over. Advertisement 3 The FBI located and returned a page of a 16th-century manuscript featuring the signature of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. AP 3 At the time of signing, Cortés was serving as the governor of New Spain following his conquest of the Mayan kingdom. Getty Images The rare manuscript documents detailed payments from New Spain made in pesos of the Mexican gold, all neatly filed away under government expenses for land discovery, with Cortés signing off on the order on Feb. 20, 1527. The papers offer a rare glimpse into the workings of New Spain, which at the time stretched from Central American to modern-day Washington State. Advertisement Cortés' signature is especially noteworthy given his historical role in expanding Spain's control over the Americas and colonizing the Mayan and Aztec kingdoms. At the time of signing, Cortés was serving as the governor of New Spain. 3 The documents were believed to have been stolen between 1985 and 1993 from Mexico's General Archive. via REUTERS Advertisement Mexico had tapped the FBI's Art Crime Team last year for help in tracking down the page that bore Cortés signature, with investigators eventually locating the missing document. Officials did not say where the relic was located, only that authorities would not prosecute anyone in connection with the original theft since it has been determined that the documents had 'changed hands several times over' since it went missing, the FBI said. 'We know how important it is for the United States to stay ahead of this, to support our foreign partners, and to try and make an impact as it relates to the trafficking of these artistic works and antiquities,' said Veh Bezdikian, a supervisory special FBI agent, in a statement. Advertisement Thursday's exchange was only the second time the FBI has helped track down documents related to Cortés for the Mexican government. In 2023, the agency located a 16th-century letter penned by Cortés authorizing the purchase of sugar in New Spain. With Post wires
CNN
5 days ago
- CNN
US returns to Mexico 500-year-old manuscript signed by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés
Nearly five centuries after Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés signed it and decades after someone swiped it from Mexico's national archives, the FBI returned a priceless manuscript page to Mexico on Wednesday. The FBI said in a statement that the document had changed hands various times over the years, so no one will be charged. 'This is an original manuscript page that was actually signed by Hernán Cortés on February 20, 1527,' said Special Agent Jessica Dittmer, a member of the FBI's Art Crime Team. By then, Cortés had conquered the Aztec empire in 1521, two years after landing in present-day Mexico. While archivists at Mexico's General Archive of the Nation were microfilming their collection of documents signed by Cortés in 1993, they discovered that 15 pages of the manuscript were missing. They believe it was stolen between 1985 and 1993. Mexico requested the help of the FBI's Art Crime Team last year for this particular page. The FBI eventually narrowed the search to the United States and located the document, though the agency did not say who had it. The New York City Police Department, U.S. Department of Justice and Mexico's government were all involved in the investigation. It is the second Cortés document the FBI has returned to the Mexican government. In 2023, the agency returned a 16th-century letter from Cortes. 'Pieces like this are considered protected cultural property and represent valuable moments in Mexico's history, so this is something that the Mexicans have in their archives for the purpose of understanding history better,' she said.
