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The Guardian
17 hours ago
- The Guardian
FBI returns stolen document signed by conquistador Hernán Cortés to Mexico
Nearly five centuries after Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés signed it and decades after someone swiped it from national archives, a priceless manuscript page has been returned by the FBI to Mexico. The document contains a detailed accounting of the logistics related to Cortés's journey to what eventually became New Spain – a territory that stretched from Central America to modern-day Washington state. 'This is an original manuscript page that was actually signed by Hernán Cortés,' said special agent Jessica Dittmer, a member of the FBI's art crime team in New York. 'Pieces like this are considered protected cultural property and represent valuable moments in Mexico's history.' Cortés landed in Mexico with a small army in 1519, when he formed alliances with local groups that opposed the Aztec empire, which helped him capture the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán – modern-day Mexico City – just two years later. The document is dated 20 February 1527, just days before one of Cortés's top lieutenants was appointed co-governor of the conquered territory. It was a key year for the formation of royal and religious institutions that would rule over the Indigenous peoples of Mexico until its 1810-21 war of independence. The manuscript was initially stored in Mexico's national archives, but archivists microfilming the collection in 1993 found that 15 pages had gone missing. Based on its wax numbering system, the FBI said the document was probably stolen between 1985 and 1993. Mexico requested the help of the FBI's art crime team last year for this particular page. Investigators 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, US Department of Justice and Mexico's government were all involved in the investigation. Because the document has changed hands various times over the years, no one will be charged for the theft, the FBI said. It is the second Cortés document the FBI has returned to the Mexican government. In 2023, the agency returned a 16th-century letter from Cortés. '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.
Boston Globe
20 hours 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.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
US returns to Mexico stolen manuscript signed by conquistador Hernan Cortes
US returns to Mexico stolen manuscript signed by conquistador Hernan Cortes By Sarah Morland MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -The U.S. FBI said it had on Wednesday returned to Mexico a stolen manuscript dating back five centuries to the Spanish conquest and signed by its leading military commander, Hernan Cortes. Special Agent Jessica Dittmer, a member of the FBI's Art Crime Team in New York, said the document contains a detailed accounting of the logistics related to Cortes' journey to what eventually became New Spain - a territory that stretched from Central America to modern-day Washington state. "This is an original manuscript page that was actually signed by Hernan Cortes," she said in a statement. "Pieces like this are considered protected cultural property and represent valuable moments in Mexico's history." Cortes landed in Mexico with a small army in 1519, when he formed alliances with local groups that opposed the Aztec empire, which helped him capture the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan - modern-day Mexico City - just two years later. The document is dated February 20, 1527, just days before one of Cortes' top lieutenants was appointed co-governor of the conquered territory. It was a key year for the formation of royal and religious institutions that would rule over the indigenous peoples of Mexico until its 1810 war of independence. The manuscript was initially stored in Mexico's national archives, but archivists preserving the documents on film in 1993 found that 15 pages had gone missing. Based on its wax numbering system, the FBI said the document was likely stolen between 1985 and 1993. This marks the second repatriation of a Cortes manuscript to Mexico, after a letter from April 1527 authorizing the purchase of rose sugar was returned in 2023. No one will face prosecution in connection with the theft, Dittmer said, because investigators assessed the manuscript had changed hands several times since it disappeared. The U.S. antiques market is valued in the tens of billions of dollars, largely concentrated in New York auction houses. Mexico has for decades sought the repatriation of cultural artifacts, including a delicate headdress made of iridescent quetzal feathers thought to have belonged to Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II, currently housed in an Austrian museum. Solve the daily Crossword
CNN
2 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.
CNN
2 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.
