Latest news with #Spanishconquistador
The Guardian
5 days 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 a 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.' 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, 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 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 likely 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.
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
FBI returns stolen document signed by conquistador to Mexico
The FBI has returned a 500-year-old stolen document signed by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés to manuscript page was penned in 1527 and is one of 15 pages thought to have been swiped from Mexico's national archives between 1985 and 1993, the US investigatory agency said. The page - which describes payments made for supplies for expeditions - was discovered in the US and repatriated on was an explorer who brought about the end of the Aztec empire and helped pave the way for the Spanish colonisation of the Americas. The manuscript details plans for his journey across what would become New Spain. At its height, the colony stretched across much of western and central North America, and into Latin previously missing document was written after Cortés had been made the governor of New Spain by the Spanish national archives had counted the document among a collection of papers signed by Cortés - but found 15 pages were missing when it was put on microfilm in recovered page bore a number written in wax that archivists had applied in 1985-1986, suggesting it had been stolen between the two cataloguing periods. The Mexican government requested the assistance of the FBI's art crime team in finding the missing documents in 2024, providing notes on which pages had been taken and how certain pages had been FBI said open-source research revealed the document was located in the agency did not reveal exactly where the manuscript page was found or who had owned it when it was one will face prosecution over the theft as the page had "changed hands several times" since it was stolen, according to Special Agent Jessica Dittmer of the FBI's art crime document "really gives a lot of flavour as to the planning and preparation for uncharted territory back then", she said, outlining "the payment of pesos of common gold for expenses in preparation for discovery of the spice lands".The so-called "spice lands" were areas of eastern and southern Asia. Europeans sought to find a quicker trade route with these areas by sailing west, but in doing so landed on the Americas would go on to explore north-western Mexico and the Baja California document's repatriation comes at a time of political tension between Mexico and the US over tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and illegal migration across the US-Mexico the FBI says that, as one of the largest consumers of antiquities, the US had a responsibility to counter the trafficking of Dittmer said: "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."The FBI said it was determined to locate and repatriate the other pages still missing from the document signed by Cortés was returned to Mexico by the FBI in 2023.
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.
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.
The Independent
5 days ago
- The Independent
FBI returns stolen Hernán Cortés manuscript to Mexico
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.
