The FBI said Thursday that it had found the 16th-century manuscript signed by Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés was stolen and returned to the Mexican government.
Rare items provide glimpses of the New Spanish government, from the modern Washington state to Louisiana and Central America.
The FBI said that signed by Cortez on February 20, 1527, the document details payments for gold.
Jessica Dittmer, an agent of the FBI's art crime team, said in a press release that the document “does provide a lot of flavor to the planning and preparation of unpropaganda territory at that time.”
“Such works are considered protected cultural property, representing a valuable moment in Mexican history, so it is something Mexicans have in archives in order to better understand history,” she said.
The FBI said the missing document could have been stolen between 1985 and October 1993 due to the wax numbering system used by Mexican archivist.
This image provided by the FBI shows the front of the letter from Hernán Cortés on February 20, 1527.FBI / via AP
Dittmer said there will be no criminal charges related to the case as the document has changed hands “multiple times” since it disappeared.
When Cortez signed the papers, he was the governor of New Spain, an experienced and wealthy colonist who spread control of Spain and a large amount of violence to the Caribbean and the continental United States.
In the same year, the High Court of New Spain, listeners, and other royal and religious institutions formed, which would play a role in the Mexican government until the War of Independence in 1810.
However, Cortés was more famous in 1519 to explore and colonize the Mayan Kingdom, ignoring the orders of Cuba governor Diego Velázquez de Cuélal, and soon conquered the Aztecs and their emperor Moctezuma.
The city of Tenochtitlan was taken away in 1521 and renamed Mexico City, and its temple was knocked down and replaced with a church.
In 1506, he participated in the conquest of Hispanics (the modern Dominican Republic and Haiti) and Cuba, granting him large estates and some indigenous Tano slaves.
This is the second Cortés document to be repatriated by the FBI: a letter from the conquerors who conquered sugar in July 2023 and returned.
“We know the United States wants to stay ahead, support our foreign partners and try to make an impact in connection with trafficking in these works of art and antiquities,” said FBI oversight agent Bezdikian Bezdikian.
However, searches for several other missing pages from the same collection continue. The FBI is attracting any tips to step up and contact [email protected] or submit to 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or access prompts.fbi.gov.