A priceless manuscript page, bearing the signature of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés from nearly five centuries ago, has been returned to Mexico by the FBI.
The document was swiped from Mexico’s national archives decades ago, marking a significant recovery for the nation’s historical heritage.
The FBI confirmed the document’s authenticity, with Special Agent Jessica Dittmer of the agency’s Art Crime Team stating: “This is an original manuscript page that was actually signed by Hernán Cortés on February 20, 1527.”
Cortés, who conquered the Aztec empire in 1521, signed the page just six years after his conquest. Due to the document changing hands multiple times, no charges will be filed.
The theft was first discovered in 1993 when archivists at Mexico’s General Archive of the Nation were microfilming their collection of Cortés documents, revealing 15 missing pages.
It is believed the page, along with others, was stolen between 1985 and 1993. Mexico formally requested the FBI’s Art Crime Team’s assistance last year for this specific page.
The investigation, involving the New York City Police Department, the US Department of Justice, and the Mexican government, successfully traced the document to the United States, though its immediate possessor was not disclosed.
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.
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.
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.
