The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on Wednesday (August 13) that a stolen precious manuscript had been returned to Mexico. The manuscript dates back to five centuries ago and was signed by the Spanish military commander Hernan Cortes.
Special Agent Jessica Dittmer of the FBI’s Art Crime Team in New York stated that the document detailed logistic information about Cortes’ journey in the Americas, which later became the territory from Central America to present-day Washington state and established the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
“This is the original manuscript signed by Cortes,” she said in a statement. “Works like this are considered protected cultural assets, representing important moments in Mexican history.”
In 1519, Cortes led a small band of soldiers to land in Mexico, where he allied with local groups against the Aztec Empire and, with their assistance, conquered the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, present-day Mexico City, two years later.
The manuscript was signed on February 20, 1527, just days before one of Cortes’ top lieutenants was appointed as the governor of the conquered territories. This year was also significant for the establishment of the Spanish royal and religious institutions, which ruled over Mexico’s indigenous populations until the outbreak of the “War of Independence” in 1810.
The manuscript was initially housed in the National Archive of Mexico, but in 1993, archivists discovered that 15 pages were missing while cataloging the document. According to the FBI, based on the wax residue found on the pages, it is likely that the theft occurred between 1985 and 1993.
To recover the special manuscript, Mexico sought the assistance of the FBI’s Art Crime Team last year. The New York City Police Department, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Mexican government were also involved in the investigation.
The FBI narrowed its search to the United States and eventually located the manuscript. However, the agency did not disclose who had possessed the document.
This is the second time the U.S. has returned Cortes’ manuscript to Mexico. In 2023, Mexico welcomed back a letter authorizing the purchase of rose sugar by Cortes in April 1527.
Dittmer mentioned that upon evaluation by investigators, the manuscript had changed hands multiple times since its disappearance, so no one would be prosecuted for the theft.
The U.S. antique market sees annual transactions reaching billions of dollars, primarily centered in auction houses in New York.
For decades, Mexico has been seeking the return of cultural artifacts and artworks, including a magnificent headdress believed to have belonged to Aztec King Moctezuma II made of rainbow-colored resplendent quetzal feathers. Currently, the headdress is held in a museum in Austria.
(Adapted from reports by Reuters and the Associated Press)