The Archivo General de Indias (, "General Archive of the Indies"), housed in the ancient merchants' exchange of
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, the ''Casa Lonja de Mercaderes'', is the repository of extremely valuable archival documents illustrating the history of the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
in the Americas and Asia. The building itself, an unusually serene and Italianate example of Spanish
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...
, was designed by
Juan de Herrera
Juan de Herrera (1530 – 15 January 1597) was a Spanish architect, mathematician and geometrician.
One of the most outstanding Spanish architects in the 16th century, Herrera represents the peak of the Renaissance in Spain. His sober style reac ...
. This structure and its contents were registered in 1987 by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
as a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
together with the adjoining
Seville Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See ( es, Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along ...
and the
Alcázar of Seville
The Royal Alcázars of Seville ( es, Reales Alcázares de Sevilla), historically known as al-Qasr al-Muriq (, ''The Verdant Palace'') and commonly known as the Alcázar of Seville (), is a royal palace in Seville, Spain, built for the Christian ...
.
Structure
The origin of the structure dates to 1572 when
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
commissioned the building from
Juan de Herrera
Juan de Herrera (1530 – 15 January 1597) was a Spanish architect, mathematician and geometrician.
One of the most outstanding Spanish architects in the 16th century, Herrera represents the peak of the Renaissance in Spain. His sober style reac ...
, the architect of the
Escorial
El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up ...
to house the
Consulado de mercaderes
The ''Consulado de mercaderes'' was the merchant guild of Seville founded in 1543; the Consulado enjoyed virtual monopoly rights over goods shipped to America, in a regular and closely controlled West Indies Fleet, and handled much of the silve ...
of Seville. Until then, the merchants of Seville had been in the habit of retreating to the cool recesses of the cathedral to transact business.
The building encloses a large central patio with ranges of two storeys, the windows set in slightly sunken panels between flat
pilasters
In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...
. Plain square tablets float in the space above each window. The building is surmounted by a
balustrade
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
, with rusticated
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
s standing at the corners. There is no sculptural decoration, only the discreetly contrasting tonalities of stone and stucco, and the light shadows cast by the slight relief of the pilasters against their piers, by the cornices, and by the cornice strips that cap each window.
The building was begun in 1584 by
Juan de Mijares, using Herrera's plans, and was ready for occupation in 1598, according to an inscription on the north façade. Work on completing the structure proceeded through the 17th century, directed until 1629 by the archbishop Juan de Zumárraga and finished by
Pedro Sanchez Falconete.
Researchers who wish to examine the archive's sources use another building located across the street.
Contents
![ArchivoIndias patio interior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/ArchivoIndias_patio_interior.JPG)
In 1785, by decree of
Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
the archives of the
Council of the Indies
The Council of the Indies ( es, Consejo de las Indias), officially the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias, link=no, ), was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire for the Amer ...
were to be housed here, in order to bring together under a single roof all the documentation regarding the overseas empire, which until that time had been dispersed among various archives, as
Simancas
Simancas is a town and municipality of central Spain, located in the province of Valladolid, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated approximately 10 km southwest of the provincial capital Valladolid, on the ro ...
,
Cádiz
Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
and Seville. Responsibility for the project was delegated to
José de Gálvez y Gallardo, Secretary for the Indies, who depended on the historian
Juan Bautista Muñoz
Juan Bautista Muñoz (Museros, 12 June 1745 – Madrid, 19 July 1799) was an 18th-century Spanish philosopher and historian.
Biography
Born in Museros (near Valencia) in 1745, Juan Bautista Muñoz was the third of four sons.Bas Martín, Nic ...
for the plan's execution. Two basic motivations underlay the project; in addition to the lack of space in the ''
Archivo General de Simancas'', the central archive of the Spanish Crown, there was also the expectation, in the spirit of the
Enlightenment, that Spanish historians would take up the history of Spain's colonial empire. It was decided that, for the time being, documents evolved after 1760 would remain with their primary institutions.
The first cartloads of the documents arrived in October 1785. Some restructuring of the ''Casa Lonja'' to accommodate the materials was required, and a grand marble staircase was added in 1787 after the designs of Lucas Cintara.
The archives are rich with autograph material from the first of the
Conquistadores
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to ...
to the end of the 19th century. Here are
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
' request for an official post, the
Bull
A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions,
includin ...
of Demarcation
Inter caetera
''Inter caetera'' ('Among other orks) was a papal bull issued by Pope Alexander VI on the 4 May () 1493, which granted to the Catholic Monarchs King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile all lands to the "west and south" o ...
of
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...
that divided the world between Spain and Portugal, the journal of
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
, maps and plans of the colonial American cities, in addition to the ordinary archives that reveal the month-to-month workings of the whole vast colonial machinery, which have been mined by many historians in the last two centuries.
Today, the ''Archivo General de Indias'' houses some nine kilometers of shelving, in 43,000 volumes and some 80 million pages, which were produced by the colonial administration:
* ''Consejo de Indias'', 16th–19th centuries
* ''Casa de la Contratación'', 16th–18th centuries
* ''Consulados de Sevilla y Cádiz'', 16th–19th centuries
* ''Secretarías de Estado y Despacho Universal de Indias, de Estado, Gracia y Justicia, Hacienda y Guerra'', 18th–19th centuries
* ''Secretaría del Juzgado de Arribadas de Cádiz'', 18th–19th centuries
* ''Comisaría Interventora de la Hacienda Pública de Cádiz, Dirección General de la Renta de Correos'', 18th–19th centuries
* ''Sala de Ultramar del Tribunal de Cuentas'', 19th century
* ''Real Compañía de la Habana'', 18th–19th centuries
The structure underwent a thorough restoration in 2002–2004, without interrupting its function as a research library. , its 15 million pages are in the process of being digitized. The digitized sources are accessible online
References
External links
website of the Archive
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928020619/http://www.geopanorama.de/gpearth/sevilla.htm Interactive 360° panorama from Plaza del Triunfo with Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo General de Indias (Java, highres, 0,9 MB)]
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures completed in 1598
Archives in Spain, Indias
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Buildings and structures in Seville
Renaissance architecture in Seville
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
World Heritage Sites in Spain
Mesoamerican studies
Latin American studies
History of North America
Tourist attractions in Seville
Libraries in Seville
Articles containing video clips