FBI returns 500-year-old Cortés manuscript to Mexico

The FBI has returned a 500-year-old manuscript page signed by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés to Mexico after a decades-long investigation, marking another significant recovery in the fight against cultural heritage theft.aol+4

The document, dated February 20, 1527, details payments made in "pesos of common gold" for expedition supplies as Cortés prepared for exploration of what he called the "spice lands"—a reference to European attempts to reach Asian markets via western routes. The manuscript was stolen from Mexico's General Archive of the Nation sometime between 1985 and 1993, with the theft discovered in 1993 when archivists were microfilming their collection of Cortés documents.independent+4

Multi-Agency Investigation Traces Document to U.S.

The FBI's Art Crime Team launched the investigation in 2024 after Mexico formally requested assistance in recovering the specific page, which was identified as page 28 of a larger collection. Working alongside the New York City Police Department, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, and Mexican authorities, investigators used "open-source research" to trace the document to an undisclosed location within the continental United States.wsbtv+3

"This is an original manuscript page that was actually signed by Hernán Cortés on February 20, 1527," said FBI Special Agent Jessica Dittmer, a member of the bureau's Art Crime Team. The document provides insight into "the planning and preparation for unchartered territory back then," she explained.upi+4

Second Cortés Document Returned

This represents the second Cortés document the FBI has returned to Mexico, following the 2023 repatriation of a 16th-century letter from the conquistador. The recent return comes at a time of ongoing diplomatic cooperation between the two countries on cultural heritage preservation, despite broader political tensions over trade and immigration policy.independent+5

No charges will be filed in connection with the theft, as investigators determined the manuscript "changed hands several times over" during its decades in private possession. The FBI emphasized that such documents are "protected cultural property" representing critical moments in Mexican history.fortune+3

Fourteen pages from the same collection remain missing, and the FBI continues its efforts to locate and repatriate the remaining stolen documents.aol+2