MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it had recovered valuable manuscripts from the 16th century, including some relating to conquistador Hernan Cortes, months after a group of academics reported them missing from Mexico’s national archives. “Today the documents were handed over to the foreign ministry and taken into the custody of our consulate to be transported to Mexico City,” Ebrard wrote, after noting that the documents had been sold illegally. Among the recovered manuscripts is a document from 1521 that reveals political intrigue involving Cortes, who led the Spanish army that with its local allies overthrew the Aztec Empire. Documents relating to Cortes are highly sought after, and nine other such papers were sold in U.S. galleries, fetching tens of thousands of dollars, the academics said. The investigating team found the manuscripts by matching images posted on the internet by auction houses with images from the investigation at the National Archives of Mexico.

Source: National Post September 24, 2021 00:11 UTC