NUMISCADERO IN THE SPANISH EMPIRE ARCHIVES

It is an honor to report that a copy of my Spanish-English Numismatic Dictionary Numiscadero is now in Spain’s Archivo General de Indias or "General Archive of the Indies," in Sevilla. This is the repository of extremely valuable archival documents dealing with the history of Spain’s empire in the Americas and the Philippines. For example, its resources were used when treasure hunters along Florida’s coast went in search of sunken galleons laden with gold and silver coins, jewelry and ingots. The building is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 1785, Spain’s King Carlos III ordered all documents related to the Americas which had been dispersed among various archives to be housed there. The hope was that Spanish historians would take up the history of Spain's colonial empire.

The archives hold material from the first conquistadores to the sad date of 1898 when Spain lost the last of its new world colonies to the USA. Included are the Papal bull that divided the Americas between Spain and Portugal, a Christopher Columbus journal, maps of colonial cities, and 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.

Oh, yes — How do you get your book into the Archivo? You take a copy to the librarian, with your compliments. Which is just what I did recently while in Sevilla. So if you have a numismatic work that speaks to aspects of the 500+ year history of Spain in the Americas, I am sure it would be well received at the archives.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
NEW BOOK: EL NUMISCADERO (http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n03a02.html)
BOOK REVIEW: EL NUMISCADERO (http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n20a05.html)

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