Documentos Colombinos en el Archivio General de Simancas

These seven documents illustrate various moments from the Age of Discovery, ranging from the letter of Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) announcing the discovery of the New World to his last will and testament, spanning his four trips to the "Indies". Highlights among the selected documents include a handwritten letter from Columbus to Queen Isabella I of Castile (1451–1504), one of the only preserved specimens that the explorer sent to the Queen. It is not an official document and therefore has the freshness and charm of family letters. The documents are in folio format, except the first one. They originate from the Archivo General in Simancas, which had served as the Crown of Castile’s central archive since the 16th century. By the 18th century, the archive was full, so by royal degree of King Charles III (1716–88) in 1785, a new archive was created in Seville solely for the mountain of documents having to do with Spanish colonies in the Americas and the Philippines. Thus, documents that were scattered among various archives could now be united under a single roof, where Spanish historians could set about writing a comprehensive history of the Spanish Colonial Empire. The Archivo General de Indias is the modern repository for the historic documents in this compendium, and represents one of the most valuable and unique collections of any kind in the world. This is just one of the contributions that King Charles III is remembered for making to Spain, along with reforming the government, improving infrastructure, and crafting a national flag, anthem, and identity.
The documents in this collection represent a survey of Columbus’ career exploring the West Indies:
• Autograph letter of Christopher Columbus to the Queen Isabella the Catholic (2 pages)
• Letter from Christopher Columbus to the scribe, Luís de Santángel, giving an account of his first trip to the Indies (4 pages)
• Pardon of the criminal Bartolomé de Torres in order to join the crew on the first trip of Columbus (4 pages)
• Account of the people who accompanied Columbus on the second trip (52 pages)
• Payment to Pero Francés and Marina González of 96,000 and 62,000 maravedíes respectively, which Columbus owed them for the journey of the third trip (2 pages)
• Account of the people and ships that Columbus took on the fourth trip (16 pages)
• Testament of Columbus, authorized transfer of the deed of testament and foundation of mayorazgo that Christopher Columbus granted in Segovia on 25.8.1505 (8 pages)