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Photos from
Florida / Georgia / Seville / Cuba / Mexico
Seville, Spain is the home of the Archivo General de Indias (AGI), which houses the vast majority of the extant documentation for the Spanish colonial world from the 15th through 19th centuries. Seville is also one of the most enchanting cities in the world, and research trips there are remarkable not only for the monumental historical ambience of the city, but also for the vibrant and enduring culture of the capital of Spain's Andalucia region, including a wide range of gastronomic delights. In addition to several recent digital photographs of the city's sights are a few scans of slides from my first trip in 1991.
A view of the fully-restored AGI during my most recent trip in 2008. The present archive is housed in a building originally constructed during the late 16th and early 17th centuries as the Casa Lonja, or "House of Trade," finally converted into the Archive of the Indies in the late 18th century (from its original home in Simancas). Another view of the AGI several years earlier, this time from a window in the internal ramp leading to the top of Seville's ancient Moorish minaret, the Giralda. A 2008 view of me at the entrance stairwell to the Casa Lonja, where I conducted most of my earliest research throughout the 1990s, and where many generations of previous researchers also worked. The building was recently restored and its interior re-designed as an exhibit hall and offices. The primary research room for the AGI has been transferred to the adjacent historical building known as the Cilla del Cabildo Catedralicio, which is air-conditioned and fully computerized (though original legajos may be consulted there as well). In this picture the Cilla is on the right, with the Real Alcázar in the background (and the now-defunct Bar Las Meninas in-between). A recent night view down Calle Mateos Gago of the Giralda (complete with rising crescent moon), which was constructed beginning in A.D. 1184, and subsequently capped with a 16th-century bell tower overlooking the Cathedral of Seville. Another view of the Giralda from within the Patio de los Naranjos, showing the deep blue skies that are typical of Seville. One of many singular features within the massive Cathedral of Seville (largest in the entire world by surface area) is this resting place for the remains of Christopher Columbus, which were recently (2006) confirmed using mitochondrial DNA testing to be a match with the remains of his brother Diego. The Guadalquivir River at twilight, with a view of the Torre del Oro at the shore, where the treasure ships from the New World offloaded. An example of the type of colonial documentation to be found in the Archivo General de Indias. View of Bar Moneda in 1991, where students and other researchers at the Archivo typically gathered after hours on Fridays. The bar was named for the building that houses it, which was a mint for coinage during the colonial era. View of our very international group across the plaza from Bar Moneda; pictured (beers in hand) are Jacobo from Austria, Concha from Seville, Mercedes from Panama, Fernando from Ecuador, and me. Bar Las Meninas was a favorite gathering-place for researchers at the AGI during morning coffee breaks (which tended to stretch on and on...). Pictured are Concha and our good friend Maria del Mar, along with several others too blurry to recognize. During my first trip to Seville I and other compatriots from the United States rented a room in an historic house in the heart of the Barrio de Santa Cruz, only a ten minute walk from the AGI. In addition to me, pictured are Bob, Mercedes, and our host Carmela.
