4 Archives and a Library

On my recent 5-day trip to Seville, I visited 4 archives and a library. That’s a rather high number, but I was doing some targeted searches for documents as well as familiarizing myself with the archives. I will be making another trip down to Seville this upcoming month. My routine was fairly regular: Every morning, I would head off to an archive until 2 or 3 when they would close. After lunch, I would head to one of the two places open in the afternoon until 7:30. It was a whirlwind experience but useful. Here are some of my impressions of the places I visited:

Archivo Histórico Provincial (Provincial Historical Archive)

This archive is located in the winding streets of the older section of Seville, and each morning I would head out from my hostal and launch myself toward the archive. While the map helped to track where I was, I seemed to do better (for the most part) by just heading in a general direction, especially since the streets were a maze with names that change every block or two. It took me from 15-30 minutes to wind my way to the this archive and the Municipal Historical Archive that was right next door. The building was relatively modern. However, it was difficult to find the archive and its location on the Internet, and I was fortunate to have information about specific documents I wanted to see as the content was not easily accessible through indexes or databases. I did have the opportunity to flip through bound documents from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries though.

Archivo Histórico Municipal (Municipal Historical Archive)

The municipal archive was also pretty modern, though its microfilm readers were rather old. Much of the content I looked at here was on microfilm, and they had indexes to assist in searching for specific content. The staff was very friendly and helpful.

Archivo Arzobispal (Archbishop’s Archive)

While I was unable to locate the document I searched for at this archive, the building was incredible. The archive is inside the Archbishop’s Palace which is right next to Seville’s Cathedral. On entering, my bags were scanned by a security guard before I was sent out into a patio area covered by cloth to keep away the searing Seville sun and back toward a garden with a fountain and statue. With the windows of the archive looking out on the garden, it felt like a magical secret archive. The information here was indexed to a certain degree, but it was not yet easily searchable for specific content.

Biblioteca Capitular y Colombina (Cathedral and Columbus Library)

This library has an interesting history and location. Christopher Columbus’ son Hernando assembled a large collection of Renaissance texts from across Europse in the first half of the 16th century, and while many of these have been lost over the centuries, his collection forms the basis of this part of the library. The Cathedral’s library contains a wide-range of texts, many donated to the Cathedral from private collections over the centuries.

Finding the library was a bit of a trick. You have to spot the right door in the Cathedral’s wall (it has a sign that says Columbus Institute above it) and then find the buzzer that is almost hidden by part of the door. However, once you have gained entrance, the staff here is very helpful and friendly, especially the fellow who assisted me the first day and familiarized me with the library. The hallways and rooms are spacious, and the windows by the researchers look onto the Cathedral’s famous patio of orange trees. As for ease of access, Hernando Columbus’s collection is searchable through a database, and there are two catalogues for the rest of the library’s manuscript and printed holdings. Most of the texts have been microfilmed to protect them as well. Overall, a very pleasant experience.

Archivo General de las Indias (General Archive of the Indies)

This famous archive is only a short walk from the Cathedral, and it contains tens of thousands of documents related to Spanish colonization. Only 15% of its holdings are searchable online, but it has an on-site database to assist in searching the other 85%. The Archive of the Indies has also made a major effort to digitize its documents and provide access to them online. Security was fairly high, though my bags weren’t scanned. Still, there were security guards and cameras to try and make sure visitors didn’t leave with any of the valuable documents belonging to the Archive. I look forward to spending more time at this archive in the coming months (and not just because its air conditioning was extremely welcome), and I am impressed by their efforts to make their holdings accessible to the public.

Every archive and library here seems to have its own challenges and opportunities. The variations in searchability, security and location making each one a unique experience. Though it was a busy week, it was productive, and I have yet more information through which to sift as well as copies of documents to pick up on my next trip to Seville.