The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 21, July 1917 - April, 1918 Page: 151
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The Archivo General de Indias
Spanish architect of all time, the builder of the Escorial and
other notable edifices in Spain, and the building is one of the
most pleasing examples of his style. On August 14, 1598, the
work was completed. For over a hundred years, the Lonja was
the seat of the busy Casa de Contrataci6n, but in the eighteenth
century, with the removal of that institution to Cadiz, it became
untenanted. In 1778, the idea of an archive of the Indies was
suggested to the king by Juan Bautista Mufioz, celebrated his-
torian and even more celebrated archivist. The project was re-
ceived with favor, and the Casa Lonja was proposed by Jos6 de
Galvez, at that time ministro general de Indias, as the archive
building. In 1785, with the arrival of a number of legajos from
Simancas, the Lonja was fairly embarked on its new career.
From that time forth, other consignments of papers were made
to the archive,"l until at length the upper floor of the building,
the only space thus far allotted, could not conveniently house
more of the legajos. Laws were passed for the delivery of the
lower floor for archive purposes as well, and in 1913 the laws
were executed. With this addition, it is believed that there will
be enough space, though with little to spare, for the 80,000 legajos
which will one day be the completed store of the Archivo Gen-
eral de Indias.
There are practically no formalities attending admission to the
archive for purpose of investigation,7 and, once there, the in-
vestigator is allowed wide latitude for the pursuit of his studies.
While waiting for a legajo, he has an opportunity to consult the
valuable library of over a thousand volumes, which the Archivo
General de Indias has accumulated concerning Spanish America.
While the archive has no funds for the purchase of books, the
library is constantly growing through gifts; incidentally, it is a
rule of courtesy that students who use the materials of the ar-
chive shall donate copies of their printed works based, thereon.
The investigator who is unable to go to Seville for his docu-
ments is free to arrange for copying through the N. S. G. W.
"6Hill, Descriptive catalogue, p. IX, gives a table showing the different
larger groups of papers, their inclusive dates, the number of legajos in
each, the origin of the papers, and the dates when they came to the Casa
Lonja.
170On this point, see Shepherd, Guide, p. 59, and Hill, Descriptive cata-
logue, pp. IX-XI.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 21, July 1917 - April, 1918, periodical, 1918; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101073/m1/157/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.