Along with the archives is a small museum relating to this time in history. I wanted to go firstly because I have always found this time in Spanish history fascinating. Secondly I wanted to look at the beautiful old maps and calligraphy on the old scrolls, that detailed this time.
The time mainly covered that time in history when Spain was building its Empire in South America, and stealing all the gold and riches from the native Indian populations there, such as the Incas and the Aztecs.
It also covered the time when both Mexico and Southern California were also Spanish Colonies. The Spanish did travel across the Pacific and discovered such places as the Carolina Islands, but I don't think the colonisation of The Philipines came until much later. I looked on all the maps, and Australia wasn't shown. Anyway South America was where all the gold and riches were.
The building itself, was originally a meeting place for the rich merchants who were making contracts, wheeling and dealing, and making a fortune from the Spanish explorations. You could tell the bulding reeked money from the wide marble staircases, to the beautiful oak panelled walls.
The museum itself was quite small and written explanation of the exhibits were only in Spanish. But that wasn't so bad because with my dodgy Spanish, and a bit of knowledge of the other Latin languages I could usully work out what they said. As I walked around, I couldn't help thinking about how much these Spanish explorers and colonizers were so much like Captain Cook and his companions.
There was a model of Marco Polo's ship the Santa Mariia, just as there is of Captain Cook's Discovery.
On at least one of these trips there was a Spanish equivalent of Captain Cook's naturalist companion Joseph Banks. Just as Banks made detailed drawings of the Australian flora and fauna, so did his Spanish equivalent. Just as Cook's travellers from the old world were both fascinated and puzzled by what they saw in this new land of Australia, so where the Spaniards by what they encounterd in the New World of South America.
There is an article and a drawing which tries to work out whether something one of the Spaniards had seen was either a fish or a sirene (Mermaid). If I remember rightly, one of Cook's crew saw something similar, which Banks duly noted and pondered on.
So the Archive was an interesting way to spend an hour or so on a wet afternoon. (The only bad weather we had on the whole trip). I'm glad I went.
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