Series and Collections from the General Municipal Archive of Puebla, XVI-XX Centuries
The General Municipal Archive of Puebla is the most complete documentary repository in America of its kind and the second oldest in Mexico, safeguarding 484 years of history with documents from the year 1532 to the present day. Due to its strategic location, people and goods converged in this city on their way to the main transatlantic and transpacific destinations in New Spain. It became the main receiver, producer and distributor of raw materials and finished goods that supplied Central and South America, as well as Europe and Asia, through the Iberian Peninsula. It also constituted a continuous contribution of human, financial and food resources to the Barlovento, Caribe and Tierra Firme fleets, as well as the Manila fleets in the Philippines.
For this reason, the conservation of a large part of its information allows for the detailed reconstruction of the city's life and that of its inhabitants in political, economic, social, religious, military, urban and cultural terms. This makes it unique, symbolic and emblematic, as can be observed in the eight series and two documentary collections that span from the 16th to the 20th century.