Information object browse - Archival Collections

This collection brings together a variety of historical documents that are topically related to Latin America, including manuscripts, correspondence, and illustrations. The documents range from 1420 to 1994 in date, and originate from Mexico, New Granada, Panama, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and other parts of Latin America.

Peru A.D.S.: The Trial of Blas de Torres Altamirano

id4668
File
circa 1635

Part of:

A 21-page document, written c1635, describing the Trial of Blas de Torres Altamirano, Magistrate of the Supreme Court of Lima (Peru) who had been accused of contravention of the Royal Decree keeping office holders in America from marrying themselves, their songs or daughters during the time they held their offices. This document is signed by Francisco Garcia Carillo Alderete, Attorney of the Criminal Court of Lima, which had been entrusted with this matter by Viceroy Luis Jerónimo de Cabrera, Count of Chinchon, who held this office in Peru from 1629-1639. This document bears no date but must have been written during this ten year period. It was during the time Count Chinchon was viceroy of Peru that quinine was first used by Europeans. It was first called Chinchona to honor the wife of Count Chinchon. This document is bound by means of 2 calf strings into a parchment document containing a Censo in favor of Alfonso Alvarez de Toledo for several houses in the Alcaizeria de Cuenca, which he gave to Elviro Gonzalez ("Censo" being an annual rent). This document was written in 1420. Old legal vellum documents as this one were often used in later centuries for binding purposes such as spine reinforcement-strips, inlay-papers or simply as wrappers as in the present case.

Theodore Parker collection

ASM0573
Collection
1485-1572

Twelve original leaves of rare books.

Parker, Theodore

Mark F. Boyd collection

ASM0037
Collection
1493-1953

The Mark F. Boyd Collection contains materials relating to Florida and United States history as well as to natural history and medicine. The collection, arranged in six series, includes maps, newspapers, prints, photographs, pamphlets, original documents, copies of historical documents, reprints of articles and other materials.

Boyd, Mark F., 1889-1968

Cuban Map Collection

CHC0468
Collection
1500-2000

The Cuban Map Collection contains maps dating from the 16th century to the 21st century. The digital collection contains maps in the public domain dating from the colonial period to 1923 and includes general maps of the island, provincial maps, city and town maps, and other specialized map formats in a variety of scales, colors and artistic styles.

Caribbean Documents collection

ASM0570
Collection
1542-1959

This collection includes various types of documents pertaining to the historical and cultural production taking place in the Caribbean. Materials include correspondence, diaries, ledgers, property transactions including slave registers, reports, typescripts, from the various islands of the Caribbean such as Antigua, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Christopher, Trinidad and Tobago from the 16th to the present. The collection is further enhanced by the acquisition of antique maps from cartographers such as Linschoten and Sanson.

Map: Nouvelles isles

Folder
undated (1552)

Part of:

"This is a fascinating and evocative woodcut image of islands, ships and sea monsters, illustrating a text describing Christopher Columbus’ 1492 voyage across the Atlantic. It appeared in Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia beginning in 1550 and appears here in an early French text edition of the work. Here depicted is an archipelago, surrounded with turbulent seas. Some of the islands appear to be forbiddingly rocky, while others are peppered with trees and hills, some graced with European-styled walled cities. Several sea monsters prowl the archipelago, one resembling a giant seahog, and a sea serpent menacing a sailing ship, which fires its cannon to drive the monster away. Two small sailboats and another great sailing ship also sail between the islands. From one of the islands, a robed figure approaches the shore, as if to greet one of the sailing craft. There is nothing in the image to indicate any specific location, and none of the details in the image correspond directly to any of the details in the accompanying text. So on its own, it would be incorrect to describe this as a literal representation of any specific place. Rather, it is an imaginative representation of sea voyages, the dangers associated with them, and the wonders that might be encountered. In the context of the text, however, this assessment changes slightly." –Description from Geographicus Rare Antique Maps, bookseller

Munster, Sebastian, 1488-1552

Canary Islands collection

ASM0491
Collection
1582-1584

This collection contains 26 bound and paginated 16th-century manuscripts describing contemporary conditions and military operations in the Canary Islands. It consists of a series of letters (15 items) and an assortment of other official documents (11 items). Twelve letters bear the imprimatur of King Philip II of Spain.

Primarily, the collection documents the administration of Lázaro Moreno de León, who served as governor of the islands of Tenerife and La Palma for two years (1582-1584). The last two items in the collection mark the end of Moreno de León's tenure and reference his successor, Juan Núñez de la Fuente, who served until 1589. Moreno de León appears in 18 of the items in the collection, either as subject or recipient (in the case of correspondence). However, the collection includes only one item bearing his signature: Item 18, authored by Diego de Ayala y Rojas, conde de la Gomera, and signed by Moreno de León as a witness.

During Moreno de León's tenure, an epidemic broke out on the island of Tenerife, causing considerable loss of life (documented at length in Item 22). The collection also reflects historical events following Spain's conquest of Portugal. During the dynastic crisis that followed the death of Portugal's King Sebastian in 1578, the throne was claimed by António, Prior of Crato, who was defeated by Philip II in 1580. By 1582, António had relocated to the Azores, where he attempted to establish a government in exile with the support of France. Item 3 provides a set of instructions for a dispatch boat that was sent to the Canary Islands that same year, after word of a possible attack by António. In early 1583, ships loyal to António did attempt an attack on the island of Gomera, but were repelled by local forces under the command of Ayala y Rojas and Moreno de León (documented in Items 18 and 19).

Walter Tennyson Swingle collection

ASM0188
Collection
1586-1952

The Walter Tennyson Swingle Collection contains research material and correspondence of Walter T. Swingle as well as translations and correspondence of Michael J. Hagerty. The Swingle portion of the collection is comprised of his articles, manuscripts, diaries, and most of Swingle's correspondence between 1885 and 1951.

The correspondence gives an overview of his botanical and plant introduction work as well as his personal life and travels. The bulk of the correspondence are letters from distinguished colleagues such as Herbert J. Webber, Dr. Beverly T. Galloway, W.A. Kellerman and others from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Also included in this group are correspondence between Swingle and David G. Fairchild, noted Florida naturalist and one of the men who conceived of a sub-tropical garden in Florida and for who Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami, Florida is named. Their correspondence details an account of their collaborative work and friendship.

Swingle's research material includes notes, notebooks, and large number of first accounts of citrus in the Original Citrus Literature, containing a number of articles by Carolus Linnaeus.

Of special interest to the University of Miami is material dealing with Swingle's tenure as Consultant in Tropical Botany at the University, as well as some interesting material dealing with his U.S.D.A. work in Brazil in the 1930's.

The Hagerty portion of the collection consists most importantly of translations made by Hagerty of Chinese accounts on botany for the Swingle's work in the Department of Agriculture. It includes a very large translation of the Chinese accounts of citrus from the Chinese Imperial Encyclopedia which is over 500 pages long and very important to Swingle's study of citrus. Also in this portion are found a very large amount of correspondence between Hagerty and Swingle which details most of their work together for the U.S.D.A.

Swingle, Walter T. (Walter Tennyson), 1871-1952

Villalta Family Collection

CHC0473
Collection
1624-1918

The Villalta Family Collection contains documents, clippings, and genealogical information about the Gaona family name and the Villalta family. This collection dates from 1624 to 1918. It is arranged into two series, Series I: Documents, 1678-1918 and Series II: Genealogy & Heraldry, 1624, in 21 folders in one box.

Villalta y Alvarez de Sotomayor, José Fernández, d. 1918

Historical Documents collection

ASM0566
Collection
1642-1977

The Historical Documents Collection includes letters, deeds, bonds, receipts, orders, position appointments, writings, and other documents that are individual in nature and do not belong to any particular collection. The materials represent a number of prominent figures in the areas of art, literature, music, science, scholarship, business, law, military, politics, diplomacy, and religion. The items range in date from 1642-1977, but the bulk date from the 1760s through the 1920s. Most of the materials are American in origin, although some are from Mexico and Europe, particularly Great Britain.

Individuals represented in the collection include, but are not limited to: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain), Charles Dickens, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Washington Irving, Aldous Huxley, Rudyard Kipling, Ezra Pound, John Muir, Sigmund Freud, and Igor Stravinsky, Benjamin Butler, James Longstreet, Edmund Gaines Pendleton, Matthew Perry, William Tecumseh Sherman, Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben, John Quincy Adams, Napoleon Bonaparte, Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, Jefferson Davis, Ulysses Simpson Grant, Sam Houston, Andrew Jackson, James Madison, James Oglethorpe, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Thomas Paine, Woodrow Wilson, and King Louis XVIII.

N.B.T. Roney map collection

ASM0311
Collection
1644-1860

N.B.T. Roney moved to Miami Beach in 1918 and went on to become one of the largest builders in Beach history. Two of his most important developments are the Roney Plaza Hotel and Española Way. His map collection consists of 28 pre-20th century maps of the West Indies or Florida, and include works by famous cartographers such as Blaeu, Sanson, Popple, and Homanno.

Phanor James Eder papers

ASM0062
Collection
1644-1971

The Phanor James Eder collection consists mainly of correspondence. The letters are from the mid 1800's to the early 1900's. The bulk of the correspondence is addressed to Santiago M. Eder, Dr. Eder's father. These letters are divided into local and foreign correspondence and are addressed to Santiago M. Eder by businessmen who bought or sold some sort of merchandise to him. Most of the letters deal with the sugar mills and other farm plantations owned by Santiago Eder. Although most of the correspondence belongs to Santiago M. Eder, there is some correspondence belonging to James Eder, Phanor's son and Charles (Chaz) and Henry J. Eder, Phanor's brothers. They all had a part in the Cauca Valley Agricultural Company. In this collection we also find correspondence dealing with the Cauca Valley Agricultural Company, a sugar mill owned by the Eder family. Just a small portion of the correspondence deals with the Eder family's personal matters.

Two microfilms, manuscripts and ledgers are included in the collection. The film and manuscripts are agriculturally related, dealing with the land of Colombia. The ledgers are records of businesses owned by the Eders.

The Eder Collection is primarily business related, but also has material which deals with the government of Colombia and some which deals with court cases in which Santiago M. Eder was one of the lawyers involved. The collection includes brochures and pamphlets about Colombia, which describe the land and the people. They seem to be commercially oriented. There are photocopies of material belonging to the United States National Archives which deal with legal matters. Most of these photocopies belong to group 59 of the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

The collection also includes a substantial number of maps, mainly of Colombia and the Caribbean/West Indies including one from a 16th Century atlas. The maps are housed separately from the rest of the collection.

Eder, Phanor James, 1880-1971

Walter Adams collection

ASM0004
Collection
1674-1786

The Walter Adams Collection contains letters, deeds, notes, property records, and receipts from the years 1674 to 1786, in the Massachusetts area.

British and American social history pamphlet collection

ASM0042
Collection
1686-1860

The pamphlets, published in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, consist of political essays, economic commentaries, treatises on the poor, religious sermons, speeches on current events of the time, reports to government, notes on history, almanacs, plays, music and literature.

Louis C. Karpinski map collection

ASM0309
Collection
1694-1938

The Karpinski Map Collection contains maps from the Caribbean, the Southeast of the United States, the Mediterranean, Central America, and South America.

Purdy, Helen C. Map collection

ASM0235
Collection
1700-1800

The late Helen C. Purdy, professor emeritus and former head of the Archives and Special Collections Department, donated a variety of library materials following her retirement in 1991. This collection consists of maps of Florida and the West Indies.

Collection of bills of sale for enslaved persons

Folder
circa 1721-1785

Part of:

"The bills of sale from Mexico show that the slave trade did not collapse with the end of the Portuguese asiento in 1640. A growing population of American-born Creoles sustained the market during the subsequent decades, along with a modest number of new African arrivals. In the 18th century, slavery remained integral to Central Mexico's economy." –description from Libreria Urbe

Enslaved persons included:

VE1 - 1722: Cervantes, Antonio
VE2 - June 30, 1777: Gaitan, Josef Antonio
VE3 - October 5, 1777: Martine Jose
VE4 - July 22, 1778: Nieto, Josef Antonio
VE5 - August 17, 1779: Mathias, Josef
VE6 - May 8, 1787: Montaño, Jacinto (Lomelin)
VE7 - April 1, 1787: De La Luz, Ignacio
VE8 - November 24, 1785: Nepomuceno, Juan and Chrisanto (no surname listed)

Charles Creighton collection

ASM0049
Collection
1731-1815

The Charles Creighton Collection contains an illuminated manuscript on parchment, signed by Charles VI, last of the house of Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia and Hungary-Croatia. It was the property of Prince Max of Baden until the end of the first World War.

The 33-page manuscript measures 8 by 11 inches, with illuminated borders in red, blue, and gold, and an artistically designed title in black and gold of royal insignia surrounded by implements of war and the crown of the king. The manuscript is bound in a gilded hand-embroidered binding of decorative design with ornamental ribbon ties and tinsel fringes. It is attached with a gold braided cord is the Royal Seal of Charles VI, measuring 4 1/4 inches in diameter with the inscription "Carolus VI Romanorum Imperator S. A. Hispaniarum et utriusque Siciliae Rex." The seal is enclosed in a decorated silver case which is intended to rest in a circular compartment in the center of a tooled Viennese leather binding in which the manuscript reposes. The manuscript is written entirely in Latin and confers the title of Marquis on Honuphrium Ianno Ernandes Arias for "Militiaque multa suae Fides, Constantia Sapienta, ac Fortitudinis Specima edidissent..." (translation: In long military service he displayed Faith, Constancy, Prudence, and Courage...) To legalize the document, it is signed in the autograph of King Charles VI "Yo el Rey," below which are the signatures of noblemen and dignitaries of state.

Included also are 15 separate pages of manuscript written in Latin. These pages also refer to the Marquis and are dated in May of 1731. An unsigned manuscript by one of the Ianno family consists of 5 lines and is written in French.

The Charles Creighton Collection also contains high quality facsimiles of several historical predominantly French documents from the 17th and 18th century. These are: a letter pleading for a 3 day postponement of Louis XIV's execution by Louis XIV dated January 20, 1793; two letters informing French generals of the Waterloo victory by the Duke of Wellington, dated June 14 and June 20, 1815; Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson's unfinished letter to Lady Hamilton, dated October 19, 1805; Napoleon's appeal to England for protection after his defeat at Waterloo, dated July 13, 1815; a note written by Marie Antoinette written just before her execution in 1793; and the last letter written by Robespierre, unfinished due to his being shot, with bloodstains at the bottom of the letter, dated July 27, 1794.

Extrait des Registres du Conseil Superieur du Port-au-Prince: Reglement Concernant Les Gens de Couleur Libres

ASM0570
Item
1733

Part of:

This 1773 Réglement Concernant les Gens de Couleur Libres was one of many discriminatory laws that magistrates in the French colony of Saint-Domingue issued against free people of color from the mid-1760s on. Such laws were intended to racially mark free people of African ancestry and prevent the possibility that they could “pass” for white in the colony. Specifically, this law prohibited “mulâtres and other people of color who were born free” from taking the surname of their white fathers, and it likewise proscribed those who were manumitted from using “the surname of the Masters who gave them freedom.” Instead, the law required free people of African descent to baptize their children with an African surname, or one associated with their occupation or color, and compelled slaveholders to ensure that those they freed followed suit. Such laws spurred the ongoing struggle of free people of color for legal equality in Saint-Domingue during the years leading to the Haitian Revolution between 1791-1804. - Kate Ramsey, Associate Professor, University of Miami Department of History, November 25, 2019. - Project funded thanks to the Andrew W. Mellon CREATE Grant.

"Port-au-Prince: chez Guillot, 1773. Quarto. 4pp. Single folded sheet... Rules for Freed Slaves and Free 'Men of Color.' A rare Haitian imprint that enumerates the rules on how mulattos and other 'gens de couleur libres' [free people of color] who were born free can take the last names of their fathers and how freed slaves can take the names of the masters who gave them their freedom. In the complex slave society of colonial St. Domingue, the illegitimate offspring of white masters and their slave mistresses were generally free, sometimes quite wealthy, but with circumscribed civil rights. Likewise, freed slaves (for example, Touissant L'Overture) often had substantial property and slaves. Rare, with only one copy located at the the John Carter Brown Library. The origins of printing in St. Dominigue, now Haiti, are obscure. The best contemporary source, Isaiah Thomas in his History of Printing in America, says that a press was established at Port-au-Prince as early as 1750, but this is uncertain since the earliest imprints do not survive. In American libraries we can locate a 1767 Port-au-Prince imprint at the Library Company of Philadelphia, while the earliest held by the John Carter Brown Library (which has by far the most extensive collection of very early Saint Domingue imprints, with about three dozen prior to 1785) is 1769. Thomas says there was a press at Cap Francois 'as early as 1765, and probably several years preceding,' but we locate a single imprint at the Library Company dated 1752. In the period 1769-1773 a printer named Guillot evidently operated presses in both Port-au-Prince and Cap Francais with the royal patent. Guillot either died or retired the year this was printed and was succeeded by a printer named Donnet. A rare and highly important imprint describing the complex rules that governed free African-Americans in the slave culture of Saint Domingue." -Donald A. Heald Rare Books.

Conseil Supérieur de Port-au-Prince

O. J. Tanner collection

ASM0190
Collection
1743-1930

The O. J. Tanner collection contains the following items: a scrapbook with various portraits of historical figures, a diary with notes on wills, an autograph scrapbook (including an autograph from President Ulysses Grant), a photostat copy of a letter by George Washington, an 1822 watercolor sketchbook, two photographs, a catalog and receipt from the Coral Gables Godspeed Bookshop, a 1743 pamphlet titled "Relation de la victorie Remporteé sur les Imperiaux, par les troupes du Roy, & celles du Roy de Serdaigne, dans la Bataille donneé prés de Guastalla, le 19 du mois dernier," and other pamphlets, clippings, programs, and prints.

Simon Langlois collection

ASM0750
Collection
1746-1872

This collection contains 20 maps and 10 prints in French, depicting locales and images from the Americas and the Caribbean during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Langlois, Simon

Conveyance Edmund Akers to Francis Fane, St. Kitts

Folder
August 16, 1754

Part of:

"Dated 16 August 1754, this indenture records a transfer of title from the St. Kitts planter Edmund Akers (1710-1782) to Francis Fane (c.1698-1757) MP, Commissioner for trade and the plantations, of a sugar plantation of 55 acres in the parish of Christ Church Nicola Town on the island of St. Christopher 'with all and singular dwelling houses, boiling houses, mills, stills, coppers and other ... buildings.' The estate is delineated to the North by lands of John Hutchinson and William Percival, to the East by Scotch Island Gutt and the lands of William Woodley and Samuel Vanderpoole, to the South by lands of Ralph Willett, esquire, and to the West by lands of John Hutchinson.." –Description from Samuel Gedge, bookseller

Album de la Iglesia de la Merced: Our Lady of Mercy Church

File
1755 - 1950

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