Spain is opening up its historical records to Dominican historians. On Monday, 28 January 2019, the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Archivos Estatales del Reino de España and the Archivo General de la Nacion de la Republica Dominicana took place at the Ministry of Culture of Spain in Madrid. Both entities are the national archives of the two countries.
The Memorandum of Understanding gives the Dominican Republic access to unpublished historical documents in the Spanish national archives that cover more than 350 years of Santo Domingo history. The signing ceremony occurred on Wednesday, 23 January 2019, but was only now announced.
Present for the event was the director general of the Bellas Artes del Reino de España, Román Fernández-Baca Casares; Dominican ambassador to Spain, Olivo Rodríguez Huertas; the director general del Archivo General de la Nación de la República Dominicana, Roberto Cassá; the subdirector general de los Archivos Estatales, Severiano Hernández; and the executive vice president for public relations and communications of the Banco Popular Dominicano, José Mármol.
The memorandum allows for the identification, selection, organization and digital reproduction of primary historical sources related to the Dominican Republic that are filed at the Archivo General de Indias, the Archivo Histórico Nacional, the Archivo General de Simancas and the Archivo General de la Administración.
In making the announcement for the Spanish government, the director general of Bellas Artes, Román Fernández- Baca Casares, said that it is a very important step in the mutual exchange of historical documentation, in which not only the Dominican Republic will enrich its history but also that Spain will be able to better understand the evolution of colonial life in Santo Domingo, as well as emigration and Spanish exile on the island.
Dominican ambassador Olivo Rodríguez Huertas thanked the Spanish government for allowing the Dominican Republic to be the first country in Latin America to access all the historical documentation in the Spanish state archives, dating from late 15th century until well into the 19th century. Rodríguez Huertas thanked Banco Popular, in the person of its president Manuel A. Grullón, for the financial support that will make possible the digitization of this valuable historical documentation.
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Listin Diario
29 January 2019
