“The council wanted a permanent home for these significant historical documents and we could not think of a better place than the CNMI Archives at NMC,” said Humanities Council executive director Scott Russell.
The original documents were located and photocopied by Spanish historian Dr. Carlos Madrid at the Philippine National Archives in Manila in 2010.
Many of these documents date to the 19th century.
“We are very excited to have received such a valuable collection of historical documents,” said CNMI Archivist John Cook. “We look forward to making this collection available and readily accessible to the public. I am very grateful to Scott Russell and Tracy Guerrero at the NMI Humanities Council for entrusting us with these materials.”
Spain ruled the Mariana Islands from 1565 to 1899 during which time government officials produced thousands of reports, letters and memoranda documenting various facets of life in the islands.
Madrid’s research, supported by a “We the People” grant awarded to the Council by the National Endowment for the Humanities, was a part of a continuing Council initiative to locate and make available primary source materials which document the history and cultures of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Russell said the council looked forward to continuing its collaborative relationship with the archives in the coming years.
