200 years of a public and general archive for the nation
On August 23, 1823, the General and Public Archive of the Nation (AGPN) was created, currently the General Archive of the Nation, the leading institution in archival matters in Mexico.
Usuarios en consulta Archivo General y Público de la Nación. (1910) by Fototeca Nacional-INAHArchivo General de la Nación - Mexico
The birth of the General and Public Archive of the Nation
The AGPN is linked to the gestation of the republican government in Mexico, since its creation occurs within the context of the restitution of Congress and the dismissal of Agustín de Iturbide as emperor.
Vista de un piso del AGN en Palacio Nacional (1940) by Fototeca Nacional - INAHArchivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Due to the needs of the nation, Lucas Alamán proposed to create a national archive from the bases of the General Archive of New Spain, formed in the late eighteenth century.
Usuarios en consulta Archivo General y Público de la Nación. (1910) by Fototeca Nacional - INAHArchivo General de la Nación - Mexico
The files of the old viceregal archive served for the AGPN to help guide the process of building our nation for almost a century and to meet the needs of citizens.
Recinto constitucional, Palacio Nacional. by Fototeca Nacional – INAH.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
The AGPN faced the challenge of accompanying national political life, even during attempts at foreign invasion, dispossession and mistreatment of the collection, as well as in the imperial period of Maximilian of Habsburg, who turned it into the General Archive of the Empire.
Usuarios en consulta en el Archivo General y Público de la Nación (1910) by Fototeca Nacional – INAH.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
In 1917, in the midst of the Mexican Revolution, the AGPN changed its name to the General Archive of the Nation and contributed to the revolutionary process until it was deprived of prerogatives over public institutions, so it could not contribute in the following decades.
Aspecto de investigadores en la sala de consulta del AGN en el antiguo Palacio de Comunicaciones (1977) by AGN, Archivos Fotográficos, Colección Hermanos Mayo, Concentrado, Sobre HMA/CN/ 102-4Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
This pause lasted just over half a century from 1920, however, in the late 1970s, the Archive resurfaced to take its rightful place in public life.
Condiciones del AGN (1935) by Fototeca Nacional – INAH.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Origins of the collections of the General Archive of the Nation
The collection of the AGN has grown to reach more than 50 linear km of documents and is composed of documents from government institutions, from colonial times, independent Mexico, contemporary Mexico, to the twenty-first century.
Sala del Archivo General y Público de la Nación. (1910) by Fototeca Nacional – INAH.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
During the nineteenth century, diverse documentation was recovered that was under the protection of extinct institutions, such as the Royal Audience or the Hospital de Jesús, and individuals, such as the National Library, where the mercedes of land and waters were located.
Vista del interior de una sala de consulta en el Archivo General de la Nación (1977) by AGN, Archivos Fotográficos, Inauguración del Archivo General de la Nación, sobre 1, INAG/02.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
The collection has gone from being organized in branches, a form inherited from the viceregal archive, to funds, sub-funds, sections and series.
Investigadores en las antiguas salas de consulta ubicadas en las galerías (1981) by AGN, Archivos Fotográficos, Colección Hermanos Mayo, Concentrado, Sobre HMA/CN/ 102-4Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
The procedural files of government institutions that have become historical have also swelled the institution's collection.
Investigadores en las antiguas salas de consulta ubicadas en las galerías (1981) by AGN, Archivos Fotográficos, Colección Hermanos Mayo, Concentrado, Sobre HMA/CN/ 102-1Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Currently, the extensive collection consists of handwritten documents, typescripts, illustrations, maps, photographs, filmographic, phonographic, newspaper and bibliographic materials.
Vista interior de un depósito de documentos del AGN en el antiguo Palacio de Comunicaciones (1977) by AGN, Archivos Fotográficos, Inauguración del Archivo General de la Nación, sobre 1, INAGN/03.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
A travelling archive: safeguarding documentary heritage
Since its inception, the AGPN faced the disorganization, disintegration and overcrowding of documents due to lack of adequate headquarters, as well as the need to professionalize staff and obtain resources for the proper performance of their tasks.
Litografía de Murguía, Archivo General y Público de la Nación by Manuel Rivera Cambas, México pintoresco, artístico y monumental, México, Imprenta de la Reforma, 1883, T.1, p. 16. En Biblioteca-Hemeroteca Ignacio CubasArchivo General de la Nación - Mexico
National Palace
From 1823 to 1973, the Archive was located in the National Palace, in the former offices of the Secretariat of the Viceroyalty, and, although adjustments were made to the space, it was insufficient to optimally house all the documentation.
Desiré Charnay, Convento y Templo de Santo Domingo (1858) by Fototeca Nacional – INAH, MID: 77_20140827-134500:466778Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Convent of Santo Domingo
For this reason, from 1823 to 1845, the collection was moved to the Convent of Santo Domingo.
Vista de Parque Lira en Tacubaya, donde se ubicó la Casa Amarilla (1920) by Fototeca Nacional – INAH MID: 77_20140827-134500:121509Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Lira Park in Tacubaya, where the Yellow House was located
In the 1920s, another part of the National Palace collection was moved to the Chapel of Guadalupe in Tacubaya, next to the Yellow House.
Vista parcial de la fachada de la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Obras Públicas (1977) by AGN, Archivos Fotográficos, Inauguración del Archivo General de la Nación, sobre 1, INAGN/01.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Palace of Communications
A new change of venue concentrated the collection in the extinct Palace of Communications, in Tacuba 8, but flooding inside the enclosure and poor conditions forced the authorities to look for a different space.
Vista de la fachada de la antigua Penitenciaria de Lecumberri, actual sede del AGN (1981) by AGN, Archivos Fotográficos, Colección Hermanos Mayo, Concentrado, Sobre HMA/CN/ 102-4Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Defunct Preventive Prison of the Federal District (Lecumberri)
Finally, the collection was moved from 1977 to 1982 to the reconditioned building of the extinct Preventive Prison of the Federal District. Here it was possible to safeguard the documentation in its entirety and regulate the operation of the institution. Learn more here.
Vista de la sede del Anexo Técnico y del edificio de gobierno del AGN. (2022) by AGN, Archivo digital de la Subdirección de Difusión.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Technical Annex of the Government Building
After the great advance in terms of protection during the twentieth century, the AGN has dedicated itself to fulfilling its substantive functions and has expanded its infrastructure with two buildings for laboratories and warehouses.
Personal de la Dirección de Desarrollo archivístico Nacional, realizando labores (2022) by AGN, Archivo digital de la Subdirección de Difusión.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Consolidation as rector in archival matters
In the XXI century, the AGN has issued guidelines that enable the regulation and homologation of technical processes. These tasks have benefited democratic advances in terms of access to information, transparency and accountability.
Nuevas instalaciones del Archivo General de la Nación, Laboratorios (2019) by AGN, Archivo digital de la Subdirección de Difusión.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Since 2019, the AGN has worked from a diagnosis that was carried out with the sole objective of strengthening the various tasks carried out in the four main technical processes:
Nuevas instalaciones del Archivo General de la Nación, Depósitos (2017) by AGN, Archivo digital de la Subdirección de Difusión.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Organization
The organization is the intellectual and mechanical operation aimed at the classification, organization and description of the documentary collection. The AGN complies with this process by dictating the guidelines that the country's archives must follow for the correct classification of their documents.
Personal de la Dirección de Preservación del Patrimonio Documental, realizando labores de desinfección (conservación preventiva). (2022) by AGN, Archivo digital de la Subdirección de Difusión.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Preservation
Preservation is the set of institutional actions aimed at establishing policies, criteria, guidelines and procedures to prevent risks and damage to documents and thus enable the permanence of the information they contain.
Personal de la Dirección de Preservación del Patrimonio Documental, realizando labores de restauración (2022) by AGN, Archivo digital de la Subdirección de Difusión.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Conservation
Documentary supports come to suffer alterations over time, so to prevent and eradicate this problem, modern conservation processes are carried out in the AGN laboratories that reduce and delay the deterioration of the country's documentary heritage.
Personal de la Dirección de Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicaciones, realizando labores de digitalización. (2022) by AGN, Archivo digital de la Subdirección de Difusión.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
Digitalization
The digitization process has become paramount, as digitized documentation contributes to dissemination and allows access to the nation's documentary heritage to a greater number of users.
Aspecto de usuarios consultando dentro de Sala A del AGN. (2023) by AGN, Archivo digital de la Subdirección de Difusión.Archivo General de la Nación - Mexico
In these 200 years of the AGPN we celebrate the before and after in the way of conceiving the archives and the contribution of this institution in political decision-making, as well as the conservation and promotion of historical awareness through the safeguarding of documents.
We thank the Fototeca Nacional del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia for the contribution of images.
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