Housed in the former Casa de la Contratación (Contracting House) on the western side of Plaza del Triunfo, the Archivo de Indias has, since 1785, been the main archive of Spain's American empire, with 80 million pages of documents dating from 1492 to the end of the empire in the 19th century – a most effective statement of Spain's power and influence during its Golden Age.
A short film inside tells the full story of the building along with some fascinating original colonial maps and documents. The Renaissance building was extensively refurbished in 2005.
