The Archivo de Indias (Archive of the Indies) was built between 1594 and 1598 in the Greco-Roman style, originally as a Merchant’s Exchange, by Juan de Mijares from  plans  by  Juan de  Herrera, under the rule of Phillip II.

 In 1785, Carlos III ordered the centralization here of all of the invaluable documentation of the conquest and colonization of the Americas, which is preserved in more than 35.000 files of incalculable historical value. 

     In today’s computer age, the documentation of the Archivo de Indias is being digitized so that the fifteen million pages it so jealously guards may be consulted from anyplace in the world.