Guillermo Dupaix Papers
Scope and Contents
Among Dupaix's personal archives and the individually numbered items are correspondence, passports and other official documents, literary productions, and financial documents concerning the three expeditions lead by Dupaix (filed as Guillermo Dupaix Papers, G308 Ms., G309 Ms., G314 Ms., G315 Ms., G316 Ms., G319 Ms., G321 Ms., G322 Ms., G339 Ms.), solicitation of salaries (G354 Ms.), charges of treason brought against Dupaix (G323 Ms.), settlement by executor Fausto de Elhuyar of Dupaix's estate including Dupaix's will (G369 Ms.), mandates after Dupaix's death for the collection of the manuscripts, drawings, and artifacts emanating from the expeditions (G373 Ms.) and the manuscript “Dedicación al Congreso Gral. de la Nación Mexicana” by H.Baredere, editor of some of Dupaix's work (G434 Ms). The collection also contains a log which traces the commissioning of Dupaix for the explorations (G245 Ms.). Miscellaneous notes and manuscripts in Dupaix's personal archives include Algunos avisos practicos para mejorar mi comisión by Dupaix. A biographical sketch entitled, “Yndicaciones relativas al Sor. Guillermo Dupaix” appears to be the answer to an attached letter of 1851 from the Belgian consul representing Dupaix's descendants. Much of the correspondence is with Viceroy José de Iturrigaray y Aróstegui.
The papers are in Spanish.
Dates
- Creation: 1804-1820
Language of Materials
Spanish or Castilian.
Access Restrictions
Unrestricted.
Use Restrictions
Standard copyright restrictions apply.
Biographical Note
Archaeological explorer, military captain, and writer. Born 1748 or 1750 in Austria-Hungary; died 1817 in Mexico City. Joined the military at the age of fourteen. Became capitan of the Regiment of Dragones de Almansa in 1790 and was sent to Mexico, where he arrived in February 1791. Retired from the military circa 1800. Between 1805 and 1809, Dupaix explored and researched the indigenous ruins of Mexico under the sponsorship of King Carlos IV. Dupaix was accompanied by an escort of cavalry and by José Luciano Castañeda, artist for the National Museum of Mexico. Dupaix's descriptions and Castañeda's drawings of the ruins received high acclaim, especially in France and England. The publication of their works is credited with having stimulated the strong interest of Europeans in visiting and studying these ruins. Dupaix is considered to be a pioneer in the science of archaeology. In 1808 Dupaix was charged with disloyalty to the King of Spain, but was absolved and praised for his work.
Full Extent
5 inches
Abstract
Personal archives of Guillermo Dupaix, military captain and pioneer archaeologist, including correspondence, literary productions, and official documents concerning his archaeological expeditions in Mexico.
Organization
Organized into two subgroups, one consisting of personal archives and the other of individual manuscripts.
Arrangement
Personal archives arranged by format; manuscripts arranged by topic, each being assigned a separate number.
Other Finding Aids
The following guide is available in the Benson Latin American Collection Rare Books Reference: Castañeda, Carlos Eduardo, 1896-1958. Guide to the Latin American Manuscripts in the University of Texas Library. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1939.
Acquisitions Information
The Guillermo Dupaix Papers form part of the Genaro García Collection, which was purchased by the University of Texas in 1921 from the heirs of Genaro García.
Alternate Form Available
The papers are also available on microfilm.
Processing Information
The papers were arranged into Archives and Manuscripts subgroups by earlier library staff. Series were created by the staff of the Mexican Archives Project, which completed processing of the papers in December 1993.
- Title
- Guillermo Dupaix:
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Subtitle
- An Inventory of His Papers at the Benson Latin American Collection
- Author
- Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection
- Date
- 2001
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- August 15, 2002: Edited with XMetaL3 by Bob Stewart according to instructions in Editing TARO EAD XML Finding Aids with XMetaL.
- Tue Jul 22 14:57:52 CDT 2003: urn:taro:utexas.blac.00017 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (20030505).
- 2020 March: Date normalization by Janette Nunez.
- 2021 April: Edited by Carla O. Alvarez to fix compliance check errors to prepare for the migration to new TARO website.
- 2021 November: Edited by Devon Murphy to update control access terms and formatting based on the TARO Control Access List.
- 2025 July: Revised by Ryan Sullivant to fix validation errors prior to ingestion into ArchivesSpace.
Repository Details
Part of the Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin Repository
2300 Red River Street
Austin Texas 78712 United States
(512) 495-4578
bensonspecialcollections@austin.utexas.edu