Nearly five centuries after Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés signed it, and decades after it was stolen from Mexico’s national archives, the FBI on Wednesday returned a handwritten page of incalculable value to Mexico.

The FBI said in a statement that the document had changed hands several times over the years, so no one will face charges. This is an original handwritten page signed by Hernán Cortés on February 20, 1527, said Special Agent Jessica Dittmer, a member of the FBI Art Crime Team. By that time, Cortés had conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521, two years after landing in what is now Mexico.

While archivists at Mexico’s National Archives were microfilming their collection of documents signed by Cortés in 1993, they discovered that 15 pages were missing from the manuscript. They believe the theft occurred sometime between 1985 and 1993.

Mexico sought the assistance of the FBI Art Crime Team last year for this particular page. The FBI eventually narrowed its search to the United States and located the document, although the agency did not specify who had it. The New York City Police Department, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the government of Mexico participated in the investigation.

This is the second Cortés document the FBI has returned to the Mexican government. In 2023, the agency returned a 16th-century letter from Cortés.

Pieces like this are considered protected cultural property and represent valuable moments in Mexico’s history, which is why Mexicans keep them in their archives for the purpose of better understanding history, the FBI said.