Instituto Cervantes to hold talk on the Cultural Sacking of Manila in 1762 and the restoration of looted archives

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Instituto Cervantes and the UP Department of European Languages, in collaboration with Intramuros Administration, will hold the lecture “1762: The Cultural Sacking of Manila during the British Occupation and the Restoration Project of its Archives”, by Dr. Christina Lee. This will be on Thursday, July 20 at 2PM at Instituto Cervantes’ Intramuros branch (Real Street, Plaza San Luis, Intramuros).

Dr. Christina Lee is currently Professor and Acting Chair of the Spanish and Portuguese Department at Princeton University. Her latest book, Saints of Resistance: Devotions in the Philippines under Early Spanish Rule (Oxford University Press, 2021) has a new edition which has been recently launched by Ateneo Press of Manila.

In her talk, Professor Lee will discuss the cultural looting of the British Invasion of 1762 and present a project funded by the US and the UK to digitally repatriate books and manuscripts seized from the archives of the Convent of Saint Paul. Using the original index of the archives and subsequent records related to the sale and dispersal of its contents, the project envisions a virtual reconstruction of the library's materials, ca. 1762. Likewise, it will restore the original systems of knowledge production, modes of access and use of the library.

The project also serves as an entry point into the study of Spanish colonialism in the Pacific and the experience of affected communities, especially in the Philippines. Using digital technologies, the reconstructed library will include spaces for transcribing, translating, and annotating materials.

The lecture will be conducted in English. Admission is FREE and open for all on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please visit Instituto Cervantes’ website at http://manila.cervantes.es or its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila. You may also contact Instituto Cervantes at 8526-1482 or at cenmni@cervantes.es.

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