# Aztec manuscript returns to Mexico after 200 years

> Mexico gets back 16th-century Aztec manuscript loaned by France for 200 years
- Title: Aztec manuscript returns to Mexico after 200 years | Shortify
- Summary: Mexico gets back 16th-century Aztec manuscript loaned by France for 200 years Mexico repatriates Codex Azcatitlan after French National Library loaned it for…
- Keywords: codex azcatitlan, mexico, france, national library, national museum of anthropology, claudia sheinbaum, emmanuel macron, colonial artifacts, repatriation, aztec history, news, world
- Source: Malay Mail — https://malaymail.com/news/life/2026/09/17/prized-aztec-manuscript-returns-to-mexico-on-loan-nearly-200-years-after-france-took-it/235501
- Published: 2026-09-17T21:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: codex azcatitlan, mexico, france, national library, national museum of anthropology, claudia sheinbaum, emmanuel macron, colonial artifacts, repatriation, aztec history, news, world
## Codex Azcatitlan returns
Mexico displays 16th-century Aztec manuscript after 200-year loan from France

> It combines the pre-Hispanic drawing system but already incorporates figures with a more realistic vision
## Historical significance
Manuscript depicts Aztec migration from mythical Aztlan to Tenochtitlan

> It narrates the Aztec migration from Aztlan to Tenochtitlan
## Loan agreement
France's National Library loaned manuscript to Mexico City's National Museum of Anthropology

> This exhibition coincides with 200 years of Mexico-France relations
## Political context
President Claudia Sheinbaum pushed for return during French president's visit

> Both are very important to Mexico
## Historical background
Manuscript donated to French National Library in 1898 by collector's widow

> It was brought to France half a century earlier by French researcher Joseph Marius Alexis Aubin
## Tensions history
1982 theft incident caused diplomatic friction between Mexico and France

> France expressed anger over what it described as theft but the codex remained in Mexico
## Legal status
Both countries claim legal right to possess the manuscripts

> Both the National Assembly and National Library say their possession is legal
## Repatriation efforts
Mexico has repatriated over 16,000 colonial-era artifacts since 2018

> Successive left-wing Mexican governments step up efforts to recover colonial-era cultural objects
## Key takeaway

Mexico repatriates Codex Azcatitlan after French National Library loaned it for 200 years