Searching for archives relating to political issues:
Archive material can be found by searching the University of Exeter Special Collections archives catalogue
You can find more search tips in our 'Searching our Catalogues' LibGuide
Special Collections looks after a variety of materials relating to politics, including archives and letters of politicians, and examples of political propaganda. We also hold archives relating to movements that had both a political and ethical focus, including the Abolitionist movement and the Anti-Apartheid movement.
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Seventeenth century commonplace book (EUL MS 32): manuscript volume containing transcripts of political documents, compiled c 1624.
Eighteenth century French political satire (EUL MS 125): three political satires and one love poem.
Lady Jersey's Personal Papers (EUL MS 10): including political satires.
Bills relating to elections in Devon, 1835 (EUL MS 269): three poster bills advertising forthcoming elections in Exeter and Devon Southern Division in 1835
Letters of John Bishop Estlin relating to the Abolitionist movement (EUL MS 55): transcribed letters concerning the abolition of Slavery during the period 1844-1866.
Papers of Stafford Henry Northcote (EUL MS 81): papers of Stafford Henry Northcote (1818-1887), 1st Earl of Iddesleigh, statesman
Cecil Harmsworth archive (EUL MS 435): papers of Cecil Harmsworth (1869-1948), a politician, Liberal MP, businessman and the first Baron Harmsworth of Egham. You can find out more about the archive on the Special Collections Blog.
Personal, political and literary papers of Sir Richard Acland (EUL MS 104): papers of Sir Richard Thomas Dyke Acland (1906-1990), fifteenth baronet, politician and benefactor.
Japanese propaganda cartoons (EUL MS 33): five printed items of Japanese propaganda, presumably designed to incite Anti-British feeling in India during the Second World War. All items in this collection have been digitised and are available to view via our Digital Collections website.
Papers of Sir Tom Blackburn relating to his work with Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (EUL MS 441): papers relating to William Maxwell 'Max' Aitken (1879-1964), 1st Baron Beaverbrook, businessman, politician, writer and newspaper owner.
Exeter University Conservative and Unionist Association Papers (EUL UA add. 16): folder of material containing 'Blue on Green' handbook 1966-1967 and other ephemeral materials. (Contact Special Collections for more information)
J. Holroyd-Doveton: Research papers for 'Young Conservatives' (EUL MS 401): loose research materials and pamphlets for book entitled 'Young Conservatives a history of the Young Conservative Movement'.
Papers of Mervyn Bennun relating to anti-apartheid (EUL MS 112): papers of Mervyn Bennun, lecturer in law at the University of Exeter from 1969-1970, African National Congress (ANC) activist, and Chairman and Secretary of the Exeter and District Anti-Apartheid Group.
Papers relating to the Exeter and District Anti-Apartheid Group (EUL MS 216): materials created by one of the longest established (c 1966) and most active groups in the UK anti-apartheid movement.
Letters from politicians (various archives)
Many archives also contain letters from former Prime Ministers of the UK, including:
You can find letters from these politicians and more by searching their name/s in the 'Any Text' field on the online archives catalogue.
There are some fifty distinct archives relating to the Middle East held in Exeter’s Special Collections department at Exeter.
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The University of Exeter is fortunate to hold substantial collections relating to the Middle East. The archives are particularly strong in the area of the Persian Gulf, with notable collections including the papers of Sir William Luce (1907-77), British Governor of Aden (1956-60), Political Resident in the Gulf (1961-66) and Special Representative for Gulf Affairs (overseeing Britain’s withdrawal from the region) from 1970-72; Sir Charles Belgrave (1894-1969), Advisor to the Rulers of Bahrain from 1926-57; the working papers of journalist Jonathan Crusoe (1953-91) relating to Iraq and Kuwait, and a small selection of documents and photographs belonging to diplomat Sir John Wilton (born 1921) relating to Qatar and Kuwait.
Material specific to Oman includes the personal papers and photographs of John Shebbeare (1919-2004), British advisor to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, and the extensive collection of research papers and Omani manuscripts of John Craven Wilkinson.
Other highlights include the research papers of Egyptian scholar Nazih Ayubi (1944-95), the papers of journalist and Middle Eastern specialist Michael Adams (born 1920), copies of the papers of Richard Howard Stafford Crossman (1907-1974) on Palestine in the late 1940s, material – including recorded interviews – relating to Professor Abdullah al-Fattah Muhammad El-Awaisi’s thesis on the Muslim Brotherhood, the personal diaries of Admiral G.H.P. White (1819-38), Personal and research papers of Sir John (1909-90) and Lady Diana Richmond (1914-97) relating to the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, a large collection of copies of political documents, papers of Henry Michael Barker relating to his family’s centuries-old involvement in Egyptian commerce, plus correspondence and reports relating to the political activities of brothers Nabih Al-Azmah (1886-1972) & Adil Al-Azmah (1888-1952) and the Kurdish research papers of Omar Sheikhmous.
For more information, see our Middle East Studies LibGuide
Find out more about individual archives within the Middle East Collections on our Special Collections Blog
The Middle East material held in our archives can provide historical and political insights into a region that remains of crucial significance to international affairs, global economic development and world peace. As the source of most of the world's petroleum, the location of the birth of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths and a perennial flashpoint for religious, ethnic and political tensions, the Middle East continues to demand compelling scholarly interest across almost every field and discipline. The diversity of our archival collections could support a wide range of research projects, particularly if such research is pursued across different archives along either thematic or geographical lines.
Relations between the Middle East and the West. The recent murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi has drawn worldwide attention not only to the conduct of the House of Saud but also to the reasons for the long-standing support offered to the Saudi regime by America and the UK. The ability to analyse contemporary political events and policies relies upon an understanding of the complex array of alliances, oppositions, armed conflicts and economic collaborations that have taken place during the last two centuries and beyond, and our archival collections contain a great deal of material on British involvement in the region, from Charles Belgrave's activities as 'Adviser' to the Sheikhs of Bahrain to John Richmond's diplomatic work in Kuwait and Sudan, as well as Sir William Luce's role overseeing the withdrawal of British forces from the Persian Gulf in the early 1970s and his efforts to balance regional stability with the maintenance of Britain's interests and influence. The personal nature of these archives present opportunities for researchers to obtain candid and unexpurgated opinions on key events and personalities. What is the relationship between British perceptions of Iran in the 1930s and current support for Iran's political opponents? How much of the contemporary geopolitical map of the region has been determined by Western activities in the Middle East, and what are the implications of this for the future? Material to answer these questions can be found not only in papers dealing directly with military intelligence, administration or diplomacy in the region itself, but also in the wealth of academic writings, conferences and groups such as the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) or Arab-British Chamber of Commerce through which such relations continue to be promoted.
Energy, Resources and Development. The discovery of oil in the Persian Gulf in the 1930s transformed not only the Middle East itself but also Western policy in the region. Charles Belgrave's diaries chronicle the dramatic changes in Bahrain's landscape, economy and culture as the oil industry developed, as well as the influx of Western visitors that descended upon the island in consequence. Although the development of Isa Town in Bahrain was undertaken after Belgrave's departure, there are several items on the construction of this desert town in the Luce collection. Comparisons could be made between Belgrave's relationships with the rulers of Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and those of Sir William Luce two decades later, as the flourishing oil economies shifted the balance of political power as well as western attitudes towards Kuwait and Iraq. The papers of Jonathan Crusoe contain a wealth of material on the Iraqi oil industry in the 1980s up till the end of the Gulf War in 1991, as well as detailed information on other industrial, commercial and agricultural practices in the country. We also hold a substantial collection of working papers belonging to John Craven Wilkinson, who worked in the oil industry in the Middle East before devoting much of his later career to writing about Oman.
The Kurds: independence and identity, isolation and integration. The Kurdish people are a large ethnic minority who live in an area - sometimes referred to as 'Kurdistan' - that spans the borders of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Armenia. They have their own culture, literature and language, with two main dialects - Sorani, which is written in Arabic, and Kurmanji, the dialect spoken in Turkey and written using the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. The Kurdish people have been victims of ethnic repression throughout the 20th century, facing forced assimilation in the countries where they live. We have a uniquely valuable resource for Kurdish studies in the papers of Omar Sheikhmous, a founding member of the 'Patriotic Union of Kurdistan' (PUK) who has dedicated his life and career to political, academic and cultural activities on behalf of the Kurds. The collection includes pamphlets, press cuttings, conference papers, unpublished writings and original archival material relating to Kurdish political resistance movements. There is also a smaller collection of material in the Crusoe archive relating to the activities and welfare of Iraqi Kurds.
Pan-Arabism. While the papers of Charles Belgrave and William Luce reveal the extent of British fears about the growth of the Pan-Arab movement - an ideology that espouses cultural and political unity for all Arabs under the banner of a single Arab nation - and the Crusoe collection contains valuable documentation on the history of the Ba'ath party and the Pan-Arabism of Saddam Hussein, researchers seeking to study the Pan-Arab movement should read this material in conjunction with that held in the archives of Nazih Ayubi, Nabih Al-Azmah and Adil Al-Azmah. Their involvement in the politics of Syria, Egypt and other Arab countries is documented in reports, correspondence and other records, as well as research papers and draft publications.
Material from these collections can be located using our online archives catalogue and more information on specific archives is periodically posted on our Special Collections Blog.
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