British History OnlineThis link opens in a new windowA collection of printed primary and secondary sources from the medieval and early modern periods of British history. Subject coverage includes biographies, religious history, local and parliamentary histories and urban history.
Discovery, the National Archives CatalogueThis link opens in a new windowFull catalogue of the holdings of the National Archives and thousands of other archives in the UK. The National Archives is home to millions of historical documents, which were created and collected by UK central government departments and major courts of law. Wide subject coverage.
Early English Books Online (EEBO)This link opens in a new windowFull text digital versions of nearly every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America, spanning from 1473 to 1700, plus works in English printed elsewhere. The collection includes pamphlets, books, broadsheets, manuscripts and periodicals.
Eighteenth Century Collections OnlineThis link opens in a new windowFull text digital versions of over 180,000 works published during the 18th Century. The collection includes books, pamphlets, essays, broadsides and more, reflecting the social, cultural and literary history of the time.
Electronic EnlightenmentThis link opens in a new windowExplore both the relationships and the movement of ideas in the early modern period through its web of correspondence. This vast online searchable collection of inter-connected letters and documents range from the 17th to the 20th centuries, and is international in scope. EE is more than an "electronic bookshelf" of isolated texts: it is a network of interconnected documents that allows you to see the complex web of personal relationships in the early modern period and the creation of the modern world.
Gale Primary SourcesThis link opens in a new windowCross-search all of the Gale primary source collections in one go. Content dates from 16th Century onwards and includes monographs, manuscripts, newspapers, photographs, maps, and more. Date coverage: 16th -20th century
Gallica - The BnF Digital LibraryThis link opens in a new windowGallica is the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF). This vast digital library collection includes more than 70,000 volumes of digitised texts, 80,000 still images, and 30 hours of sound recordings.
John Johnson CollectionThis link opens in a new windowCollection of ephemera, including posters, broadsides, prints and advertising material from 18th, 19th and early 20th century Britain.
Medieval and Early Modern StudiesThis link opens in a new windowThe collection covers a range of subject over the time period including sources on the Black Death to the Restoration of the English monarchy and the Glorious Revolution. Date range: From 11th century to 19th century.
Selections from the King's Manuscripts from the British LibraryThis link opens in a new windowThis is a major British Heritage collection. Following the donation of the Old Royal Library to the British Museum by King George II in 1757, George III built up his own collection of printed books and manuscripts. These were in turn transferred to the British Museum after his death by George IV in 1823 and are known as The “King’s Collection”.
State Papers OnlineThis link opens in a new windowDigitised manuscripts of British government papers from 1509 to 1782. Content includes correspondence, reports, memoranda, and parliamentary drafts. Parts I-IV Early Modern and Parts I-IV 18th Century available:
Parts I & II: The Tudors, 1509-1603 Henry VIII-Elizabeth I .
Parts III & IV: The Stuarts and Commonwealth, James I - Anne I, 1603-1714 .
C18 Parts I-IV: 1714-1782, papers domestic and foreign
Stuart and Cumberland papers from the Royal Archives
Enhanced access: Parts I-IV Early Modern, Parts I-IV 18th Century, Stuart and Cumberland papers now available.
American PeriodicalsThis link opens in a new windowThis database contains periodicals published between 1740 and 1940, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines and many other historically-significant periodicals.
Brazilian and Portuguese History and CultureThis link opens in a new windowPamphlets and monographs documenting Latin American history and Latin American literature, from 1500 to 1930, from the Oliveira Lima library.
Early English Books Online (EEBO)This link opens in a new windowFull text digital versions of nearly every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America, spanning from 1473 to 1700, plus works in English printed elsewhere. The collection includes pamphlets, books, broadsheets, manuscripts and periodicals.
Eighteenth Century Collections OnlineThis link opens in a new windowFull text digital versions of over 180,000 works published during the 18th Century. The collection includes books, pamphlets, essays, broadsides and more, reflecting the social, cultural and literary history of the time.
Eighteenth Century DramaThis link opens in a new windowAn archive of almost every play submitted for licence between 1737 and 1824, and hundreds of documents, including playbills, theatre records and correspondence that provide social context.
Eighteenth Century FictionThis link opens in a new windowEnglish fiction from 1700 to 1780. Including works by Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Eliza Haywood, Samuel Richardson, Tobias Smollett, Laurence Sterne and Jonathan Swift.
Eighteenth Century JournalsThis link opens in a new windowBringing together rare journals printed between c.1685 and 1835, this resource illuminates all aspects of eighteenth-century social, political and literary life.
Literary Manuscripts - LeedsThis link opens in a new windowThis resource offers literary scholars the opportunity to examine manuscripts of 17th and 18th century verse held in the celebrated Brotherton Collection at the University of Leeds.
Literary Print CultureThis link opens in a new windowThe archive of the Stationers Company with records dating from 1554 to the 20th century relating to the history of printing, publishing, the book trade and the development of copyright.
Literary StudiesThis link opens in a new windowThis collection covers British and American literature including Literary manuscripts, rare printed works, and personal papers of a range of leading literary figures, as well as unique access to rare and obscure literary texts and genres.
Parker Library On the WebThis link opens in a new windowDigitised images of rare Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and early printed books from the historic Parker Library collection at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge., including the oldest version of the Anglo Saxon Chronicle. Date range: 500 to 1800 A.D.
Perdita ManuscriptsThis link opens in a new windowThe Perdita Project was set up to find and digitise early modern women authors who were lost because their writing existed only in manuscript form. The digitised manuscripts in this collection were written or compiled by women in the British Isles during the 16th and 17th centuries. Content includes accounts and receipt books, diaries, biographies, prose, poetry, psalms, travel writing, historical writing and more.
Romanticism: Life, Literature and LandscapeThis link opens in a new windowDiscover the working methods of Romantic poets and trace the evolution of celebrated verse. Presenting the manuscript collections of the Wordsworth Trust. Includes verse manuscripts, printed manuscripts, prose manuscripts, printed verse, correspondence, diaries, travel journals, autograph albums, guide books, fine art and maps. Content spans from the 17th century to the 1980s.
Shakespeare in Performance: Prompt Books from the Folger Shakespeare LibraryThis link opens in a new windowShakespeare in Performance showcases rare prompt books from the world-famous Folger Shakespeare Library. These prompt books tell the story of Shakespeares plays as they were performed in theatres throughout Great Britain, the United States, between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries.
Age of ExplorationThis link opens in a new windowExplore five centuries (1420 - 1920) of journeys across the globe, scientific discoveries, the expansion of European colonialism, new trade routes, and conflict over territories. Featuring rare manuscript and early printed material, highly illustrated maps and documents, diaries and ships' logs from some of the most well-known voyages in history. Note: Scanned documents are in original language and have not been translated.
America in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1635-1928This link opens in a new windowRecords from the United Society Partners in Gospel missionary organisation, providing an insight into British missionary changing attitudes towards the American and Canadian Colonies over 300 years.
American History, 1493-1945This link opens in a new windowThis collection documents American History from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century. It is sourced from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, and contains correspondence, diaries, government documents, business records, books, pamphlets, newspapers, broadsides, photographs, artwork and maps.
Bray Schools in Canada, America and the Bahamas, 1645-1900This link opens in a new windowArchives of the Associates of Dr Bray, a philanthropic group whose aims were to provide education for black people and Native Americans in North America.
Canada in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1722-1952This link opens in a new windowRecords, letters, charters and reports from the Canadian branch of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG), an Anglican missionary organisation.
Cecil PapersThis link opens in a new windowThe Cecil Papers is a major collection of early-modern historical documents from the reigns of Elizabethan I and James I/VI. More than 150,000 pages have been digitised in full colour to create a definitive online archive of almost 30,000 manuscript documents written by some of the most significant figures of Elizabethan and Jacobean history. These are accompanied by the complete Calendar of the Cecil Papers, featuring summaries and/or transcripts of many documents and two eighteenth-century volumes of selected transcriptions.
Church Missionary Society ArchiveThis link opens in a new windowThis module is a rich repository of source materials on the work of this globally influential organisation, founded in 1799 as an Anglican evangelical movement and still active today. It includes records of both the CMS and the many other missionary societies which have become associated or amalgamated with it over its lifetime.
Colonial Africa in official statistics, 1821-1953This link opens in a new windowStatistics covering the history of thirteen colonies across Africa. The statistics captured how the British Empire was performing as a business.
Colonial AmericaThis link opens in a new windowColonial America makes available around 1,400 volumes from The National Archives, UK, covering the period 1606 to 1822. This consists of the original correspondence between the British government and the governments of the American colonies.
Colonial CaribbeanThis link opens in a new windowStretching from Jamaica and the Bahamas to Trinidad and Tobago, Colonial Caribbean makes available materials from 27 Colonial Office file classes from The National Archives, UK. Covering the history of the various territories under British colonial governance from 1624 to 1870, this includes administrative documentation, trade and shipping records, minutes of council meetings, and details of plantation life, colonial settlement, imperial rivalries across the region, and the growing concern of absentee landlords.
Colonial Missionaries Papers from America and the West Indies, 1701-1870This link opens in a new windowLetters, proceedings, journals and reports from the Anglian missionary organisation United Society Partners in Gospel, formerly the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) covering 18th to early 20th century. The collection provides insight into the relationship between colonisers and the colonised.
Colonial State PapersThis link opens in a new windowThe Colonial State Papers offers access to over 7,000 hand-written documents and more than 40,000 bibliographic records with this incredible resource on Colonial History. In addition to Britain's colonial relations with the Americas and other European rivals for power, this collection also covers the Caribbean and Atlantic world. It is an invaluable resource for scholars of early American history, British colonial history, Caribbean history, maritime history, Atlantic trade, plantations, and slavery. Date range: 1574-1757
Colonial State PapersThis link opens in a new windowThe Colonial State Papers offers access to over 7,000 hand-written documents and more than 40,000 bibliographic records with this incredible resource on Colonial History. In addition to Britain's colonial relations with the Americas and other European rivals for power, this collection also covers the Caribbean and Atlantic world. It is an invaluable resource for scholars of early American history, British colonial history, Caribbean history, maritime history, Atlantic trade, plantations, and slavery. Date range: 1574-1757
Early Encounters in North AmericaThis link opens in a new windowThis collection aims to document the relationships among peoples in North America from 1534 to 1850. Mainly consists of personal accounts from all of the protagonists, including traders, slaves, missionaries, explorers, soldiers, native peoples, and officials, both men and women.
East India CompanyThis link opens in a new windowDigitised primary source archive covering all aspects of British trade with, and government of, India from 1595 to 1947, under the East India Company itself and under the British Crown.
Empire OnlineThis link opens in a new windowManuscripts, maps, essays, printed and visual historical sources on colonialism and Empire from the 16th to 20th Centuries.
Empire StudiesThis link opens in a new windowThis collection offers a rich array of sources for the study of the British Empire. It features material on British colonial policy and government; perspectives on life in British colonies. Content dates from the mid 18th to mid 20th centuries.
India Raj and EmpireThis link opens in a new windowExplore the history of South Asia between the foundation of the East India Company in 1615 and the granting of independence to India and Pakistan in 1947.
Indigenous Cultures and Christian Conversion in Ghana and Sierra Leone, 1700-1850This link opens in a new windowThis resource comprises selected documents from a number of different microfilm collections, including: early Gold Coast records from the archives of the USPG; the papers of Thomas Perronet Thompson, the first Governor of the Colony of Sierra Leone
Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America This link opens in a new windowExplore manuscripts, artwork and rare printed books dating from the earliest contact with European settlers (early 16th century) and photographs and newspapers right up to the end of the 20th century.
Mexico in HistoryThis link opens in a new windowMexico in History explores the evolution of Mexico from c.1500 to 1929, from Spanish colonisation and the formation of New Spain through the Mexican War of Independence to the Mexican Revolution. The predominantly Spanish-language material is a combination of print, manuscript and photographic collections sourced from The Bancroft Library at the University of California Berkeley.
Missionary StudiesThis link opens in a new windowThese primary sources are a resource for the study of missionary work, educational work, medical work, evangelism, political conflict, and the emergence of indigenous churches.
Revolutionary War and Early America: Collections from the Massachusetts Historical SocietyThis link opens in a new windowContains 26 collections from the holdings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, focusing on the Colonial Era, the Revolutionary War, and the Early National Period, with some collections extending into the Civil War era. Includes the Pre-Revolutionary Diaries, 1635-1774, which consists of 276 diaries written by 112 people. The collections span a huge date range from 1419-1973 and include a range of papers from families and individual figures.
Cecil PapersThis link opens in a new windowThe Cecil Papers is a major collection of early-modern historical documents from the reigns of Elizabethan I and James I/VI. More than 150,000 pages have been digitised in full colour to create a definitive online archive of almost 30,000 manuscript documents written by some of the most significant figures of Elizabethan and Jacobean history. These are accompanied by the complete Calendar of the Cecil Papers, featuring summaries and/or transcripts of many documents and two eighteenth-century volumes of selected transcriptions.
China: Trade, Politics & CultureThis link opens in a new windowEnglish-language primary sources relating to China and the West, providing insight into the changes in China from the earliest English embassy to the birth and early years of the Peoples Republic (1795 to 1980). Includes manuscripts, letters, diaries, photographs, missionary periodicals, colour paintings, maps and drawings.
Dublin Castle Records 1798-1926This link opens in a new windowThe Dublin Castle administration in Ireland was the government of Ireland under English and later British rule, from the twelfth century until 1922, based at Dublin Castle. Dublin Castle Records, 1798-1926 contains records of the British administration in Ireland prior to 1922, a crucial period which saw the rise of Parnell and the Land War in 1880 through to the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1921. This collection comprises materials from Series CO 904, The National Archives, Kew, UK.
State Papers OnlineThis link opens in a new windowDigitised manuscripts of British government papers from 1509 to 1782. Content includes correspondence, reports, memoranda, and parliamentary drafts. Parts I-IV Early Modern and Parts I-IV 18th Century available:
Parts I & II: The Tudors, 1509-1603 Henry VIII-Elizabeth I .
Parts III & IV: The Stuarts and Commonwealth, James I - Anne I, 1603-1714 .
C18 Parts I-IV: 1714-1782, papers domestic and foreign
Stuart and Cumberland papers from the Royal Archives
Enhanced access: Parts I-IV Early Modern, Parts I-IV 18th Century, Stuart and Cumberland papers now available.
UK Parliamentary PapersThis link opens in a new windowFully searchable full text archive of House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (HCPP), also known as Sessional Papers or Blue Books, dating from 1715 through to today. Includes, Bills, House of Common Papers and Command Papers. Hansard debates archive also available. House of Lords Parliamentary Papers and House of Commons Public Petitions to Parliament also now included.
Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources, 1600-1970This link opens in a new windowFind state and municipal codes, documents relating to constitutional conventions, and other American legal history resources.
History of International Law via HeinOnlineThis link opens in a new windowFull text titles dating back to 1690 on international law. Subjects include: war & peace, Nuremberg Trials, law of the sea, international arbitration, Hague conferences and conventions.
Making of Modern Law: Trials, 1600-1926This link opens in a new windowRead through full-text documents from Anglo-American trials, including transcripts, printed accounts, arbitrations, and books.
Area Studies: China and Southeast AsiaThis link opens in a new windowA varied array of records of traders, travellers, missionaries and diplomats, from the mid-seventeenth century to the late twentieth century, offering Western perspectives on all aspects of Chinese culture and society.
Area Studies: IndiaThis link opens in a new windowA vital resource for the study of the British Indian Empire and the history, culture and literature of the Indian subcontinent from 1712 to 1942.
Area Studies: JapanThis link opens in a new windowA wide range of sources, by writers, diplomats, tourists, businessmen, missionaries and others, documenting the political, cultural and social history of Japan from 1400 to the 20th century.
Brazilian and Portuguese History and CultureThis link opens in a new windowPamphlets and monographs documenting Latin American history and Latin American literature, from 1500 to 1930, from the Oliveira Lima library.
China: Culture and SocietyThis link opens in a new windowChina: Culture and Society provides access to the Wason Pamphlet collection in its entirety. Mostly in English and published between c.1750 and 1929, these rare pamphlets make up one of the most extensive collections of literature on China and the Chinese in the Western world.
Defining GenderThis link opens in a new windowUK primary source materials from 1450 to 1910 relating to the study of history, literature, sociology and education from a gendered perspective. Documents include ephemera, pamphlets & periodicals, education documents, books, personal writings, business records, government papers, ballads and literature.
Food and Drink in HistoryThis link opens in a new windowFrom feast to famine, explore five centuries of primary source material documenting the story of food and drink with sources from the UK, US and Australia. Covering 16th to early 21st centuries.
Frontier LifeThis link opens in a new windowThis collection helps us to understand existence on the edges of the anglophone world from 1650-1920. Discover the various European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia through documents that reveal the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in these areas. Includes correspondence, diaries, government papers, business records, land transactions, legal documents, speeches, books and pamphlets.
Gerritsen Collection of Aletta H. JacobsThis link opens in a new windowCollection of books, pamphlets and periodicals reflecting the evolution of a feminist consciousness and the movement for women's rights. Coverage includes the UK and Europe, the US and Canada, and New Zealand. Contents are primarily in English with some German, French and other languages and cover 1543-1945.
Jewish Life in America, c1654-1954This link opens in a new windowJewish Life in America will enable you to explore the history of Jewish communities in America from the 17th century right through to the mid-20th century. The collection brings to life the communal and social aspects of Jewish identity, culture and Jewish involvement in the political life of American society.
London Low LifeThis link opens in a new windowDigitised images of books, ephemera, maps and other materials relating to 18th, 19th and early 20th century street life culture in London.
Witchcraft in Europe and AmericaThis link opens in a new windowWritings on the subject of witchcraft dating from the 15th to the early 20th century, sourced from the Cornell University Library. Rare and fragile manuscripts containing eyewitness accounts and court records of the trials of witches, including depositions obtained under torture.
Age of ExplorationThis link opens in a new windowExplore five centuries (1420 - 1920) of journeys across the globe, scientific discoveries, the expansion of European colonialism, new trade routes, and conflict over territories. Featuring rare manuscript and early printed material, highly illustrated maps and documents, diaries and ships' logs from some of the most well-known voyages in history. Note: Scanned documents are in original language and have not been translated.
China, America and the Pacific - Trade and Cultural ExchangeThis link opens in a new windowExploring the cultural and trading relationships that emerged between America, China and the Pacific region from the early 18th to 20th centuries. The collections includes manuscripts, rare printed texts, visual images, objects and maps.
China: Trade, Politics & CultureThis link opens in a new windowEnglish-language primary sources relating to China and the West, providing insight into the changes in China from the earliest English embassy to the birth and early years of the Peoples Republic (1795 to 1980). Includes manuscripts, letters, diaries, photographs, missionary periodicals, colour paintings, maps and drawings.
Colonial State PapersThis link opens in a new windowThe Colonial State Papers offers access to over 7,000 hand-written documents and more than 40,000 bibliographic records with this incredible resource on Colonial History. In addition to Britain's colonial relations with the Americas and other European rivals for power, this collection also covers the Caribbean and Atlantic world. It is an invaluable resource for scholars of early American history, British colonial history, Caribbean history, maritime history, Atlantic trade, plantations, and slavery. Date range: 1574-1757
East India CompanyThis link opens in a new windowDigitised primary source archive covering all aspects of British trade with, and government of, India from 1595 to 1947, under the East India Company itself and under the British Crown.
Literary Print CultureThis link opens in a new windowThe archive of the Stationers Company with records dating from 1554 to the 20th century relating to the history of printing, publishing, the book trade and the development of copyright.
Virginia Company ArchivesThis link opens in a new windowThis resource documents the founding and economic development of Virginia as seen through the papers of the Virginia Company of London, 1606-1624. It provides a rich source for the study of trade between Britain and America.
Antigua, Slavery and Emancipation in the Records of a Sugar PlantationThis link opens in a new windowRecords of the Tudway family’s Antiguan sugar plantation during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Documents span the period from the early slave trade to the post-slavery economy.
Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British SlaveryThis link opens in a new windowDatabase containing, first, the identity of all slave-owners in the British colonies at the time slavery ended and, second, all the estates in the British Caribbean colonies. You can also browse maps, details of estates or explore thematically by type of legacy.
Slavery, Abolition & Social JusticeThis link opens in a new windowBringing together documents from archives and libraries across the Atlantic world, spanning from 1490 to 2007, this resource allows to explore and compare unique material relating to the complex subjects of slavery, abolition and social justice. Includes original manuscripts, pamphlets, books, paintings and maps.
Slavery Through Time: from Enslavers to Abolitionists, 1675-1865This link opens in a new windowThis collection contains a wide range of documents concerning the African slave trade during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The papers focus primarily on Jamaica and the West Indies, but also cover the experience of other nations and regions.
Slavery in Jamaica, Records from a Family of slave owners, 1686-1860This link opens in a new windowRecords of the Goulburn family’s Jamaican plantations from the 17th to 19th century. The archive provides a comprehensive overview of the operation and eventual abolition of the slave trade in the West Indies.
Slave Trade Records from Liverpool, 1754-1792This link opens in a new windowPapers of Liverpool merchants involved in the transatlantic slave trade during the period 1754-1792, when Liverpool was the busiest slave-trade port.
Slave Trading Records from William Davenport & Co. 1745-1797This link opens in a new windowArchive of the business activities of William Davenport, Liverpool merchant and British slave trader. Records span from the late 1740s till the early 1790s and include trading invoices and accounts, cargo lists and ledgers.
Slavery, Exploitation and Trade in the West Indies, 1759-1832This link opens in a new windowThe business records, legal documents, and correspondence of Nathaniel Phillips, a Jamaican slave plantation owner during the 18th and 19th centuries. The collection provides insight into the social and economic history of the transatlantic slave trade.
Age of ExplorationThis link opens in a new windowExplore five centuries (1420 - 1920) of journeys across the globe, scientific discoveries, the expansion of European colonialism, new trade routes, and conflict over territories. Featuring rare manuscript and early printed material, highly illustrated maps and documents, diaries and ships' logs from some of the most well-known voyages in history. Note: Scanned documents are in original language and have not been translated.
Grand TourThis link opens in a new windowTaking the phenomenon of the Grand Tour as a starting point, this resource explores the relationship between Britain and Europe from c.1550 to 1850, exploring the Anglo-European response to continental travel for pleasure, business and diplomacy.
Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)This link opens in a new windowRGS archive of geography, travel and exploration from the 15th to the 20th century. Includes extensive map collections, charts, plans, expedition reports, fieldnotes, correspondence, diaries, grey literature, atlases and gazetteers, monographs, photographs, proceedings, lectures and ephemera. Special collections include the Everest expeditions, National Antarctic Expedition, David Livingstone, Younghusband and Ernest Shackleton collections.
Prize Papers Online 3This link opens in a new windowInterrogations of members of the crew of ships taken during the First, Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars (ca. 1652-1674) and the War of the Spanish Succession (ca. 1701-1733).
Revolutionary War and Early America: Collections from the Massachusetts Historical SocietyThis link opens in a new windowContains 26 collections from the holdings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, focusing on the Colonial Era, the Revolutionary War, and the Early National Period, with some collections extending into the Civil War era. Includes the Pre-Revolutionary Diaries, 1635-1774, which consists of 276 diaries written by 112 people. The collections span a huge date range from 1419-1973 and include a range of papers from families and individual figures.
