LibGuides: Primary Sources: Trade &amp; Business

Trade and business

AveTransRisk Open Access database focusing on the average-transaction costs and risk management of maritime trade and navigation during the First Globalization (16th to 18th centuries). Find records on routes, vessels, masters and average. This resource has been created by the University of Exeter.
British Mercantile Trade Statistics, 1662-1809 Documents relating to the colonial, economic, and maritime expansion of British naval and trade globally over 1662-1809. Image scans with some transcription.
East India Company Digitised 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.
Global Commodities : trade, exploration and cultural exchange Full text access to primary sources documenting the trade of global commodities around the world from c1500 onwards.
Global Privateering An Open Access database related to the (premodern) capture of ships by privateers worldwide. The collection includes insights into serial historical data about shipping, trade, labour, property rights over war at sea, and formation of local, regional and global markets. Coverage spans from 1688 - 1714 (Nine Years War and War of Spanish Succession). Find data on the crews, the cargoes, the privateers, the auctions, and the relevant ports of departure and destination of most ships.  
Industrial Revolution: Technological Innovation in the Textile Industry, 1672-1929 Papers from two prominent families in Bolton's textiles industry: the Cromptons and the Heywoods. Most of the papers are correspondence, but the collection also includes property descriptions and valuations, newspaper cuttings, and travel journals.
Literary Print Culture The 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.
Power and Profit: British Colonial Trade in America and the Caribbean, 1678-1825 This collection is composed of British Naval Office shipping lists between the years of 1678 and 1825. Information includes names of vessels, names of home ports and colonies, details of the vessels' construction, the name of the owners, tonnage, number of guns carried, number of crew, and the cargo carried (including enslaved people as well as raw material).
Scottish Trade with Africa and the West Indies in the Early 18th Century, 1694-1709 Contains the financial and administrative records of the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies (also known as the Darien Company). The documents cover the period from the company’s formation in 1694 as a rival to the East India Company to its dissolution due to debts incurred in pursuit of the ill-fated Darien scheme.
Trade in Early Modern London: Livery Company Records, 1450-1750 Court records and financial accounts from some of London's principal livery companies. Includes material from the Drapers', Goldsmiths', Fishmongers', Merchant Taylors', Skinners' and Vintners' Companies dating between 1450 and 1750
Virginia Company Archives This 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.

Bristol Shipping Records: Imports and Exports, 1770-1917 The Bristol Presentments are bills of entry derived from official sources, namely the reports and manifests of ships which docked in the port of Bristol. Bills cover either imports (usually foreign produce carried on foreign vessels) or exports (usually produced or manufactured in Britain and destined for foreign markets). Note: Some volumes are incomplete; 1829 and 1845 are missing.
British Mercantile Trade Statistics, 1662-1809 Documents relating to the colonial, economic, and maritime expansion of British naval and trade globally over 1662-1809. Image scans with some transcription.
China, America and the Pacific - Trade and Cultural Exchange Exploring 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.
East India Company Digitised 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.
East India Company: Laying the Foundations for British Colonial Domination of India, 1752-1774 Contains personal and professional papers of two East India Company employees, Colonel Robert Clive and Brigadier-General John Carnac. Clive was a British military commander and eventual Governor of Bengal whilst Carnac served as Commander-in-Chief of the East India Company in India between 1760-1761. Includes military records, correspondence and financial records from the East India Company.
Global Commodities : trade, exploration and cultural exchange Full text access to primary sources documenting the trade of global commodities around the world from c1500 onwards.
Indian Trade in the Southeastern Spanish Borderlands: Papers of Panton, Leslie and Company Comprising the papers of Panton, Leslie & Co., a trading firm, this collection offers a range of ethnographic sources for the Southeast Native Americans. Documents cover the company's operations from 1763-1901 trading with Native American tribes and influencing Spanish territorial claims over the Americans.
Industrial Revolution: Technological Innovation in the Textile Industry, 1672-1929 Papers from two prominent families in Bolton's textiles industry: the Cromptons and the Heywoods. Most of the papers are correspondence, but the collection also includes property descriptions and valuations, newspaper cuttings, and travel journals.
Literary Print Culture The 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.
Power and Profit: British Colonial Trade in America and the Caribbean, 1678-1825 This collection is composed of British Naval Office shipping lists between the years of 1678 and 1825. Information includes names of vessels, names of home ports and colonies, details of the vessels' construction, the name of the owners, tonnage, number of guns carried, number of crew, and the cargo carried (including enslaved people as well as raw material).
Scottish Trade with Africa and the West Indies in the Early 18th Century, 1694-1709 Contains the financial and administrative records of the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies (also known as the Darien Company). The documents cover the period from the company’s formation in 1694 as a rival to the East India Company to its dissolution due to debts incurred in pursuit of the ill-fated Darien scheme.
Slavery in Antebellum Southern Industries (1700-1896) Focusing on the industrial uses of slave labour, this includes company records; business and personal correspondence; documents pertaining to the purchase, hire, medical care, and provisioning of slave labourers; descriptions of production processes; and journals recounting costs and income. Businesses include mining, iron manufacturing, machine shop work, lumbering, quarrying, brickmaking, tobacco manufacturing, shipbuilding, heavy construction; and building of railroads and canals.

China trade and business

China, America and the Pacific - Trade and Cultural Exchange Exploring 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 & Culture English-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.
Chinese Maritime Customs Service: The Customs Gazette, 1869-1913 Issues from the Customs Gazette, a publication from the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, which published quarterly reports of trade prepared and submitted by the customs houses based across China (1869-1913).
Chinese Maritime Customs Service Publications Publications produced by the Maritime Customs Service of China from 1860-1949. Useful data for the study of Chinese trade and economy.

Spanish trade and business

Indian Trade in the Southeastern Spanish Borderlands: Papers of Panton, Leslie and Company Comprising the papers of Panton, Leslie & Co., a trading firm, this collection offers a range of ethnographic sources for the Southeast Native Americans. Documents cover the company's operations from 1763-1901 trading with Native American tribes and influencing Spanish territorial claims over the Americans.

UK trade and business

Bristol Shipping Records: Imports and Exports, 1770-1917 The Bristol Presentments are bills of entry derived from official sources, namely the reports and manifests of ships which docked in the port of Bristol. Bills cover either imports (usually foreign produce carried on foreign vessels) or exports (usually produced or manufactured in Britain and destined for foreign markets). Note: Some volumes are incomplete; 1829 and 1845 are missing.
British Women Trade Unionists on Strike at Bryant & May, 1888 These papers combine business records from Bryant and May with press coverage of the matchwomen's strike over their working conditions in 1888. Photographs of the women who were involved are also included.
East India Company Digitised 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.
East India Company: Corrupt Governance and Cruelty in India, 1806-1814 Contains the East India Company papers of the First Earl of Minto, Sir Gilbert Elliot Murray Kynynmound, who served as Governor-General of India from 1806-1813. The collection is drawn from his personal papers during his time as premier of the East India Company (EIC), including correspondence with other officials, papers from the political department, papers from the secret department, and files pertaining to his time as President of the Board of Control.
Industrial Revolution: Technological Innovation in the Textile Industry, 1672-1929 Papers from two prominent families in Bolton's textiles industry: the Cromptons and the Heywoods. Most of the papers are correspondence, but the collection also includes property descriptions and valuations, newspaper cuttings, and travel journals.
Literary Print Culture The 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.
Liverpool Shipping Records: Imports and Exports, 1820-1900 - Part 1 This collection contains bills of entry derived from official sources, namely the reports and manifests of ships that docked in the port of Liverpool between 1820 and 1860. These bills are divided into two categories. The first contains details of imports and the second records exports.
Liverpool Shipping Records: Imports and Exports, 1820-1900 - Part 2 This collection contains bills of entry derived from official sources, namely the reports and manifests of ships that docked in the port of Liverpool between 1861 and 1870. These bills are divided into two categories. The first contains details of imports and the second records exports.
Liverpool Shipping Records: Imports and Exports, 1820-1900 - Part 3 This collection contains bills of entry derived from official sources, namely the reports and manifests of ships that docked in the port of Liverpool between 1871 and 1890. These bills are divided into two categories. The first contains details of imports and the second records exports.
Liverpool Shipping Records: Imports and Exports, 1820-1900 - Part 4 This collection contains bills of entry derived from official sources, namely the reports and manifests of ships that docked in the port of Liverpool between 1891 and 1900. These bills are divided into two categories. The first contains details of imports and the second records exports.
Liverpool Through Time: From Slavery to the Industrial Revolution, 1766-1900 Consists of the directories of Liverpool first established by John Gore in 1766. These contained lists of merchants, tradesmen, and principal inhabitants of Liverpool, initially being published sporadically but later published biennially.
Papers of Joseph Chamberlain Covering 1836-1914, this collection includes letters, account books, minutes and political papers covering a wide range of topics from business history to British domestic and international politics during Chamberlain's political career. Also includes newspaper clippings of his early speeches and personal scrap books and photographs.
Power and Profit: British Colonial Trade in America and the Caribbean, 1678-1825 This collection is composed of British Naval Office shipping lists between the years of 1678 and 1825. Information includes names of vessels, names of home ports and colonies, details of the vessels' construction, the name of the owners, tonnage, number of guns carried, number of crew, and the cargo carried (including enslaved people as well as raw material).
Trade Unionism and the Chartist Movement, 1833-1910 Contains selected papers of George Howell (1833-1910); a prominent and well connected member of the labour movement. Includes minutes, circulars, press cuttings, and reports from the International Workingmen’s Association, the Reform League, and the Trade Union Congress. Also includes correspondence, diaries and autobiographical material.

US trade and business

American Consumer Culture This multi-title platform provides cross-searchable access to hundreds of thousands of pages of essential American history across the 19th and 20th centuries.
American Fur Company: Americas First Business Monopoly Letters, business accounts and papers relating to the American Fur Company, from 1831 to 1849.
Eli Whitney Papers (1765-1825) The collection consists of correspondence and business papers relating to Whitney's invention and patenting of the cotton gin and subsequent development of a system to produce firearms employing interchangeable parts. The papers include drawings for machinery, land records relating to the acquisition of property for Whitney's factory site, patents and other documents relating to the protection of Whitney's inventions, and account books and other financial and legal records relating to business and investments.
Trade Catalogues and the American Home Explore domestic consumerism, life and leisure in America between 1850-1950 with Trade Catalogues and the American Home. This resource presents a wealth of primary source documents that highlight commercial tastes and consumer trends.
Slavery in Antebellum Southern Industries (1700-1896) Focusing on the industrial uses of slave labour, this includes company records; business and personal correspondence; documents pertaining to the purchase, hire, medical care, and provisioning of slave labourers; descriptions of production processes; and journals recounting costs and income. Businesses include mining, iron manufacturing, machine shop work, lumbering, quarrying, brickmaking, tobacco manufacturing, shipbuilding, heavy construction; and building of railroads and canals.
Pinkerton's National Detective Agency Records (1853-1999) Contains the records of Pinkerton's National Detective Agency from the holdings of the Library of Congress. Includes the history of the U.S. agency as well as extensive criminal case files, which consist of correspondence regarding the cases, reports from operatives, mug shots, reward notices, and wanted posters. Some include histories of the cases written by employees.
Thomas A. Edison Papers Covering 1850-1919, this collection includes Edison's laboratory notebooks, diaries, business records, correspondence, and related materials. Also includes a collection of motion picture catalogues published between 1894-1908, advertising films, equipment, related posters, slides, lectures, and phonographs.

Worldwide trade and business

Gilded Age and Progressive Era Covers American history from 1870-1920. Drawn from a number of US libraries, collections include papers of key industrial corporations, charities, influential families and cultural institutions, as well as images of political cartoons, photographs and ephemera.
Global Commodities : trade, exploration and cultural exchange Full text access to primary sources documenting the trade of global commodities around the world from c1500 onwards.
Making of the Modern World: Part 3 1890-1945 Monographs and periodicals on political economy, trade, finance, industry, business, labour, and related subjects. The archive supports research on world trade, finance and capital formation, transportation and the growth of cities, industrialisation, imperialism and colonialism, socialism, labour and poverty.
Transformation of Shopping: Department Stores, Social Change and Consumerism 1830-1994 This archive focuses on the social and cultural history of department stores during a period in which they were adapting to evolving consumer needs, workers’ rights and societal shifts, with a focus on life on the shop floor. Includes company archives, trade journals, union records, pamphlets, diaries and a wide range of ephemera. Countries covered are the UK, US, Australia, Canada, France and Estonia.
World's Fairs Explore the phenomenon of world's fairs from the Crystal Palace in 1851 and the proliferation of North American exhibitions, to fairs around the world and twenty-first century expos. Through official records, monographs, publicity, artwork and artifacts.

China trade and business

China, America and the Pacific - Trade and Cultural Exchange Exploring 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.
Chinese Maritime Customs Service Publications Publications produced by the Maritime Customs Service of China from 1860-1949. Useful data for the study of Chinese trade and economy.
Chinese Maritime Customs Service: The Customs Gazette, 1869-1913 Issues from the Customs Gazette, a publication from the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, which published quarterly reports of trade prepared and submitted by the customs houses based across China (1869-1913).
Policing the Shanghai International Settlement, 1894-1945 Files from the U.S., mainly the archives of the British-run municipal police force based in Shanghai’s former self-governing International Settlement. The police were tasked with maintaining an orderly environment for Shanghai's foreign trade and commerce. Most records cover 1929-1945 and are organised by topic.
Shanghai Municipal Council: The Municipal Gazette, 1908-1940 The Shanghai Municipal Council (SMC) was founded on 11 July 1854 by a group of Western businessmen to govern the daily operation and infrastructure of the Shanghai International Settlement. The Municipal Gazette was the official publication of the SMC - the full run is available here.

UK trade and business

Bristol Shipping Records: Imports and Exports, 1770-1917 The Bristol Presentments are bills of entry derived from official sources, namely the reports and manifests of ships which docked in the port of Bristol. Bills cover either imports (usually foreign produce carried on foreign vessels) or exports (usually produced or manufactured in Britain and destined for foreign markets). Note: Some volumes are incomplete; 1829 and 1845 are missing.
East India Company Digitised 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.
Economist Intelligence Unit Country Reports Archive Contains Country Reports from 1952-1995, covering almost 200 countries. Each report presents detailed statistics alongside expert commentary and forecasting from the EIU's analysts. All data from the statistical tables is fully captured and downloadable in spreadsheet form.
Industrial Revolution: Technological Innovation in the Textile Industry, 1672-1929 Papers from two prominent families in Bolton's textiles industry: the Cromptons and the Heywoods. Most of the papers are correspondence, but the collection also includes property descriptions and valuations, newspaper cuttings, and travel journals.
Literary Print Culture The 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.
Papers of Joseph Chamberlain Covering 1836-1914, this collection includes letters, account books, minutes and political papers covering a wide range of topics from business history to British domestic and international politics during Chamberlain's political career. Also includes newspaper clippings of his early speeches and personal scrap books and photographs.
Radical Trade Unionism in Britain, 1921-1991 Comprised of material from the Communist Party of Great Britain’s Industrial Department, which sought to organise the party’s strategy in relation to trade unions and industry. Includes material from the National Minority Movement of the 1920s, and covers infiltration of unions during the 1970s.
Reporting on the Coal Industry: The Coal Trade Bulletin, 1901-1918 The Coal Trade Bulletin covers the expansion of the coal industry in the USA in the early twentieth century.
Trade Unionism and the Chartist Movement, 1833-1910 Contains selected papers of George Howell (1833-1910); a prominent and well connected member of the labour movement. Includes minutes, circulars, press cuttings, and reports from the International Workingmen’s Association, the Reform League, and the Trade Union Congress. Also includes correspondence, diaries and autobiographical material.
Trade Unions in Crisis: the 1961 ETU Ballot-Rigging Scandal Collection contains verbatim transcripts of the court case, which was brought to the High Court by prominent union members John Thomas Byrne and Frank Chapple in 1961. They alleged that members of the Communist Party of Great Britain had engaged in "a conspiracy to defraud" in the most recent elections of the Electrical Trades Union.

US trade and business

American Consumer Culture This multi-title platform provides cross-searchable access to hundreds of thousands of pages of essential American history across the 19th and 20th centuries.
J. Walter Thompson Advertising America An archive of the the history, operation, policies and accomplishments of one of the world's largest and oldest advertising firms. Covering the late nineteenth century up until the late 1990s with the bulk representing the post-1945 world.
Market Research & American Business, 1935-1965 Market Research and American Business, 1935-1965 provides a unique insight into the American consumer boom of the mid-20th century through access to the complete market research reports of Ernest Dichter.
National Farm Worker Ministry: Mobilizing Support for Migrant Workers, 1939-1985 This U.S. collection reproduces correspondence, reports, speeches, minutes and materials relating to farm workers, poverty programs, Public Law 78, Braceros, labor camps, the United Farm Workers Union and the Delano Grape Strike in the U.S.
Nazi Bank and Financial Institutions: U.S. Military Government Investigation Reports and Interrogations of Nazi Financiers, 1945-1949" An archive of U.S investigations into German banks and financial institutions, the financing of the German war effort, and Nazi financiers. Documents include memorandums, letters, cables, reports, exhibits, newspaper clippings, interrogation reports and transcripts, exhibits, and questionnaires.
Pinkerton's National Detective Agency Records (1853-1999) Contains the records of Pinkerton's National Detective Agency from the holdings of the Library of Congress. Includes the history of the U.S. agency as well as extensive criminal case files, which consist of correspondence regarding the cases, reports from operatives, mug shots, reward notices, and wanted posters. Some include histories of the cases written by employees.
Records of the National Council for United States-China Trade, 1973-1983 Documents the formation of the Council and its role in the development of US-China trade, plus the Councils library holdings relating to China's trade and economy.
Revolution in Honduras and American Business: The Quintessential "Banana Republic" Covering 1910-1930, this collection covers the fruit trade with Honduras as well as coverage of Honduran political and financial affairs in relation to the US.
Savings and Loan Crisis: Loss of Public Trust and the Federal Bailout, 1989-1993 Contains studies, analyses, testimony, talking points and news clippings that detail the origins of the U.S. crisis. Covers 1989-1993 with a small amount of material from 1981-1988.
Thomas A. Edison Papers Covering 1850-1919, this collection includes Edison's laboratory notebooks, diaries, business records, correspondence, and related materials. Also includes a collection of motion picture catalogues published between 1894-1908, advertising films, equipment, related posters, slides, lectures, and phonographs.
Trade Catalogues and the American Home Explore domestic consumerism, life and leisure in America between 1850-1950 with Trade Catalogues and the American Home. This resource presents a wealth of primary source documents that highlight commercial tastes and consumer trends.
Union Label and the Needle Trades: Records of the United Garment Workers of America Contains records of the United Garment Workers of America, a trade union. Includes time and motion studies; office files; and meeting minutes. Covers 1899-1944.
Workers, Labor Unions, and the American Left in the 20th Century: Federal Records Covering 1895-1963, this includes a range of collections documenting the American workers and labour unions in the C20, with emphasis on the interaction between workers and the U.S. federal government. Includes documents covering major strikes, labour struggles in specific industries and government surveillance files on radicals. There are also files on the Industrial Workers of the World group, the Communist party and other anarchist, socialist, social democratic, and libertarian groups.

Worldwide trade and business

Gilded Age and Progressive Era Covers American history from 1870-1920. Drawn from a number of US libraries, collections include papers of key industrial corporations, charities, influential families and cultural institutions, as well as images of political cartoons, photographs and ephemera.
Global Commodities : trade, exploration and cultural exchange Full text access to primary sources documenting the trade of global commodities around the world from c1500 onwards.
Making of the Modern World: Part 3 1890-1945 Monographs and periodicals on political economy, trade, finance, industry, business, labour, and related subjects. The archive supports research on world trade, finance and capital formation, transportation and the growth of cities, industrialisation, imperialism and colonialism, socialism, labour and poverty.
Transformation of Shopping: Department Stores, Social Change and Consumerism 1830-1994 This archive focuses on the social and cultural history of department stores during a period in which they were adapting to evolving consumer needs, workers’ rights and societal shifts, with a focus on life on the shop floor. Includes company archives, trade journals, union records, pamphlets, diaries and a wide range of ephemera. Countries covered are the UK, US, Australia, Canada, France and Estonia.
World's Fairs Explore the phenomenon of world's fairs from the Crystal Palace in 1851 and the proliferation of North American exhibitions, to fairs around the world and twenty-first century expos. Through official records, monographs, publicity, artwork and artifacts.

Global Commodities : trade, exploration and cultural exchange Full text access to primary sources documenting the trade of global commodities around the world from c1500 onwards.
Global Financial and Economic Crisis Covering 2006-2009, this collection delivers the full story from the U.S. of the global economic and financial crisis, highlighting corporate finance, joint ventures and M&A, country profiles, capital markets, investor relations, currencies, banking, risk management, direct investment, money management etc.
Trade and Globalization Studies Online This collections sheds light on the history of trade, trade policies, financial crises, emerging markets and technological innovations that unite the world in an ever-changing system of trade.