Subject guides: History: European History

15th to 16th Century

EEBO : Early English Books Online
Access to the full text of over 125,000 titles published in English between 1473-1700.

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Early European Books
High resolution images reveal the history of printing in Europe from its origins through to 1700. Access to Collections 1-16.
Perdita Manuscripts: Women Writers, 1500-1700 via Adam Matthew
The manuscripts in this site were written or compiled by women in the British Isles during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Valuable for research on women and women's writing in Early Modern Britain.
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17th to 18th Century

ECCO : Eighteenth Century Collections Online
Full text of over 150,000 titles published in England or in English between 1701-180

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17th and 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers
17th and 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers includes more than 1,000 pamphlets, proclamations, newsbooks and newspapers from the period.
The 17th and 18th Century Nichols Newspapers Collection
Features the newspapers and periodicals, as well as pamphlets and broadsheets, that form the Nichols newspaper collection held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, UK.
Eighteenth Century Journals Portal I-V via Adam Matthew
Consists of newspapers and periodicals published between 1685 - 1835, drawn mainly from major British library collections.

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19th Century

C19: The Nineteenth Century Index
Comprehensive source for discovering nineteenth-century books, periodicals, official documents, newspapers and archives. Also included is The Wellesley index to Victorian periodicals, 1824-1900
19th Century UK Periodicals
19th Century UK Periodicals It provides resource for the study of British life in the 19th century - from art to business, and from children to politics.
London Low Life via Adam Matthew
Contains colour digital images of rare books, ephemera, maps and other materials relating to the seedy side of 18th, 19th and early 20th century London.

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Nineteenth Century Collections Online
Search four archives: Asia and the WestBritish Politics and Society , British Theatre, Music, Literature: High And Popular Culture, and the Corvey Collection Of European Literature, 1790-1840 .

20th Century

Chatham House Online Archive
Chatham House Online Archive contains the publications and archives of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House)
Mass Observation Online with Update I & II via Adam Matthew
Offers insight into everyday life in the 1930s and 1940. Mass Observation was a pioneering social research organisation whose papers provide insights into the cultural and social history of Britain from 1937 to 1965.
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Archives Unbound: SAFEHAVEN Reports on Nazi Looting of Occupied Countries and Assets in Neutral Countries
SAFEHAVEN was the code name of a U.S. led project to block the flow of German capital across neutral boundaries and to identify and observe all German overseas investments. The archive covers reports, letters and cables from 1944-45.
Also cross-searchable with other historical databases via Gale Primary Sources
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Archives Unbound: The Jewish Question: Records from the Berlin Document Center
This collection comprises documents from a wide variety of sources, including the Gestapo, local police and government offices, Reich ministries, businesses, etc., pertaining to Jewish communities. It includes newspaper clippings, letters, manuscripts, pamphlets, reports and other documents.
Also cross-searchable with other historical databases via Gale Primary Sources
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Churchill Archive
Access to the personal papers of Sir Winston Churchill - key historical documents including private letters, telegrams, speeches, government transcripts.

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Fortunoff Testimony Archive
The archive’s collection consists of over 4,400 testimonies that record the experiences of over 4,000 survivors, witnesses, bystanders and liberators of the Holocaust.

For access to content please go to the main site for Fortunoff Testimony Archive Click on Log In, and then Join Now University email must be used to join. Please check the password help if you have trouble creating a password. Click on the Orange request button to access video content after login and registration.

Primary Sources in Print

These are just some of the published materials available in print on the shelves.

British documents on foreign affairs--reports and papers from the Foreign Office confidential print.
Part II, From the First to the Second World War. Series J, The League of Nations, 1918-1941
British transatlantic slave trade
v. 1. The operation of the slave trade in Africa -- v. 2. The Royal African Company -- v. 3. The abolitionist struggle : opponents of the slave trade -- v. 4. The abolitionist struggle : promoters of the slave trade.
Current digest of Post-Soviet Press
1976 - 2011
English historical documents
v. 1 c.500-1042 -- v. 2 1042-1189 -- v. 3. 1189-1327 -- v. 4. 1327-1485 -- v. 5. 1485-1558 -- v. 6. 1558-1603 -- v. 7. 1603-1660 -- v. 8. 1660-1714 -- v. 9. American colonial documents to 1776 -- v. 10. 1714-1783 -- v. 11. 1783-1832 -- v. 12. pt. 1. 1833-1874 -- v. 12. pt. 2. 1874-1914.
English witchcraft, 1560-1736
v. 1. Early English demonological works -- v. 2. Early English trial pamphlets -- v. 3. The Matthew Hopkins trials -- v. 4. The Post-Restoration synthesis and its opponents -- v. 5. The Later English trial pamphlets -- v. 6. The Final debate.
Assemblee del Risorgimento : atti raccolti e pubblicati per deliberazione della Camera dei deputati
Publication Date: Roma: Tipografia della Camera dei Deputati : c1911.
15 volumes work containing documents from the 19th century Italian parliament.
L'Année politique, économique, sociale et diplomatique en France.
chronological review of events in France, including major documents, from 1945+
Scottish History Society Publications
Sources are wide ranging from "Marie de Guise's correspondence", "Early Records of Aberdeen" to "Lady Grisell Baillie's Household Book, 1692-1733".
Seeds of conflict : Palestine, Zionism and The Levant 1912-1946,
9 volumes
The Holocaust : selected documents in eighteen volumes
Legalizing the Holocaust -- The Crystal Night Pogrom -- Jewish emigration -- Deportation of the Jews -- Medical experiments -- The "final solution" -- Relief and rescue of Jews -- Punishing the perpetrators of the Holocaust.
Women writing home, 1700-1920 : female correspondence across the British Empire
v. 1. Africa -- v. 2. Australia -- v. 3. Canada -- v. 4. India -- v. 5. New Zealand -- v. 6. USA
Sovetskiĭ politicheskiĭ plakat 1917-1967 gg. : komplekt plakatov by sostavitelʹ Evgeniĭ I︠A︡kovlevich Zazerskiĭ.
Call Number: Rare Books 10467.1 Elephant folio
Publication Date: 1967
Fifty-two Soviet posters originally published from 1917 to 1967, most in color; in portfolio. Introductory text and list of titles and artists on inside front cover.

Across time periods

Archives Unbound
Archives Unbound is an online resource digitises microfilm collections from Primary Source Media, capturing defining moments in history.
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Defining Gender via Adam Matthew
Full text primary sources and images on Conduct and Politeness, Domesticity & the Family, Consumption & Leisure, Education & Sensibility and The Body from 1450 - 1910. Documents are derived from British and European archives.
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Empire Online via Adam Matthew
Full text primary sources and images on the art, culture, literature, racism, religion and imperialism of empire from 1492 - 2007. The creators have endeavoured to find sources from all continents.
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Grand Tour (1550 - 1850) via Adam Matthew
A collection of primary sources including published and unpublished works, paintings and sketches; architectural drawings, and maps for the study of travel and architecture.
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House of Commons Parliamentary Papers via Proquest (1688 - present)
Papers and reports tabled in British Parliament; vital to the historical record of Britain, its former Colonies and the wider world. These database contains: Bills and Acts 1695-2015; Command Papers 1802-2015; House of Commons Papers 1715-2015; House of Lords Papers 1714-1910; Hansard 1803-2005; Journals 1688-1834; Debates 1774-1805; Histories and Proceedings 1660-1743

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London Low Life via Adam Matthew
Searchable colour digital images of rare books, ephemera, maps and other materials relating to 18th, 19th and early 20th century London.
For more information on text & data mining

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Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford DNB) is the national record of men and women who have shaped British history and culture, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century. The Dictionary offers concise, up-to-date biographies written by named, specialist authors. It is overseen by academic editors at Oxford University, UK, and published by Oxford University Press.
State Papers Online, 1509-1782
Gathers together 16th, 17th and 18th century British State Papers and links these historical manuscripts to their fully text-searchable Calendars.

Full text free online

The following links go to sites that contain, or indicate how to find, primary sources.

Also look at the links under eResources.

British History Online
British History Online is the digital library containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles. It has been created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust.
British Cabinet Papers, 1915 - 1930
The Cabinet is the main body that controls policy and coordinates activities of governmental departments.
British Hansards Online, 1803 - 2005
Commons and the Lords debates, statements, petitions, oral and written questions and answers
British House of Commons Journals
The official record of the House. Includes volumes 1-12 (1547-1699) & 85 (1830). 13 volumes.
British House of Lords Journal
Official minute book of the House of Lords (1509-1764, 1776-1793, 1830-2). 38 volumes.
British Library Online Gallery
Virtual books and online exhibitions from the collections of the British Library.
Connected Histories
A Federated search engine that brings together a range of digital resources related to early modern and nineteenth century Britain (1500-1900). Some resources are free to view, some are not.
Discovery
This database holds more than 32 million descriptions of records held by The National Archives and more than 2,500 archives across the United Kingdom. Over 9 million records are available for download.
ECHO : European Cultural History Online
Scanned images of primary sources from travel guides and historical maps to treatises on law and science.
EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History
Selected Transcriptions, Facsimiles and Translations
Gallica
Online books made available by the Bibliotheque Nationale de France (BnF). In French.
Liberty, equality, fraternity - exploring the French Revolution
Containing more than 600 primary documents, the site is a collaboration of the Center for History and New Media (George Mason University) and American Social History Project (City University of New York).
Marxists.org Internet Archive
Full text documents from key Marxists/Socialists - Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Malcom X, Toussaint Louverture, with many in English (translated by volunteers).
Old Bailey Online
Searchable transcripts of criminal trials, from 1674 – 1913. Excellent primary sources for detailing the trials of transported convicts.
NCSE: Nineteenth Century Serials Edition
The full text of six papers: Northern Star, Leader, English Women's Journal, Publisher's Circle, Monthly Theology Literature and the Tomahawk.
Yad Vashem
The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority website provides documentation, photographs, online exhibitions, bibiliographies, chronologies, etc. of the WWII Holocaust.

Web links

Archives Hub
A database and guide to the archives of UK universities and colleges

These are gateways linking to other sites.

European History Primary Sources - WWW Virtual Library
An index of scholarly websites that offer online access to digitised primary sources on the history of Europe.
European History Sources
Portal of links provided by the University of Washington Libraries.
Europeana
Portal that links to 4.6 million digital items from archives, libraries, museums and galleries
Nineteenth Century
Index to the collection of over 25,000 nineteenth-century works available on microfiche. The Library has the Women Writers segment in Fisher Audiovisual MIC 820.8 327.

Primary Sources in Microform

These are just some of the rich archival materials reproduced onto microfilm and fiche available in the collection.

Daily report. Soviet Union by FBIS (Foreign Broadcast Information Service)
ISBN: 05655560
English translations of the Soviet media, 1980 - 1992
Documents on British policy overseas
Documents from 1945-1975. 6 reels.
Francis Place Papers
Papers from 1791-1854 related to the early Working Men's Associations and the beginnings of unionism and collective action in Britain.
Mercure de France
A major newspaper published in Paris, France. The Library has microfilm and print holdings from 1724+
Rawlinson manuscript collection at the Bodleian Library, Oxford
Cromwell, Pepys, diaries, sermons - Rawlinson was a very eclectic collector. 98 vols.
Social history of property and possessions.
Part 1, Inventories and wills including Renaissance library catalogues, from the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 1436-1814.
Sonnino Papers
Papers of Baron Sidney Sonnino, Italy's foreign minister throughout World War
Spanish Civil War Collection
Newspapers, speeches, pamphlets, drawings, exhibitions from the University of California, San Diego Library. 57 reels with 2225 items
The Left in Britain
Contains the newspapers, journals, pamphlets, leaflets, letters, conference reports, memoranda, annual reports manifestos, transcripts of speeches and broadcasts, special statements and private minute books of 40 political groupsin Britain, committed to socialism and communisim. 42 reels, 334 fiche.
Underground and alternative press in Britain
Call Number: Fis
Newspapers from 973-1996.
Women advising women
pt. 1. Early women's journals, c1700-1832, from the Bodleian Library, Oxford -- pt. 2. Advice books, manuals, almanacs, and journals, c1625-1837, from the Bodleian Library, Oxford -- pt. 3. The Lady's magazine 1770-1800 -- pt. 4. The Lady's magazine 1801-1832 --pt. 5. Womens' writing and advice, c1450-1720.
Women's language and experience, 1500-1940
Mainly British diaries, commonplace books, travel journals and letters which describe women's lives and experiences in their own language.
Yad Vashem archives of the destruction
245 microfiches containing over 15,000 photographs taken in Europe during the Nazi era