Research guides: UTM195H5: Curiosity and Control: Voyages of Discovery to North America: Background Information

Reference Sources

These sources will provide background information on the time periods and events related to your topic. This information may help you identify primary sources or the individuals to investigate for primary sources.

Historical Atlas of Canada - Online Learning Project
Explores major themes and episodes in the history of Canada using maps, text and graphics.

The Oxford Companion to Canadian History (2005)
Canadian Exploration Literature by Germaine Warkentin
Call Number: F5018 .C34 2006 & E-Book
Publication Date: 2007
First published by Oxford University Press in 1993, Exploration Literature is a groundbreaking collection of early writing inspired by the opening of a continent.With maps, notes, and thumbnail biographies of these early writers.
The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas
North America
— Part 1
— Part 2
The Oxford Companion to World Exploration
Call Number: Online and Print (G80 .O95 2007 v.1 & v.2)
Publication Date: 2007
The Cambridge World History: Volume 6
Call Number: Online
Publication Date: 2015
— Volume 6: The Construction of a Global World, 1400–1800 CE, Part 1: Foundations
— Volume 6: The Construction of a Global World, 1400–1800 CE, Part 2: Patterns of Change

Biography

These sources can provide valuable information about key figures in history. Many entries will list sources for the individual and identify key works written on the person. Once you can identify the title of a publication or a potential author, you can search in the UTL catalogue or primary source text collections.

The Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB)
American National Biography Online [Oxford]
Over 19,000 biographies of significant, influential or notorious figures from American history written by prominent scholars
Encyclopedia of World Biography (2nd. ed)
[Gale] A multicultural biographical source that covers notable individuals from every part of the world and from all time periods who have made significant contributions to human culture.

Oxford Bibliographies Online

Oxford Bibliographies Online
Suggested entires include:
– French Atlantic World
– British Atlantic World
– New France and Louisiana
– Native American Histories in North America
– Warfare in 17th-century North America
– Native Americans and the Atlantic World

Origin of Words

Oxford English Dictionary Online (OED)
To take advantage of OED, take a look at the Video guides
Entries in the OED are supported by quotation evidence with real examples of words in use shown throughout the written record.
The primary function of OED quotations is to illustrate the way a word or sense is used through its history from its earliest use to the present day or, in the case of obsolete words and senses, the last period during which it was in use.