Research Guides: HIS 265: Black Canadian History: Primary sources

Canada (general)

Black Abolitionist Papers
Primary sources related to and produced by key African American figures of the Abolitionist Movement.

A Few Acres of Snow : Documents in Pre-Confederation Canadian History
Thorner, Thomas, and Thor Frohn-Nielsen, eds. 3rd ed. North York, Ontario ; University of Toronto Press, 2009.
Black Loyalists: Our History, Our People
This site explores how Canada became the home of the first settlements of free Blacks outside Africa.
Society, Culture & Politics in Canada: Canadiana Pamphlets, 1818-1929
This collection of pamphlets at McMaster University Library deal with many aspects of Canadian history, literature, social and political conditions. Included are pamphlets on religion and churches, all levels of government, elections, peace movements and war service, Communism, local communities and labor organizations to name but a few of the topics covered.

It is recommended to refer to the Finding Aid for this collection and search for useful items here. Some useful items for Black Canadian Studies are under the headings "Canada - Colonization", "Negroes", and "Race Discrimination".

Black Loyalist Refugees
This database provides access to 1,498 references to the Muster Book of Free Blacks who settled in Birchtown held at Library and Archives Canada.
African Diaspora, 1860-Present
Primary source database with some Canadian content. Browse by place and limit to Canada or other locations.
Colonial State Papers (ProQuest)
A resource for scholars of early American history, British colonial history, Caribbean history, maritime history, Atlantic trade, plantations, and slavery. Coverage: 1574 - 1757.
Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007 (Adam Matthew)
This database includes records from Library Archives Canada related to the Elgin Settlement/Buxton (1849-95). Under 'Documents', navigate to 'Library/Archive' and select Library and Archives Canada.
The Black Press in 19th-Century Canada and Beyond
Access to online databases are available for the following historical newspapers:
-The Voice of the Fugitive (1851-1852)
-The Provincial Freeman (1853-1876)
-The Voice of the Bondsman (1856)
-The True Royalist (1860-1861)
-The Atlantic Advocate (1915-1917)
-The Dawn of Tomorrow (1923-1972)
-The Nova Scotia Gleaner (1929)
-The Clarion--For Church and Community (1946-1949)
-The Canadian Observer (Toronto), 1914-1919
Black thought and culture : African Americans from Colonial times to the present.
Approximately 100,000 pages of non-fiction writings by major American black leaders—teachers, artists, politicians, religious leaders, athletes, war veterans, entertainers, and other figures—covering 250 years of history
Black Women Writers (ProQuest)
100,000 pages of literature and essays on feminist issues, written by authors from Africa and the African diaspora.
Le marronnage dans le monde Atlantique : sources et trajectoires de vies
A French-language resource of 20,000 documents from archives about the escape of enslaved persons.
Black Canadians
Primary sources held at the Library and Archives Canada.

Ontario

Mapping Ontario's Black Archives
The Black Press in 19th-Century Canada and Beyond
Resources Relating to Black History at the Archives of Ontario
New updated finding aid for Black History records.
Ontario Black History Society - Profiles of Black Canadians
Ontario Black History

Nova Scotia

Prairies and Western Canada

And Still We Rise - A Black Presence in Alberta, late 1800's - 1970s
A Black American missionary in Canada : the life and letters of Lewis Champion Chambers (ebook)
Nearly 100 letters written by Pastor Lewis Champion Chambers from 1858-1867 discussing the everyday lives of Black settlers in Western Canada.
Black on the Praries (CBC Interactive)
The Black Prairie Archives by Karina Vernon (Editor) (ebook)
Primary sources from Black Canadians who lived on the Prairies. Includes, letters, recipes, oral literature, autobiographies, rap, and poetry.

Yukon

Hidden History Society Yukon
Recorded oral histories and bibliographies of sources on Black and Asian families in the Yukon.

New Brunswick

New Brunswick Black History Docs
Selected sets of primary and secondary source documents for use as information sources about peoples, places, things and events in Canadian history. Need to create an account to access sources.

Research Guides

HIS 265: Black Canadian History

Canada (general)

Ontario

Nova Scotia

Prairies and Western Canada

Yukon

New Brunswick

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