Research guides: Primary Source Databases for Historical Research: Home

Primary Sources

What is a primary source?

Primary sources provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation.
They are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented.

(From: "Primary sources at Yale")

Writing about History and Finding Primary Sources (UTSC) explain more about primary source research.

What can be a primary source?

Think about what kinds of primary sources might be related to your topic:

letters
interviews
diaries
memoirs
oral histories
newspapers
reports
government documents
institutional records
music
pamphlets
maps
film
photographs
websites/social media

Finding primary sources

1. Start with what you already have to uncover references to primary sources.

Consult your:

class notes
course readings
bibliographies of your textbook, journal articles, or other secondary sources
historical encyclopedias

They can also help you identify relevant historical figures, authors, or keywords for searching library databases

2. Use the library catalogue to find books and other materials.

To find primary sources on your subject, combine keywords for different kinds of primary sources with keywords for your topic.

Examples:

reformation sources

world war 1914 correspondence

national socialism documents

3. Use reliable online text collections

4. Use one of the specialized libraries at U of T, such as the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, or one of our special collections.

Major Collections

Archive of Americana
Books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, government documents and ephemera printed in America over three centuries.
Early Books Online Text Creation Partnership
Provides standardized, accurate XML/SGML encoded electronic text editions of early print books.

Canadiana Online
Documents Canada's printed heritage, including books, magazines, and government documents, from the time of the first European settlers up to the early 20th century.
Early English Books Online (EEBO)
Digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and British North America from 1473 to 1700, as well as works in English printed elsewhere.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)
Works published in English and other European languages in United Kingdom in the 18th century, including books, essays, pamphlets, and broadsides.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online
Monographs, newspapers, pamphlets, manuscripts, ephemera, maps, photographs, statistics, and other kinds of documents in both Western and non-Western languages. Subject areas include politics, society, popular culture, literature, maps, religion, women's history, and more.
Gerritsen Collection
Documents largely from Western European and English sources concerning women and gender from 1543 to 1945.

Databases by theme

Gender and Sexuality

Archives of Sexuality & Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Part I
Primary sources for the historical study of sex, sexuality, and gender, beginning in the 16th century.
British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries
Collection of the personal writings of over 500 women representing diverse races, social classes, and geographical regions, from the 18th to mid-20th centuries.
Defining Gender, 1450-1910
Primary source material originating from British archives, including manuscripts, printed works, and illustrations related to issues of gender.
Everyday Life and Women in America c.1800-1920
Primary source material for the study of American social, cultural, and popular history in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Feminism in Cuba: Nineteenth through Twentieth Century Archival Documents
Personal letters, journal essays, radio broadcasts, and memoirs from women’s congresses, spanning from 1898 to 1958.
LGBT Studies in Video (North America)
Cinematic survey of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people as well as the cultural and political evolution of the LGBT community.
LGBT Thought and Culture
Books, periodicals, and archival materials documenting LGBT political, social and cultural movements from the 20th century and to the present.
Manuscript Women's Letters and Diaries
Personal writings of New England women from diverse social backgrounds of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries
Diaries and letters describing the experiences of North American women from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin: Beyond the Daughters of Bilitis
Minutes, correspondence, and notes related to the work of Lyon and Martin with women's rights and LGBT social justice organizations from 1966 to 1984.
Women, War and Society, 1914-1918
Primary sources documenting the involvement of women in World War I, including pamphlets, photographs, magazines, posters, diaries, statistics, and more.
Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 (scholar's edition)
Primary source collections documenting the involvement of American women in various social movements over the course of four centuries.
Women and Social Movements, International - 1840 to Present
Primary source collections documenting the involvement of women in various social movements from around the globe.
Women in the National Archives
Index of documents relating to women in the British National Archives.

Women: Transnational Networks
Primary sources examining interactions between gender and class-based issues in North America and Europe during the 19th century.

Women's Studies Archive
Examines the foundations and progression of women's movements during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Humanities and Religion

Intelex past masters: full text humanities
Full-text documents and translations of the works of key Western philosophical figures.
Oxford Islamic Studies Online
Current scholarship, reference content, and historical primary sources related to the field of Islamic Studies from the 6th century to the present.

Religion, Society, Spirituality, and Reform
Documentary materials relating to 19th century religious, philosophical, and spiritual movements and reform in Britain and the United States.

Oral History

Canadian Oral History Association
Official website, including blog posts and news, as well as a directory of other Canadian oral history associations.
Columbia University Oral History Office
Archive of digitized interviews and transcripts with notable figures in American politics, government, philanthropy, science, entertainment, arts, and more.
Oral History from the British Library
Interviews covering a wide range of subject areas related to British life and culture, including art, architecture, economics, social welfare, disability, music, sports, theatre, politics, photography, and more.

Shoah Foundation Institute Visual History Archive
Audiovisual testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust, the 1994 Rwandan Tutsi genocide, and the 1937-38 Nanjing Massacre.
Oral History Online
Lists collections of oral history in English from around the world.

Politics, Law, and Science

Chatham House Online Archive
Publications and archives of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) since its founding in 1920.
Digital National Security Archive
World events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II-through the 21st century.
Economic Cooperation Administration’s Relief Mission in Post-War China, 1946-1948
Collection of government records that demonstrate how officials of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) looked for economic and cultural opportunities to promote US-China relations.
HeinOnline World Trials
Trial transcripts, critical court documents, and trial-related resources for thousands of trials from around the globe.

Historical Archives of the European Union - European Oral History
Repository for oral history programmes designed to preserve the voices of European politicians and officials from 1958 to the present.

Making of Modern Law: American Civil Liberties Union Papers, 1912-1990
Primary source documents and records of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Making of Modern Law: Foreign, Comparative and International Law, 1600-1926
Foreign legal treatises in English and other Western European languages.
Making of Modern Law: Foreign Primary Sources 1600-1970
Regulations, session laws, journals, and codes and commentaries from European sources.
Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800-1926
Collection of legal works from the 19th and early 20th centuries of British Commonwealth and American Law, including analytical, theoretical, and practical literature.
Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources
Legal primary sources, such as early U.S. state codes, municipal codes, constitutional conventions and compilations, and other documents.
Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800-1926
English-language trial accounts, books, and pamphlets covering prominent trials from Britain, Ireland, Canada, the United States, France, and more.
History of Science, Technology and Medicine
Scientific material, research, reports, and journals documenting the development of Western scientific knowledge in the 19th century.
Socialism on Film: The Cold War and International Propaganda
Collection of films from the communist world spanning most of the 20th century.
The Chinese Civil War and U.S.-China Relations: Records of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Chinese Affairs, 1945-1955
Primary source materials collected by the US State Department’s Office of Chinese Affairs as part of their operational control of American policy toward China before, during, and after the Chinese Communist Revolution (1945-1950).

The Holocaust

Correspondence from German Concentration Camps and Prisons 1936-1945
Items originating from prisoners held in German concentration camps, internment and transit camps, Gestapo prisons, and POW camps, during and just prior to World War II.
German Anti-Semitic Propaganda, 1909-1941
Collection of German-language books and pamphlets.
Holocaust and the Concentration Camp Trials: Prosecution of Nazi War Crimes
Documents on the investigation and prosecution of war crimes committed by Nazi concentration camp commandants and camp personnel, including records, letters, reports, proceedings, newspaper clippings, photographs, and more.
Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees: The West's Response to Jewish Emigration
Documents produced by the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (IGCR), from 1938 to 1947.
Jewish Underground Resistance: The David Diamant Collection, 1939-1945
Mainly French and Yiddish-language documents dealing with Jewish French underground resistance during World War II.
Nazi Bank and Financial Institutions: U.S. Military Government Investigation Reports and Interrogations of Nazi Financiers, 1945-1949
Memorandums, letters, cables, balance sheets, reports, exhibits, newspaper clippings, and civil censorship intercepts related to the financial aspects of Germany's World War II war effort.
Nazism in Poland: The Diary of Governor-General Hans Frank
German-language journal of Dr. Hans Frank (1900-1946), the Governor-General of German-occupied Poland from October 1939 until early 1945.
Nuremburg Laws and Nazi Annulment of German Jewish Nationality
Index cards listing the name, date and place of birth, occupation and last address of Jews whose German citizenship was revoked in accordance with the Nuremberg Laws of 1935.
SAFEHAVEN Reports on Nazi Looting of Occupied Countries and Assets in Neutral Countries
SAFEHAVEN reports documenting the flow of German capital across neutral borders during World War II, produced by various branches of the American Government.
Testaments to the Holocaust
Documents and printed materials documenting the anti-Semitic activities of the German Nazi Party from the Wiener Library, London.

The Jewish Question: Records from the Berlin Document Center
Documents pertaining to Jewish communities from the Gestapo, local police and government offices, Reich ministries, and businesses from 1891 to 1943.

Shoah Foundation Institute Visual History Archive
Audiovisual testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust, the 1994 Rwandan Tutsi genocide, and the 1937-38 Nanjing Massacre.
U.S. Relations with the Vatican and the Holocaust, 1940-1950
Reports and correspondence documenting relations between the U.S. and the Vatican during World War II and the post-war period.

See more

Transatlantic Slavery and Abolition

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

Documenting the American South
Texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Subjects covered include church history, African American history, North Carolina state history, oral and social histories, and more.

Slavery, abolition and social justice, 1490-2007
Primary sources, including maps, documents, essays, and more, documenting global involvement in the slave trade from 1490 to 2007.
Slavery and Anti-Slavery, Part I: A Transnational Archive
Books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, legal documents, and other primary sources concerning the history of the global slave trade from the 15th to early 20th centuries.
Slavery and Manumission Manuscripts of Timbuktu
19th-century Arabic-language documents relating to slavery and manumission in Timbuktu.
Sources in U.S. History Online: Slavery in America
Personal narratives, pamphlets, addresses, political speeches, monographs, sermons, plays, songs, and poetic and fictional works illustrating key aspects of the history of slavery in America from its origins to abolition.

World History

Empire Online
Primary and secondary resources related to the study of global imperialism, spanning the last 500 years. Includes British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous perspectives.
First World War: Personal Experiences
Personal writings, printed material, military files, ephemera, and artwork describing the experiences of soldiers, civilians and governments during World War I.
Global Commodities: Trade, Exploration and Cultural Exchange
Manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of global commodities in world history.
Making of the Modern World
Primary source documents covering the dynamics of Western trade and wealth from the 16th to early 20th centuries.

Mapping the World: Maps and Travel Literature
19th-century maps and travel literature from Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa.
Photography: the World through the Lens
Photographs, photographic albums, illustrated books, and texts on the early history of photography in the 19th century.

Smithsonian Collections Online
Comprises two distinct primary source collections spanning the 19th and early 20th centuries: World's Fairs and Expositions: Visions of Tomorrow, and Trade Literature and the Merchandizing of Industry.
Travel Writing, Spectacle and World History
Global travel accounts by women, including diaries, artwork, photographs, and letters, dating from the 19th century to the late 20th century.

World History Sources
Collection of primary sources and related guides for the study of world history, dating from before 4000 BCE to the present.

Databases by region

Canada

Canadian Pamphlets and Broadsides
Pre-1930 pamphlets and broadsides printed in Canada, written by Canadian authors, or about Canadian subjects.

Canadiana Online
Documents Canada's printed heritage, including books, magazines, and government documents, from the time of the first European settlers up to the early 20th century.

North America

American Indian Histories and Cultures
Maps, treaties, diaries, artwork, and rare books dating from settlement to the mid-20th century.
American Indian Movement and Native American Radicalism
FBI files and documentation covering the development of the American Indian Movement from 1968 to 1979.

American Memory
From the Library of Congress.

American West
Sketches, accounts, and photographs documenting westward expansion in America from the early 18th century to the mid-20th century.
Black Studies Center
Scholarly essays, recent journal articles, historical newspaper articles, reference books, and other sources for the study of the African Diaspora.
Black Thought and Culture
Published non-fiction works by African American authors from pre-contact times to the present.
Confidential Print: North America, 1824-1961
Papers generated by the British Foreign and Colonial Offices from 1824 to 1961, covering topics such as slavery, Prohibition, the First and Second World Wars, racial segregation, territorial disputes, the League of Nations, McCarthyism and the nuclear bomb.

Documenting the American South
Texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Subjects covered include church history, African American history, North Carolina state history, oral and social histories, and more.

Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800
Books, pamphlets, and broadsides published during the 17th and 18th centuries, from the bibliography by Charles Evans and Roger Bristol's Supplement. Subjects covered include economics, government, law, literature, philosophy, science, and more.
Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819
Books, pamphlets, and broadsides published during the early 19th century, from the bibliography by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker. Subjects covered include economics, government, law, literature, philosophy, science, and more.

Early Americas Digital Archive
A collection of electronic texts originally written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820.

Early Encounters in North America (EENA)
Collection of personal accounts and other primary sources documenting relationships among peoples in North America from 1534 to 1850.
Everyday Life and Women in America c.1800-1920
Primary source material for the study of American social, cultural, and popular history in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Final Accountability Rosters of Japanese-American Relocation Centers, 1944-1946
Financial accountability rosters from Japanese-American Relocation Centers.
Japanese-American Relocation Camp Newspapers: Perspectives on Day-to-Day Life
Newspapers documenting daily life in Japanese-American relocation camps between 1942 and 1945.
First World War: Personal Experiences
Personal writings, printed material, military files, ephemera, and artwork describing the experiences of soldiers, civilians and governments during World War I.

Historical Statistical Abstracts of the US
Comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political and economic conditions of the United States from 1878 to 2012.

Indigenous Peoples: North America
Monograph, manuscript, newspaper, periodical, and photograph collections related to Indigenous North American history.
In Response to the AIDS Crisis: Records of the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 1983-1994
Briefing books, hearing and meeting transcripts, reports, and press clippings covering the activities of the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Jewish Life in America, c1654-1954
Primary and secondary resources documenting the history of Jewish communities in America.

Making of America
Primary sources, including books and journals, dealing with American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. Subject areas covered include education, psychology, sociology, religion, and science and technology.

Nixon Years, 1969-1974
Complete FCO 7 and FCO 82 files for the entire period of Richard Nixon’s presidency.
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories
Personal papers and oral histories describing the immigrant experience in America and Canada between 1800 and 1950.
North American Indian Thought and Culture
Biographies, autobiographies, oral histories, reference works, manuscripts, and photographs related to the study of Indigenous history and culture.
Personal Justice Denied: Public Hearings of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment, 1981
Testimonies of 750 witnesses to the relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975
Manuscripts, photographs, ephemera, and memorabilia documenting British and American pop culture.
Proquest History Vault
Collection of historical primary source databases related to aspects of American history, including civil rights, slavery, politics, international relations, women's studies, and labour unions.
Race Relations in America
Speeches, reports, surveys, and analyses produced by the Race Relations Department at Fisk University from 1943 to 1970.
Sabin Americana, 1500-1926
Bibliography of monograph works and firsthand accounts of the history of the Americas.
Smithsonian Collections Online
Comprises two distinct primary source collections spanning the 19th and early 20th centuries: World's Fairs and Expositions: Visions of Tomorrow, and Trade Literature and the Merchandizing of Industry.
Sources in U.S. History Online: Slavery in America
Personal narratives, pamphlets, addresses, political speeches, monographs, sermons, plays, songs, and poetic and fictional works illustrating key aspects of the history of slavery in America from its origins to abolition.
Sources in U.S. History Online: The American Revolution
Primary source documents concerning the American Revolution from the perspectives of commanders, common soldiers, women, slaves, Native Americans, and loyalists.
Sources in U.S. History Online: The Civil War
Personal narratives, pamphlets, speeches, sermons, songs, regimental histories, photographs, and other primary sources covering the history of the American Civil War.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set
Reports, documents, journals, and maps published by the United States Congress.
Virginia Company Archives
Manuscripts, printed material, and records of the Virginia Company, which operated in what would become New England from 1606 to 1624.

Caribbean

Caribbean Studies in Video: The Banyan Archive (Canada)
Edited and unedited footage from the Banyan Production Company, the first Caribbean enterprise to produce original TV content in the 1970s.
World Scholar: Latin America and the Caribbean Historical Archive
Contemporary and historical sources for the study of Latin America and the Caribbean from the colonial period to the present.

Latin America

Brazilian and Portuguese History and Culture: The Oliveira Lima Library
Pamphlets related to Brazilian and Portuguese history and culture from 1800 to the late 20th century.
Confidential Print: Latin America, 1833-1969
Papers generated by the British Foreign and Colonial Offices from 1833-1969.
Feminism in Cuba: Nineteenth through Twentieth Century Archival Documents
Personal letters, journal essays, radio broadcasts, and memoirs from women’s congresses, spanning from 1898 to 1958.

History category from LANIC-Latin American Network Information Center
Historical resources from all Latin American countries, organized regionally.
Latin America in Video
Original-language documentaries from producers and independent filmmakers in Latin America.

World Scholar: Latin America and the Caribbean Historical Archive
Contemporary and historical sources for the study of Latin America and the Caribbean from the colonial period to the present.

General Europe

Eurodocs
Sources related to European history, categorized by country and by time period, including the prehistoric, ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance periods.
Conditions & Politics in Occupied Western Europe, 1940-1945
Sources on life in German-occupied states from intelligence reports available to the British Foreign Office during World War II.
Electronic Enlightenment
Edited correspondence linking people across Europe, the Americas and Asia from the early 17th century to the mid-19th century.
Gerritsen Collection
Documents largely from Western European and English sources concerning women and gender from 1543 to 1945.

Inventory of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Digital Projects
Metadata database of digital projects related to Slavic, East European, and Eurasian countries.

Medieval Family Life
Letter collections produced by prominent medieval families in 15th-century England.
Medieval Travel Writing
Medieval manuscripts and travel writing from around the globe, dating between the 13th and 16th centuries.
Post-War Europe: Refugees, Exile and Resettlement, 1945-1950
Documents and files for the study and understanding of the challenges facing the European peoples in the aftermath of World War II.
Grand Tour
Letters, diaries, journals, guidebooks, paintings, sketches, and architectural drawings documenting British travel around the world from 1550 to 1850.

Europe and Africa: Commerce, Christianity, Civilization, and Conquest
Documents related to the 19th-century European "conquest" of Africa.

United Kingdom and Ireland

JSTOR
JSTOR's 19th Century British Pamphlets collection includes pamphlets from various UK university collections, which cover topics of public debate and political, social, technological, and environmental issues.
- Bristol Selected Pamphlets: Pamphlets from the University of Bristol with a focus on commerce, economics, finance, politics, religion and sociology.
- Cowen Tracts: Pamphlet collection of Joseph Cowen, a social reformer and Member of Parliament, covering the years 1603 to 1898. Topics of focus include social, educational and economic issues.
- Earl Grey Pamphlets Collection: Pamphlet collection spanning from 1800 to 1900, with particular focus on parliamentary reform, colonial affairs and Catholic emancipation.
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection: Pamphlets sent back to London by British ambassadors in commonwealth colonies to help with policy formation during the 19th century.
- Hume Tracts: Personal pamphlet collection of Joseph Hume, a Scottish doctor and Member of Parliament. Covers major political, economic and social developments and reforms in Britain in the early part of the 19th century.
- Knowsley Pamphlet Collection: Pamphlets reflecting the political careers of the Earls of Derby, spanning from 1792 to 1868.
- LSE Selected Pamphlets: pamphlet collection from the London School of Economics including political cartoons and manifestos, party materials, and collections from pressure groups.
- Manchester Selected Pamphlets: Pamphlets sent back to London by British ambassadors in commonwealth colonies to help with policy formation during the 19th century.
- Wilson Anti-Slavery Collection: 19th-century anti-slavery pamphlets produced by British philanthropic societies, with a particular focus on the role of women in the movement.

British Politics and Society
Source materials from political leaders, officials, and social reformers of the 19th century, including correspondence, journal and diary entries, speeches, official papers, and press cuttings.
British Theatre, Music and Literature High and Popular Culture
Primary sources related to the arts in the Victorian era, from playbills and scripts to operas and complete scores.

Chatham House Online Archive
Publications and archives of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) since its founding in 1920.
Early English Books Online (EEBO)
Digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and British North America from 1473 to 1700, as well as works in English printed elsewhere.

Early Books Online Text Creation Partnership
Provides standardized, accurate XML/SGML encoded electronic text editions of early print books.

East India Company
Documents, charters, correspondence, diaries, council meeting minutes, reports, and other sources charting the history of British trade and rule in the Indian subcontinent and beyond from 1599 to 1947.
House of Commons Parliamentary Papers
Includes the working papers of Parliament and papers produced by Parliament and its committees from the late 17th century to the present.
London Low Life
Primary sources, including literature, pamphlets, advertisements, and broadsides from the 19th to early 20th centuries documenting street culture, social reform and the Victorian underworld.
Macmillan Cabinet Papers, 1957-1963
Complete coverage of the Cabinet conclusions (minutes) (CAB 128) and memoranda (CAB 129) of Harold Macmillan’s government.
Mass Observation Online
Manuscript and typescript papers created and collected by the Mass Observation organisation, founded in 1937 to study the everyday lives of ordinary people in Britain.
Northern Ireland : A Divided Community 1921-1972 : Cabinet papers of the Stormont Administration
Cabinet Conclusion files of the Northern Ireland Government, filed as CAB/4 at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI).
Parker Library on the Web
Collection of digitized medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, as well as early printed books, from the Parker Library at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

State Papers Online
Historical British government records and documentation from the Early Modern period to the 18th century.
Victorian Popular Culture: A Portal
Printed books, journals, photographs, posters, and other ephemera documenting spiritualism and entertainment in Britain, America, and Europe during the Victorian period.

France

Gallica
Contains digitized holdings of the National Library of France (la Bibliothèque nationale de France) and its partners.

Germany

Monumenta Germaniae Historica
Primary sources covering the history and development of northwestern and central Europe from approximately 500 to 1500.

Spain

Biblioteca Virtual del Patrimonio Bibliografico
Manuscripts, printed books, photographs, cartographic materials, and other sources related to Spanish bibliographic heritage.

LIBRO
Collection consisting primarily of books related to the history of the Iberian peninsula between the 5th and 17th centuries.

Africa

African newspapers : The British Library collection.
Provides access to historical newspapers from Africa published before 1901.
Confidential Print: Africa, 1834-1966
Papers generated by the British Foreign and Colonial Offices from 1834 to 1966.

Europe and Africa: Commerce, Christianity, Civilization, and Conquest
Documents related to the 19th-century European "conquest" of Africa.
Internet African History Sourcebook
Sources documenting the history of African countries, organized by country and spanning the ancient, Medieval, and modern periods.

African Diaspora

Black Canadian Studies Research Guide
University of Toronto Research Guide covering resources related to Black Canadian Studies and history.

Black Studies Center
Scholarly essays, recent periodicals, historical newspaper articles, reference books, and other sources for the study of the African Diaspora.
Black Thought and Culture
Published non-fiction works by African American authors from pre-contact times to the present.

Middle East

Arab-Israeli Relations, 1917-1970: The Middle East Online Series 1
Source material from the British Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office, and Cabinet Papers.
Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969
Papers generated by the British Foreign and Colonial Offices from 1839 to 1969, covering Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and Sudan, as well as other countries of the Levant and the Arabian peninsula.
Early Arabic Printed Books from the British Library (1475-1900)
Covers religious literature, law, science, mathematics, astrology, alchemy, medicine, geography, travel, history, chronicles, and literature, and includes European translations of Arabic works and Arabic translations of European books.
Foreign Office Files for the Middle East, 1971-1981
Documents related to the policies, economies, political relationships and significant events of every major Middle East power from 1971 to 1981.
Iraq 1914-1974: The Middle East Online Series 2 Digital Archive
Middle Eastern and North African Newspapers
Collection of historical newspapers from the Middle East and North Africa.
Oxford Islamic Studies Online
Current scholarship, reference content, and historical primary sources related to the field of Islamic Studies from the 6th century to the present.
Travelers in the Middle East Archive (TIMEA)
Documents concerning Western interactions with the Middle East, with a focus on travels to Egypt during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

China

Cheng Yu Tung Chinese Resource Guide
Guide to Chinese Studies resources at the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library.

China, America and the Pacific
Sources covering the history of North American trade and cultural interactions with China and Pacific trading centres.

China Culture and Society
Contemporary scholarly essays and full-text historical pamphlets from the 18th to 20th centuries.
China and the Modern World
Collections of primary sources from China spanning from 1800 to 1980, including monographs, manuscripts, journals, correspondence, and ephemera.

China: Trade, Politics and Culture, 1793-1980
English-language primary sources relating to Chinese interactions with the West.
Chinese Pamphlets: Political Communication & Mass Education
Mass education materials published in Hong Kong and in Mainland China, particularly Shanghai.
Economic Cooperation Administration’s Relief Mission in Post-War China, 1946-1948
Collection of governmental documents that demonstrate how officials of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) looked for economic and cultural opportunities to promote US-China relations.
Foreign Office Files for China, 1949-1980
All British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1919 and 1980.
The Chinese Civil War and U.S.-China Relations: Records of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Chinese Affairs, 1945-1955
Primary source materials collected by the US State Department’s Office of Chinese Affairs as part of their operational control of American policy toward China before, during, and after the Chinese Communist Revolution (1945-1950).
Policing the Shanghai International Settlement, 1894-1945
Collection from the Special Branch of the Shanghai Municipal Police. Topics covered include collected intelligence on political demonstrations, strikes, labor and social unrest, foreign and domestic subversive activities, and more.

Japan

Cheng Yu Tung Japanese resource guide
Guide to Japanese Studies resources at the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library.

Foreign Office Files for Japan, 1919-1952
Coverage of British Foreign Office files dealing with Japan between 1919 and 1952.
Meiji Japan
19th-century diaries, correspondence, research files, drawings, lecture notes, publications, scrapbooks and manuscripts of Edward Sylvester Morse, one of the first American expatriates to Japan.

Tibet

Tibetan Buddhist Resource Centre
Digitized Buddhist canonical texts and other source materials from around the world. Covers subject areas such as logic, linguistics, deities, the arts, natural and social sciences, and medicine.

South Asia

Digital South Asia Library (DSAL)
Collection of historical South Asian sources, including reference materials, images, maps, statistics, books, and journals.
Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980
Documents related to the political and social history of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan from the Foreign and Dominions Offices.
India, Raj and Empire
Documents, illustrations, and biographies related to the history of South Asia, spanning from 1615 through 1947.

Australia and New Zealand

Early Experiences in Australasia: Primary Sources and Personal Narratives 1788-1901
Collection of personal accounts, including letters and diaries, narratives, and other primary source materials.

Research Guides

Primary Source Databases for Historical Research