Research Guides: HIST 3600: Disease, Depopulation, and the Colonization of the Americas: Primary Sources

How-To Video: Searching Historical Newspapers

Searching for Primary Sources
This learning module will help you understand how to develop a list of keywords and identify and search within appropriate databases to find primary sources.

Edited Collections

You can find some primary sources in books. Below is a list of relevant subject headings. When searching for these in the catalog, try adding "sources", "documents", "correspondence", "letters", or "writings" to your search.

United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Pamphlets.
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Sources.
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Personal narratives.
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Personal narratives, British.

Smallpox in Colonial America
ISBN: 9780405098802

Primary Source Databases

Indigenous Histories and Cultures of North America (Adam Matthew)

Presents unique insight into interactions between American Indians and Europeans from their earliest contact, continuing through the turbulence of the American Civil War, the on-going repercussions of government legislation, right up to the civil rights movement of the mid- to late-twentieth century
American History, 1493-1945 (Adam Matthew)
Documents American History from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century. Sourced from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

American Memory Project (Library of Congress)
Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, America and West Indies, 1574-1739
This series details papers relating to Colonial America and the West Indies for the period 1574-1739. Calendars provide summaries full enough, for most purposes, to replace the original documents. These summaries are printed in chronological order and do not necessarily reflect the archival ordering of the documents.

Colonial America (Modules I and II) (Adam Matthew)
Covering the period 1606 to the 1770s, the collection covers the early history of the colonies, records of piracy and seaborne rivalry with the French and Spanish, military material from the French and Indian War of 1756-63, and the social and political protest that led to the Declaration of Independence. It is also particularly rich in material relating to military affairs and American Indians.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800
Provides full-text and full-page-image access to books, pamphlets and broadsides printed in America from 1639-1800.
Early English Books Online (EEBO)
Digital facsimile page images of historical works from 1473 to 1700.
Eighteenth Century Collection Online (ECCO)
Works published in the UK during the 18th century.
Global Commodities (Adam Matthew)
This resource explores the history and background of key commodities that have been a part of the world's trading operations for hundreds of years. Through manuscripts, printed and visual primary source materials, and data visualizations, you will find valuable knowledge on how these key commodities have influenced our lives, trading operations, and social practices.

Hansard (British Parliamentary Debates)

London Low Life (Adam Matthew)
Contains color digital images of rare books, ephemera, maps and other materials relating to street culture and social reform in 18th,19th and early 20th century London.
Eight Centuries (formerly 19th Century Masterfile)
Eight Centuries (formerly 19th Century Masterfile) is a database covering primary source materials from 1106 until 1960. Provides access to articles, newspapers, books, U.S. patents, government documents, and images.

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913
contains criminal trials held at London's central criminal court

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A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court
Slave Societies Digital Archive
The Slave Societies Digital Archive (formerly Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies), preserves endangered ecclesiastical and secular documents related to Africans and African-descended peoples in slave societies.

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Directed by Jane Landers and hosted at Vanderbilt University, this Digital Archive currently holds 500,000 unique images, dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries, and documents the history of between 6 and 8 million individuals. They are the most extensive serial records for the history of Africans in the Atlantic World and also include valuable information on the indigenous, European, and Asian populations who lived alongside them.
Voyages: the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database
Contains over 35,000 records from 1514-1866.
World Digital Library
Significant primary materials from all countries and cultures

Newspaper databases

American Periodicals
Full text periodicals published between 1740 and 1940.
Times Digital Archive
Historical newspaper archive with full-text coverage of the Times from 1785 to 2013. Supports research across multiple disciplines including business, humanities, political science, and philosophy with coverage of all major international historical events.
Caribbean Newspapers, 1718-1876
140 newspaper titles from 22 islands from the 18th and 19th centuries. Research Colonial history, the Atlantic slave trade, New World slavery, and more. Most of these newspapers were published in English, but some non-English titles are also included.
19th Century British Library Newspapers

Contains full runs of 48 newspapers specially selected by the British Library to best represent nineteenth century Britain.
19th Century UK Periodicals
A major multi-part series of periodicals which covers the events, lives, values and themes that shaped the 19th century world.
North Carolina Historical Newspapers
North Carolina Historical newspapers from late 1700s to 1859
South Carolina's Historical Newspapers
South Carolina Historical newspapers from late 1700s to 1859.

HIST 3600: Disease, Depopulation, and the Colonization of the Americas

DPLA

HathiTrust

Internet Archive

How-To Video: Searching Historical Newspapers

Edited Collections

Primary Source Databases

Newspaper databases