British government files from the Foreign, Colonial, Dominion and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices spanning the period 1948 to 1980.
This resource is being released in three sections over the next six months: 1948-1966 (available now), 1967-1975 (available now), 1976-1980 (coming March 2015).
Digitized collection of Colonial Office files held at the UK National Archives.
Covering the period 1606 to 1822, this collection constitutes the original correspondence between the British government and the governments of the American colonies. In particular, it includes correspondence of the colonial governments with the Board of Trade, the Secretary of State for the Southern Department, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies, together holding responsibility for the British possessions in mainland North America and the Caribbean.
Colonial America documents the early history of the colonies, and includes founding charters, material on the effects of 1688’s Glorious Revolution in North America, records of piracy and seaborne rivalry with the French and Spanish, and copious military material from the French and Indian War of 1756-63.
Primary source documents from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries.
Colonial State Papers provides users with access to primary source documents from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The earliest English settlements in North America, encounters with Native Americans, piracy in the Atlantic and Caribbean, the trade in slaves and English conflicts with the Spanish and French are all covered in this database. Combines two resources: CO 1: Privy Council and related bodies: America and West Indies, Colonial Papers and The Calendar of State Papers, Colonial: North America and the West Indies 1574-1739.
Digital collection of documents issued by the British Foreign and Colonial Offices.
The Confidential Print series was issued by the British Government c. 1820-1970 out of a need to preserve important papers generated by the Foreign & Colonial Offices. These range from single-page letters or telegrams to comprehensive dispatches, investigative reports & texts of treaties. All items marked "Confidential Print" were printed & circulated to leading officials in the Foreign Office, the Cabinet, & heads of British missions abroad. Covers the whole of the modern period of European colonization of the continent.
From coastal trading in the early nineteenth century, through the Conference of Berlin of 1884 and the subsequent Scramble for Africa, to the abuses of the Congo Free State, fights against tropical disease, Italy’s defeat by the Abyssinians, World War II, apartheid in South Africa and colonial moves towards independence, the documents in Confidential Print: Africa cover the whole of the modern period of European colonization of the continent.
Digital collection of documents issued by the British Foreign and Colonial Offices.
The Confidential Print series was issued by the British Government between c. 1820 and 1970. The series originated out of a need to preserve the most important papers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices. These range from single-page letters or telegrams to comprehensive dispatches, investigative reports and texts of treaties. All items marked ‘Confidential Print’ were printed and circulated immediately to leading officials in the Foreign Office, to the Cabinet, and to heads of British missions abroad.
Confidential Print: Latin America covers revolutions, territorial changes and political movements, foreign financial interests, industrial and infrastructural development (including the building of the Panama Canal), wars, slavery, immigration from Europe and relations with indigenous peoples, among other topics.
Digital collection of documents issued by the British Foreign and Colonial Offices.
The Confidential Print series was issued by the British Government between c. 1820 and 1970. The series originated out of a need to preserve the most important papers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices. These range from single-page letters or telegrams to comprehensive dispatches, investigative reports and texts of treaties. All items marked ‘Confidential Print’ were printed and circulated immediately to leading officials in the Foreign Office, to the Cabinet, and to heads of British missions abroad.
This collection, sourced from the National Archives, Kew, covers a broad sweep of history from c. 1839 to 1969, taking in the countries of the Arabian peninsula, the Levant, Iraq, Turkey and many of the former Ottoman lands in Europe, Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt and Sudan. It includes reports, dispatches, correspondence, descriptions of leading personalities, political summaries and economic analyses issued by the British Foreign and Colonial Offices.
Contains the most important papers generated by Britain's Foreign and Colonial Offices concerning Canada, the Caribbean, and the United States.
The Confidential Print series was issued by the British Government between c. 1820 and 1970 out of a need to preserve the most important papers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices. These range from single-page letters or telegrams to comprehensive dispatches, investigative reports and texts of treaties.
Confidential Print: North America, 1824-1961 includes the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Central America. Materials include reports and dispatches, descriptions of leading political personalities, weekly political summaries, and monthly economic reports. Topics highlighted include: prohibition; racial desegregation in the U.S.; the League of Nations; World War II and public opinion in the United States; Senator Joseph McCarthy and "McCarthyism"; development of railways and fisheries in Canada; Canadian border disputes and territorial claims; Nazi activities in Chile, monitoring of Venezuelan finances, and more.
Images of original manuscripts related to Empire Studies sourced from libraries and archives around the world.
Covers 1492-1962. Original manuscripts and printed material related to imperialism. Topics include: Cultural Contacts; Empire Writing; the Invisible Empire; Religion and Empire; Race, Class & Colonialism. Covers Africa, the Americas, Australasia, Oceania & South Asia.
UK government files on the political and social history of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Sourced from the British Foreign Office files at the UK government's official archive, this collection focuses on the political and social history of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Includes content on Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Kashmir, and other frontier regions. Other files cover UK, US, and European trade, industrial policy, education, the media, and the threat posed by China and the Soviet Union. Documents include diplomatic dispatches, telegrams, newspaper cuttings and transcripts, maps, photographs, political and economic reports, accounts of visits and tours, meeting minutes, conference proceedings, letters, leaflets, and other ephemera.
This project comprises the following three sections:
• Independence, Partition, and the Nehru Era, 1947-1964
• South Asian Conflicts and Independence for Bangladesh, 1965-1971
• Afghanistan and the Cold War, Emergency Rule in India, and the Resumption of Civilian Rule in Pakistan, 1972-1980
Documents from the British Foreign Office for the history of the Middle East during the 1970s and early 1980s.
This collection includes diplomatic correspondence, minutes, reports, political summaries and personality profiles from the British Foreign Office Files for the years 1971-1981
The collection addresses the policies, economies, political relationships and significant events of every major Middle East power. Conflicts such as the Arab-Israeli War, the Lebanese Civil War and the Iranian Revolution are examined in detail, as are the military interventions and peace negotiations carried out by regional and foreign powers like the United States and Russia.
Commercial interests are also scrutinized, with in-depth analyses of Middle East nations’ economic stability and reviews of international arm sales policies. The activities of oil producing nations such as Saudi Arabia are closely monitored, with particular reference to the Gulf States and members of OPEC.
The collection is in three modules:
• Middle East, 1971-1974: The 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Oil Crisis
• Middle East, 1975-1978: The Lebanese Civil War and the Camp David Accords
• Middle East, 1979-1981: The Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War (available early 2017)
Access is through the Archives Direct platform, and the collection may be cross-searched with other resources such as Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969.
Original manuscript material, comprising diaries, letters, maps, sketches, and official and private papers from the National Library of Scotland.
The history of British India is brought to life through the large and diverse South Asian holdings of the National Library of Scotland. The 18th and 19th centuries are especially well represented in manuscript sources which look at:
• Social history
• Urban history
• Trade
• Wars
• Agriculture
• Travel and antiquities
• Indian and Imperial politics
There are records of doctors and diplomats, civil servants and army officials, tea planters and natural historians, travelers and traders.
Original source material from the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office and Cabinet Papers covering the period from the Anglo-Indian landing in Basra in 1914 through the British Mandate in Iraq of 1920-32 to the rise of Saddam Hussein in 1974.
