LibGuides: ANTH 273: Anthropology of Africa (Jones): Historical Sources

Collections of Historical Sources

Historical Newspapers:

For even more options, visit: https://libguides.holycross.edu/newspapers

African Newspaper Series 1
Date(s): 1800-1922
African newspapers in both English and other languages.

Middle Eastern & North African Newspapers
"The Middle Eastern & North African Newspapers collection includes publications from across this dynamic region, providing unique insights into the history of individual countries, as well as broad viewpoints on key historic events from the late nineteenth century through the present. "

London Times Digital Archive
Provides full-text access to digital reproductions of the Times from the paper’s inception to 2019. While not an African newspaper, the Times can help you understand the dynamics under British rule during colonization.
Aluka: Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa
The Aluka database documents colonial rule and decolonization with a special focus on Southern Africa. While not a major source for newspapers, it does contain many resistance papers and magazines, as well as selected clippings especially from apartheid-era South Africa.

Maps:

Aluka: World Heritage Sites: Africa
Date(s): ~1900-2010
Primary sources from colonial rule and decolonization movements in Southern Africa.

David Rumsey Map Collection
Over 120,000 digitized historic maps and atlases, covering the entire world and ranging in date from the 1500s to the present.
Old Maps Online
Originally developed as a partnership between Klokan Technologies GmbH, Switzerland and The University of Portsmouth, UK thanks to funding from JISC. It is now a volunteer project maintained by Klokan Technologies volunteers in their spare time.

Government & Political Documents:

HathiTrust Digital Library
HathiTrust is a great general source for any books and things published as 'books' (including government documents and colonial reports), especially those out of copyright i.e. published pre-1925.

United Nations Records:

United Nations Digital Library
UN documents, voting data, speeches, maps, and open access publications starting in 1979. See their research guide for more help understanding the collection and how to search.

African Records:

Aluka: Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa
Date(s): ~1900-2010
Primary sources from colonial rule and decolonization movements in Southern Africa.

South African History Archive (SAHA)
"he South African History Archive (SAHA) is an independent human rights archive dedicated to documenting, supporting and promoting greater awareness of past and contemporary struggles for justice through archival practices and outreach, and the utilisation of access to information laws."

British Records

The Cabinet Papers, UK National Archives
Misc. "records of Cabinet meetings and papers, which include material on colonies and dominion"

Empire Online
Date(s): ~1500-2000
Primary sources in English relating to empire building around the world and especially the British Empire.

Other European Records:

USC Digital Library: Emerging Nationalism in Portuguese Africa, 1959-1965
"This collection contains documentary ephemera on emerging nationalism in Portuguese Africa, collected by Ronald H. Chilcote in the course of research he did for his book, Emerging Nationalism in Portuguese Africa. Emphasis is on materials originating from the nationalist organizations of Angola and Mozambique with lesser amounts on the Cape Verde Islands, Guinea-Biasau, and Sao Tome and Principe. Also included are copies of United Nations documents relating to Portuguese Africa."
European Colonialism in the Early 20th Century: French Colonialism in Africa: From Algeria to Madagascar, 1910-1930 (Archives Unbound)
"This collection comprises correspondence, studies and reports, cables, maps, and other kinds of documents related to U.S. consular activities. U.S. Consulates were listening posts reporting on the activities of the French colonial government and the activities of the native peoples. Highlights include the beginning of an anti-colonial movement and problems along the Moroccan-Algerian border."
European Colonialism in the Early 20th Century: German Colonies to League of Nations Mandates in Africa 1910-1929 (Archives Unbound)
"This collection comprises correspondence, studies and reports, cables, maps, and other kinds of documents related to U.S. consular activities. U.S. Consulates were listening posts reporting on the activities of the German colonial governments and later the mandate authorities, and the activities of the native peoples."
European Colonialism in the Early 20th Century: Italian Colonies in North Africa and Aggression in East Africa, 1930-1939 (Archives Unbound)
"This collection comprises correspondence, studies and reports, cables, maps, and other kinds of documents related to U.S. consular activities. U.S. Consulates were listening posts reporting on the activities of the Italian colonial governments and later the mandate authorities, and the activities of the native peoples."
European Colonialism in the Early 20th Century: Political and Economic Consolidation of Portuguese Colonies in Africa, 1910-1929 (Archives Unbound)
"This collection comprises correspondence, studies and reports, cables, maps, and other kinds of documents related to U.S. consular activities. U.S. Consulates were listening posts reporting on the activities of the Portuguese colonial government and the activities of the native peoples. Highlights include the beginning of an anti-colonial movement and the industrialization and economic exploitation of Portugal’s African colonies."

Images & Multimedia:

African Online Digital Library
"AODL provides free universal access to cultural heritage materials from and about African countries and communities. It brings together tens of thousands of digitized photographs, videos, archival documents, maps, interviews and oral histories in numerous African languages, many of which are contained in curated thematic galleries and teaching resources."

Artstor
Now part of JSTOR. Library of images relating to art and architecture, humanities, and social sciences.
Aluka: World Heritage Sites: Africa
Date(s): ~1900-2010
Primary sources from colonial rule and decolonization movements in Southern Africa.
Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings
Field collections created by ethnomusicologists and focused on music traditions all around the world.

Correspondence & Other 'Ephemera':

"Ephemera" are materials and memorabilia that were only designed for short-term use. A practical way to think about it -- the little byproducts of living! Brochures, letters, notes pages, clippings from newspapers, reports -- these can all be found in 'ephemera' collections

Aluka: Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa
Date(s): ~1900-2010
Primary sources from colonial rule and decolonization movements in Southern Africa.
Aluka: World Heritage Sites: Africa
Date(s): ~1900-2010
Primary sources from colonial rule and decolonization movements in Southern Africa.
Empire Online
Date(s): ~1500-2000
Primary sources in English relating to empire building around the world and especially the British Empire.

Misc. Web Archives:

African Online Digital Library
"AODL provides free universal access to cultural heritage materials from and about African countries and communities. It brings together tens of thousands of digitized photographs, videos, archival documents, maps, interviews and oral histories in numerous African languages, many of which are contained in curated thematic galleries and teaching resources."
Stellenbosch University SUNDigital Collections: [African] History
"Various digital collections contributing to a picture of the history of Africa and South Africa in particular." Note that some collections are in Dutch or Afrikaans.
University of Cape Town Digital Collections
University of Pretoria Institutional Repository: African Heritage Collections
University of the Witwatersrand Historical Papers Research Archive
A variety of digitized historical documents pertaining to Africana studies. It contains "over 3400 collections of historical, political and cultural importance, encompassing the mid 17th Century to the Present"
World Digital Library
Digitized primary sources from all over the world. "The WDL was developed by a team at the U.S. Library of Congress, with contributions by partner institutions in many countries; the support of the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and the financial support of a number of companies and private foundations."

Map of vicinity of Port Louis, Mauritius, 1903
British Library Online Archives

Search terms need to echo the time period you're searching for. This can be as complex as trying to mimic 19th century language conventions -- or as simple as making sure you know under which name a given region/country was known at that time. The Countries of the World & Their Leaders Yearbook can be helpful for quickly checking this information.
Browsing tends to work better than searching. This is not the time to break out complex search terms, ANDs and ORs! Use a simple search term or two, and then use the built-in tools --- filters by date, location, type of source, etc. -- to carry you the rest of the way. Historical sources are less predictable in their content, so this tends to help you get more and better results with more speed.
Spend time with your search results. For example, In addition to reading articles that come up in your search results, spend some time looking over pages of newspapers to see what other articles are covering from the time period. By looking beyond a single article, you'll learn about other issues from the time period and possibly see Letters to the Editors and advertisements which can provide historical context.
Start early! Working with historical sources tends to take a bit more time -- time to find them, time to decipher them, and time to decide what to make of them. Ask for help if you need it!

Useful tools to help you practice interpreting historical sources:

Examining Primary Sources

Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students
(Brunswick, ME: Bowdoin College, 2004)
Primary Source Analysis Worksheets - Digital History
Use these worksheets and other tools, originally developed by the National Archives, to help you analyze a range of primary sources including artifacts, cartoons, maps, movies, photos, posters, sound recordings, and written documents.

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Research tip: These worksheets are interactive PDFs. Fill out the worksheet for each source, then use the File menu to print a copy of your filled-out sheet (to paper or PDF) for your research records.