Research Guides: British History: Primary Sources

Find Primary Materials - Online Databases

British Library Newspapers: Pts. l & ll, 1800-1900 This link opens in a new window
British Library Newspapers, Pts. I & II, offer full runs of national, regional, and local nineteenth-century British newspapers, taken directly from the extensive holdings of the British Library. The papers provide a broad, yet detailed view of British life in the nineteenth century; from business to sport, from politics to entertainment and the arts. The two collections together cover 69 titles.
Churchill Archive This link opens in a new window
The papers of Winston S. Churchill comprising more than 80,000 pages of original documents, produced between 1874 and 1965, and including Churchill's official and personal correspondence.
Colonial State Papers This link opens in a new window
Colonial State Papers provides access to thousands of papers concerning English activities in the American, Canadian, and West Indian colonies between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries.
House of Commons Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new window
The Parliamentary Papers are the most detailed primary source for Nineteenth Century Britain, its colonies, and the wider world. They are the working documents of government for all areas of social, political, economic, and foreign policy. This comprehensive digital collection includes all 79,000 papers issued by the House of Commons between 1801-1900. Simultaneous Users: unlimited
Times Digital Archive, 1785-2011 This link opens in a new window
The Times of London has covered all major international events from the French Revolution to the Falklands War. "The Times Digital Archive, 1785-2011" makes 200 years of this highly regarded resource available for students and researchers of 19th and 20th century history.

Find Primary Materials - Hardcopy Sources

British Documents on Foreign Affairs: Reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print
Frederick, Md.: University Publications of America (dates vary)
Available in a number of multi-volume series, organized geographically and chronologically, e.g., Series A, Russia, 1859-1914. To see a list of the series available and their locations in the Library, search for the above Title in the Library Catalog.
British and Foreign State Papers
London, H.M. Stationary Office
Location: JX 103 .A3
The Library has, with some gaps, volumes from 1812 - 1948.
Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919-1939
London, H. M. Stationery Office
Location: DA 566.7 .A18
Covers the twenty years from the Treaty of Versailles to the declaration of war upon Germany by the U.K. at the beginning of WWII.
English Historical Documents
New York, Oxford University Press, 1968-
Location: DA26 .E55
This hardcopy set makes available a wide selection of the fundamental sources of English history. The Library has vols. 5, 8-12 (1st ed.), vols. 1,2 (2nd ed.).
Great Britain: Foreign Policy and the Span of Empire, 1689 - 1971; a Documentary History
New York, Chelsea House Publishers [1972]
Location: Ref DA45 .W53
Gives chronologically and in context the text of important documents in the history of British foreign policy.
Parliamentary Debates (Authorized Edition)
Location J301 .H22 Gelman Stacks NON-CIRCULATING
Records of what was said in Parliament. Published in Series 1 - 5c, "...under the superintendence of T. C. Hansard." See the Catalog record for specific volumes held by Gelman Library.