HIST 3530 - History of Africa to 1800: Find Primary Sources
What is a Primary Source?
A primary source is generally defined as document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event. Depending on your topic and perspective, primary sources can include:
- Original Documents (autobiographies, personal correspondence and diaries, speeches and oral histories, newspapers, government documents, recordings, photographs, and maps)
- Creative Works
- Relics or Artifacts
[Image: Edo. 18th-19th century. Belt Mask. Jewelry. Place: Yale University Art Gallery, African Art, http://artgallery.yale.edu/. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AYALEARTIG_10312578469.]
Othre Suggested Library Databases
- Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new windowHistorical records, photos, stories, newspapers and magazines for genealogy research (more...).
- Artstor @ JSTOR (formerly Artstor Digital Library) This link opens in a new windowArt images, institutional and public collections. To use all features, create an account (more...).
- EEBO: Early English Books Online This link opens in a new windoweBooks, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and British North America,1473-1700 (more...).
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new windowDigitized collection of books, journals, and other items from major research libraries (more...).
- Library of Congress Digital Collections This link opens in a new windowPrimary sources, images, maps, American history (more...).
- Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new windowBrings together a multitude of essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. (more...).
- World Digital Library (WDL) This link opens in a new windowPrimary resources, world history (more...).
Published v. Unpublished Primary Sources
Unpublished primary sources are original documents and objects created by individuals but not formally published. Unpublished materials are typically found in archives, libraries, and museums. While researching unpublished materials often requires a physical visit, many make them available online.
Published primary Sources include a wide-range of publications, including first-person accounts, memoirs, diaries, letters, newspapers, statistical reports, government documents, court records, photographs, and more. Some of these materials were not published at the time of their creation but have subsequently been published in a collected volume (e.g. Sources and Methods in African History)
Find published sources by using Library Catalogs, Research Guides, and published bibliographies. To find primary sources in catalogs try using the following strategies:
- Search by publication date to find sources published during the time period
- Use advanced search options to restrict material type
- Include the following subjects in your search: Correspondence, Letters, Sources, Diaries, Personal Narratives, Interviews, or Speeches
Global Digital Collections
- 16th-Early 20th Century Maps of Africa (Northwestern) This collection features digital copies of 113 antique maps of Africa and accompanying text dating from the mid-16th Century to the early 20th Century. All scanned maps are authentic and originally collected by the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies. Melville J. Herskovits established Northwestern University's Program of African Studies in 1948
- Afriterra Online collection of over 2,000 historic maps of Africa.
- Gallica: Voyages en Afrique Site in French only. Includes over 900 volumes and images on French colonialism in Africa.
European Digital Collections
- Livingstone Online Includes online editions of medical and scientific correspondence of David Livingstone on his 19th-century travels in Africa.