Background Sources | Books | Journal Articles | Primary Sources | Web Resources
This webpage provides resources to help you find more information on the themes and topics of the course.
Most of the databases on this page are restricted to UW students, staff and faculty. These are marked with a lock
. To connect to these databases from home you will need to first click on the Off-Campus Access link in the upper-right hand corner and login.
Have questions or need research help? Please contact Theresa Mudrock, the history librarian via email at mudrock@u.washington.edu.
Background Sources
Encyclopedias and dictionaries provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events and dates which can then be used as search terms when searching research databases and catalogs. More importantly, because encyclopedias often cover the major issues surrounding the subject, they can help you narrow your research from a broad “who, what, where, when” topic to a “how or why” question. In addition many encyclopedia articles include short bibliographies that will lead you to the major works on the topic.
Suzzallo Reference -- HV22 .C59 2003- Encyclopedia of Irish history and culture
Suzzallo Reference -- DA912 .E53 2004- Encyclopedia of Western colonialism since 1450
Suzzallo Reference -- JV22 .E535 2007- Historical dictionary of the British empire
Suzzallo Reference -- DA16 .H56 1996- History of world trade since 1450
Suzzallo Reference -- HF1379 .H574 2006- Literature of travel and exploration
Suzzallo Reference -- G465 .L565 2003
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- DA34 .O93 1997
Suzzallo Reference - DA28 .O95 2004- Reader's guide to British history
Suzzallo Reference -- DA34 .R43 2003Books
Use the following catalogs to locate books in the UW Libraries and in other libraries around the region, nation and world. Books unavailable at the UW can be requested through Summit (if available at one of the member libraries) or through Interlibrary Loan.
- UW Libraries Catalog
A listing of the books, journal subscriptions and other material available at the University of Washington Libraries.- Summit
Joint catalog of more than 25 academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. Books can be requested and shipped to the UW for pick-up. Especially useful when the book you need is checked-out for the quarter...
Joint catalog of thousands of major libraries in the U.S. and abroad.Journal Articles
Use research databases to find articles on a topic. Since most databases cover a specific subject area, choose those that best fit your research topic. For a complete list of databases see Research Databases on the UW Libraries Homepage.
To find a copy of the article, use the Check for UW Holdings button available on most databases to locate a copy in the library. If there is no button, search the UW Libraries Catalog for the title of the journal to locate a copy. Be sure to have the complete citation (author, title, journal name, volume, pages and year) of your article.
Articles from journals which the UW does not own can be requested via Interlibrary loan.
- Annual bibliography of British and Irish History
Major index to books and articles in British and Irish history. includes citations to some primary sources.- Bibliography of imperial, colonial, and Commonwealth history since 1600
Includes both primary and secondary sources. [Suzzallo Reference -- DA123 .B53 2002]
This is the best database to find articles dealing with modern world history (1450 onward). For American and Canadian history see America History & Life.
JSTOR is a collection of more than 40 full-text history-related journals. Earlier material in JSTOR can be considered primary sources.
This is a good general beginning database to find articles on all subjects. Includes some fulltext. For another similar database see Expanded Academic Index.Using Secondary Sources to Find Primary Sources
Secondary sources, scholarly journal articles and books, are a great source for identifying potential primary sources. Find a few articles, books or dissertations related to your topic and then mine the footnotes and bibliography. You will have the best luck finding published primary sources such as books, government reports, newspapers and magazines within the UW Libraries. Use the UW Libraries Catalog to determine if we have the primary source. Finding Primary Sources -- Books
The UW Libraries has a strong collection of books (in print, microform and electronic) that can be considered primary sources for history. These include books written during the period for your topic (i.e., during the 1800s), books written by participants, published collections of correspondence and other personal writings, memoirs and reprinted collections of primary source material.
Using the UW Libraries Catalog
- Limit your search by publication date.
- Search for books written by key participants and organizations.
- Use special subject terms that designate primary sources:
sources, personal narratives, diaries, correspondence, interviews- Example of a Keyword search:
- india and british and correspondence
- africa and exploration and sources
Digitized Book Databases: 15th - 18th centuries
EEBO is a full-image database of more than 80,000 works published between 1475 and 1700 in England and its colonies.
ECCO is a full-image database of more than 150,000 books published primarily in Great Britain during the 18th century.
Evans is a full-image database of more than 30,000 works published in America between 1639 and 1800.Finding Primary Sources -- Articles
The following databases will help you identify 19th and early 20th century magazine and newspaper articles. You can also use JSTOR to find older scholarly articles in fields such as anthropology and area studies.
Formerly Poole's Plus, index to articles in 19th century American and British magazines. Also indexes selected 19th century U.S. and British government publications.
Index to older American and European (primarily British) journals in the humanities and social science fields. Also see the in-library use only CD-ROM Periodicals Contents Index and the printed Subject Index to Periodicals [Suzzallo Reference AI3 .S78].- Penny Illustrated Paper
Full-text of the newspaper from 1861-1913.
Full-text of the newspaper from 1785-1985.Finding Primary Sources -- Government Documents
The Government Publications Section on the ground floor of Suzzallo has a strong collection of British Parliamentary Papers and debates. The Librarians in the section can help you locate this type of information.
- BOPCRIS
Searchable database of citations to over 16,000 "key British Official Publications 1688-1995."- Colonial Office reports
Various British Colonial Office reports are available in the library. To find these do a keywords search the catalog combining the phrase "great britain colonial office and" with your country of interest or for India, "great britain india office" and "east india company." Example of a Keyword search:
- great britain colonial office and nigeria
- Hansard Debates
Printed copies of Hansard are in Government Publications [328.42 G79p]
Fulltext collection of 19th century Parliamentary Papers. Database will be complete in mid-2006. 18th century Sessional Papers are available in print [J301 .K625 1975a]- Index to Parliamentary Papers [CD-ROM, use in Library only]
Index to 20th century Parliamentary Papers. 20th century Sessional Papers are available in print and microfilm in the Government Publications section [J301 .K6252].Finding Primary Sources -- Microfilm Collections
The Library has a fairly good, though varied, collection of missionary papers on microfilm. Guides can be found under the same call number in the Microform and Newspaper Collections on the ground floor of Suzzallo.
- Africa through western eyes: manuscript records of traders, travellers, soldiers, missionaries and diplomats in Africa
15 reel collection. [A9834]- China through western eyes: manuscript records of traders, travellers, missionaries and diplomats, 1792-1942
47 reel collection. [A9723]- Church Missionary Society archive. Section II, Missions to women.
58 reels dealing with missions in India. [A9924]- Church Missionary Society archive. Section III, Central records
11 reels of Missionary Society magazines such as Mercy and Truth. [A10425]- Church Missionary Society archive. Section IV, Africa Missions
139 reels covering Nigeria and Sierra Leone. [A9892]- Colonial discourses. Series one, Women, travel, and empire, 1660-1914.
25 reels of travel accounts in India, Africa, Australia and Canada [Microfilm 9921]Web Resources
- Act of Union Virtual Archive (1801 union between Ireland and Britain)
- British History Online
- Celt: Corpus of Electronic Texts (Irish literary and historical documents)
- Collect Britain (British Library collection of 90,000 images on all subjects)
- Moving Here: 200 Years of Migration to England
- Picture Australia
Image: Stamps from various British colonies.
History Subject Page | UW Libraries
5 January 2006
Theresa Mudrock
