World History: Primary Sources

Research guide for world history at the University of Washington Bothell & Cascadia College

Finding primary sources at UW Libraries

The History Research guide at UW Seattle provides an excellent explanation of the different types of primary sources, as well as guidelines for finding sources by type or by region.

Primary Source Research for Commodities

Global Commodities
History and development of 15 major commodities through manuscripts, printed and visual primary source materials.

Images

Artstor
Hundreds of years of photographs and other images from around the world.
Smithsonian Collections Search
Over a half-million images of artifacts from the Smithsonian Museum.
British Movietone
Newsreel footage of world events from 1895-1986 from one of the most prolific world news organizations of the 20th century.
History Guide: Images & Video
UW Seattle guide with additional image and video primary source collections

Oral Histories

Duke Collection of American Indian Oral History
Hundreds of interviews and transcripts representing tribes from across the US resettled in Oklahoma.
Oral Histories of the American South
500 oral history interviews documenting the history of the South.
September 11, 2001 Documentary Project
Assembled by the Library of Congress, includes interviews, images, video, and more
Veteran's History Project
Interview transcripts, correspondence, and images.
History Guide: Oral Histories
UW Seattle guide with additional oral histories primary source collections.

Letters & Diaries

Forman Papers
Travel diaries and scrapbooks of Harrison Forman, American photojournalist who traveled through Asia, the Middle East, and Africa in the mid-20th century.
Clara Breed Collection
Letters written by Japanese American children to their librarian, while living in internment camps in southern California during WWII
History Guide: Letters & Diaries
UW Seattle guide with additional letter and diary primary source collections.

Newspaper Databases

17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers
Full-text 17th and 18th century British newspapers

Early American Newspapers
More than 50 newspapers from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Historical New York Times
Articles from 1851-2010.
Times Digital Archive
Articles from major UK newspaper; spans from 1785-1985.

Other resources for primary sources

Electronic Enlightenment
Edited letters and documents of the early modern period
North American Women's Letters and Diaries
Collection of diaries & letters from the colonial period to approximately 1950.

CyArk
CyArk preserves global heritage and other cultural/historic sites in digital format, allowing 3D exploration and learning.
Empire Online
Collection of primary source documents and essays related to empire and colonial studies.
Library of Congress Digital Collections
Digitized primary sources from the United States and around the world.