Primary Source Collections - A.M. Explorer

The Confidential Print series originated out of a need for the Government to preserve the most important papers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices, from one-page letters or telegrams, to large volumes or texts of treaties. All items marked "Confidential Print" were printed and circulated immediately to leading officials in the Foreign Office, to the cabinet, and to heads of British missions abroad. This collates the Confidential Print for the countries of the Levant and the Arabian peninsula, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Sudan. Beginning with the Egyptian reforms of Muhammad Ali Pasha in the 1830s, the documents trace the events of the following 150 years, including the Middle East Conference of 1921, the mandates for Palestine and Mesopotamia, the partition of Palestine, the 1956 Suez Crisis and post-Suez Western foreign policy, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

From 16th century origins as a trading venture to the East Indies, through to its rise as the world’s most powerful company and de facto ruler of India, to its demise amid allegations of greed and corruption – the East India Company was an extraordinary force in global history for three centuries.

Spanning five centuries and charting the rise and fall of empires around the world, Empire Online is a digital archive enabling research of colonial history, politics, culture and society. There is a focus on the British Empire, but documents also give information on other European empires and the experience of colonised people.

Revealing the voices and experiences of the men and women who served in the First World War, this rich and varied collection will be an invaluable source for anyone studying and researching the ‘Great War’. Material includes letters and diaries of service people, maps, photo albums, artwork, oral histories, official documents, newspapers, posters and much more, covering all aspects of the global conflict.

British Government Foreign Office files relating to the Middle East. From invasions and civil wars to revolutions and revolts, explore a rich period of Middle Eastern history.

Discover the histories of fifteen key commodities that changed the world through a wide range of manuscript sources, rare books, maps, advertising memorabilia, paintings, photographs and ephemera. Explore themes of exploration and discovery; imperialism and attempts at monopoly, trade Wars, translocation and economic geography, slavery, mass production, luxury, taste and the evolution of global branding.

Explore the history of illness, treatment and disease on international front lines from 1850 to 1949.

An extensive collection of manuscript materials for the study of medieval travel writing in fact and in fantasy.

Contains an extensive range of both rare and well-known wartime publications for soldiers serving in major theatres around the world. Publications are included from many key nations involved in the conflict, such as the US, Canada, New Zealand, India, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Rare diaries and correspondence describing the travel experiences, destinations and desires of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American women travelling the world.