Research Guides: HIST 3389 / 5098: African History: Find Primary Sources

Sample of Published Primary Sources in the SHSU Library

From Dias to Vorster: Source material on South African history 1488-1975
Call Number: DT767.G6 (4th floor)
The Modern Middle East and North Africa: A history in documents
Call Number: DS37.7 .C53 2014 (4th floor)
Uses a mix of documents - including photographs, posters, diaries, diplomatic records, archival sources, and literary works. Headnotes, extended captions, sidebars, introductory essays, and a robust photo program (including a documentary picture essay devoted to women and gender) provide an essential context framing the documents.
Africa and the West - A Documentary History
Call Number: DT353.5 .E9 A34 2010 v.1-2 (4th floor)
Vol. 1. From the slave trade to conquest, 1441-1905. Vol. 2. From colonialism to independence, 1875 to the present.
The Zulu War
Call Number: Read Online
In January 1879, a small garrison of just over 150 British and colonial troops successfully defended the mission at Rorke's Drift against a force of 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The fierce, but piecemeal, Zulu attacks on Rorke's Drift came very close to defeating the defenders but were ultimately repelled. The battle at Rorke's Drift was an early engagement in the Zulu War. This unique collection of original accounts will prove to be an invaluable resource for historians, students and all those interested in what was one of the most significant periods in British military history.
Operations in North Africa and the Middle East 1939-1942
The Middle East Command in the Second World War covered a vast region, stretching across Egypt, Libya, Malta, Palestine and Transjordan, Cyprus, Sudan, Eritrea, most of Syria and a small part of Iraq, and included some forty different languages. Initially under the leadership of General Sir Archibald Wavell, Middle East Command's early actions were in contending with the Italian forces in Libya and Italian East Africa. Wavell's despatches detail all of these campaigns up to July 1941, when he was superseded by General Claude Auchinleck. The despatches presented here form a unique collection of original reports from the commanding officers in this widespread and difficult region.
The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415-1670: A Documentary History
Call Number: Read Online
After Africa: Extracts from British travel accounts and journals of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries concerning the slaves, their manners, and customs in the British West Indies
Call Number: F2131.A47 1983 (4th floor)
Letters from Barbary, 1576-1774: Arabic documents in the Public Record Office
Call Number: DT197.5.G7L47 1982 (4th floor)
A Collection of Documents on the Slave Trade of Eastern Africa
Call Number: HT1327.C57 (4th floor)
The East African coast: Select documents from the first to the earlier nineteenth century
Call Number: DT365.A3F73 1975 (4th floor)
The Scramble for Africa (3rd ed) by Chamberlain
Call Number: Read Online - Or print is available: DT29 .C45 2010 (4th floor)
Publication Date: 2010
In 1870 barely one tenth of Africa was under European control. By 1914 only about one tenth - Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Liberia - was not. This book offers a clear and concise account of the 'scramble' or 'race' for Africa, the period of around 20 years during which European powers carved up the continent with little or no consultation of its inhabitants. The new edition includes primary source material unpublished elsewhere

Databases from the SHSU Library

Economist Historical Archive, 1843-2015 This link opens in a new window New content is added each year. Consult the resource itself for the most recent content available.
Every issue of The Economist from 1843 to 2015, including full-color images, multiple search indexes, and browsing facilities. Timely reporting, concise commentary, and comprehensive analysis of global news, including political, business, scientific, technological, and cultural developments and the connections between them.
National Geographic Magazine Archive, 1888-1994 This link opens in a new window Every page and every photograph of the official journal of the National Geographic Society, from the first issue to the mid-1990s.
New York Times Historical, 1851 to 3 years ago This link opens in a new window Every page of every issue of the New York Times, from 1851 until approximately 3 years ago.
The Times Digital Archive, 1785 to 2014 This link opens in a new window "World's newspaper of record." Covers all major international historical events. Every page of every issue, from 1785 to 2014.
British Periodicals I & II This link opens in a new window British periodicals, late 17th to early 20th centuries. History of Britain and its colonies, as well as a British view of events in America and the world.
Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window Cross-search six primary-source collections from Gale, including: Times of London, Illustrated London News, Burney Collection, 18th Century Collections Online (ECCO), 19th Century Collections Online (NCCO), and 19th Century U.S. Newspapers.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports, 1941-1974 This link opens in a new window This historical archive provides 30 years of U.S. intelligence on international affairs, covering regions around the world from Asia, Africa, and Europe to Latin America, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. These reports include transcribed and translated radio broadcasts from foreign governments, official news services, and clandestine broadcasts from occupied territories--often these are first-hand reports of events as they occurred.
International Historical Statistics This link opens in a new window Statistical data from around the world, covering a wide range of socio-economic topics. Includes data on the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, collected between 1750-2010. Conduct statistical analysis across both time and geopolitical boundaries. Data tables can be downloaded as ePDFs and/or Excel files.
JSTOR 19th Century British Pamphlets This link opens in a new window Primary source collection of pamphlets (mostly 19th century, but with some extension into the 17th and 18th centuries), primarily produced in Britain, but pertaining to many countries and peoples.

Collections Online

16th - Early 20th Century Maps of Africa
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. (Northwestern Univ.)
Africa, 1930s-1940s, Photographs by Vernon McKay
These images of African daily life date from the mid-20th century. Photographs come from the following countries and territories: Basutoland, Belgian Congo, Dahomey, French Equatorial Africa, French Guinea, French Togoland, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger (French), Nigeria, Northern Rhodesia, Ruanda-Urundi, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Southwest Africa, Tanganyika, and Tunisia. (Northwestern Univ.)
African History Digital Document Portal
AH_digITalPortal project will curate electronic and digitized copies of historical documents and field research materials, archives, and other sources of information that scholars & researchers of Africa have collected over many years of their work. These resources will include copies of field notes, manuscripts, rare books, magazines, pamphlets, pictures and images, and transcripts of interviews, songs, and other audio and visual documents covering periods from before colonization of Africa up until the recent past.
Africana Posters from the Herskovitz Library of African Studies
These posters represent a sampling (ca. 600) of our growing collection of over 4000 Africana posters housed at the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies. The subjects covered here include politics, health, religion, liberation struggles, art exhibitions, and social issues. (Northwestern Univ.)
African Centre for Statistics
Intended to serve as a regional data hub for economic, social, demographic, and environmental conditions in African countries. (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa)
Africa South of the Sahara: Selected Internet Resources
TIP: Browse by Topic -> Health -> Ebola. (Stanford University)
Depictions of Africa in French humour magazines
Early European caricatures and depictions of Africa and Africans in French periodicals. (Northwestern Univ.)
Endangered Archives of Africa
A wide variety of preserved document collections, largely from Eastern and Western Africa, with some collections from Middle, Northern, and Southern Africa. (Endangered Archives: British Library)
Herskovits Library of African Studies Digital Collections
16-20th century maps; Images of textiles, architecture, pottery, metalwork and other art; caricatures from French magazines; audio interviews with writers, short stories, etc.; 1990s photos of women; mid-20th century photos of daily life; 19th century photos of Zanzibar; Africana posters; the Winterton photographs Documenting the African colonial era to the dawn of independence. (Northwestern Univ.)
Images of Colonialism
Visual record of early European contacts with Asia and Africa. More than 700 images, mostly late-19th and early-20th century trade cards and illustrated European newspapers, illustrate popular perceptions of Africa and Asia and depict the difference in attitudes of French, British, German, and Dutch colonizers. (Harvard Univ.)
Kenya Gazette [11/15/1899 to 03/16/2012]
(Google Magazines)
Kenya National Archives Collection (via Google Cultural Institute)
(Kenya National Archives and Google Cultural Institute)
Lagos - Our Lagos History
"A digital archive, created for the preservation and dissemination of rare historical records on the cultural, social, and political history of Lagos from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries. They include letters, newspapers, pamphlets, and photographs, which enlightens these three themes: politics of chieftaincy in Lagos, Lagosians engagement with British colonial rule, and debate about citizenship in post-independence Lagos." (OurLagosHistory.com)
Livingstone Online
"A digital museum and library that allows users to encounter the written and visual legacy of famous Victorian explorer David Livingstone (1813-73)." High-resolution manuscript images and critically-edited transcriptions from the University of Maryland Libraries, David Livingstone Centre, National Library of Scotland, and other archives with Livingstone holdings. Leading archival resource for the study of African history, nineteenth-century travel, and the British Empire. (Univ. of Maryland Libraries)
Nigeria, 1990s, Photographs by Ifeoma Onyefulu
Photographs are primarily portraits, mostly of women. Several are reproduced in the photographer's publication, A is for Africa (New York : Cobblehill Books, Dutton, 1993; originally published in Great Britain 1993 by Francis Lincoln Ltd., London). (Northwestern Univ.)
Photographs of Zanzibar, circa 1880
(Northwestern Univ.)
Richard U. Light and Mary (Light) Meador Collection: 1930s Images of Africa and North, Central, & South America
(Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Slavery and Manumission in Timbuktu
19th century Arabic manuscripts documenting African slaves in Muslim society in Timbuktu (Mali, West Africa). (Center for Research Libraries)
Sources on German Colonial History Online
Frankfurt University Library digitized some of the books and journals originally collected by the German Colonial Society (Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft).
South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission Archive
In post-apartheid South Africa, a truth and reconciliation commission would hear confessions, and conduct criminal investigations, of human rights abuses to determine who could be awarded amnesty. The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) would broadcast video and radio reviews of each week's proceedings. This digital archive provides public access to the SABC film and accompanying transcripts and documentation. (South African Broadcasting Company)
Stanford's Maps of Africa and its Islands, 1486 – ca. 1900
Altogether, the Maps of Africa Collection holds over 700 maps, 632 of which are searchable and viewable through Stanford’s Image Gallery.
Tombouctou Manuscripts Project [Timbuktu, Mali]
Variety of digitized manuscripts in African and Arabic languages, with topics ranging from legal and social history; scholarly elites; history of the book and book collecting; history of reading in West Africa and African Arabic calligraphy. (Gerda Henkel Stiftung and the University of Cape Town)
Vernon McKay Photographs of 20th Century Africa
These images of African daily life date from the mid-20th century. Photographs come from the following countries and territories: Basutoland, Belgian Congo, Dahomey, French Equatorial Africa, French Guinea, French Togoland, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger (French), Nigeria, Northern Rhodesia, Ruanda-Urundi, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Southwest Africa, Tanganyika, and Tunisia. (Northwestern Univ.)
Winterton Collection of East African Photographs, 1860-1960
The Humphrey Winterton Collection of East African Photographs: 1860-1960 documents the African colonial era to the dawn of independence. The collection portrays both African life and European life in Africa in all its manifestations. It chronicles the daily experience of colonial residents: how they traveled, the lives they created for themselves, their social activities, and their early interaction with the rest of Africa. There are images of Europeans on hunting safaris, of African chiefs and royalty, and of the African landscape, revealing how it changed over time. (Northwestern Univ.)
World Digital Library
Significant primary source documents from around the world in multiple languages. Strong in Latin America & Europe. Also North America, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Oceania. Free collection produced by many international institutions and the United Nations.