duPont Library: Primary Historical Sources: Asia

Asia - 1700's and Before

Empire Online This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1492-2007
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of "Empire" and its theories, practices and consequences. The materials span across the last five centuries and are accompanied by a host of secondary learning resources including scholarly essays, maps and an interactive chronology. It is organized into the following five thematic sections:I) Cultural Contacts, 1492-1969; II) Empire Writing & the Literature of Empire; III) The Visible Empire; IV) Religion & Empire; and V) Race, Class, Imperialism and Colonialism, c1607-2007. Each section features essays by leading scholars in the field. The essays relate directly to the source material covered by the resource, with 30-50 links per essay to documentary evidence.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Women and Transnational Networks (Gale Primary Sources) This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1797-1947
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Focuses on issues at the intersection of gender and class from the late 18th century to the era of suffrage in the early 20th century, all through a transnational perspective. The collection contains deep information on European and North American movements, but also expands its scope to include collections from other regions. Includes serials, books, manuscripts, diaries, reports, and visuals.

Asia - 1800's

Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1827-1975
Location: North America, Africa, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania
Essays, primary sources, biographies, timelines, and other materials including documents from historic newspapers and magazines for researching the past, present and future of African-Americans, the wider African Diaspora, and Africa itself. It is comprised of several cross-searchable component databases.. Includes Black Studies Periodicals database and Black Literature Index 1827-1940. Supports Black Studies, History, Literature, Women's Studies and Religion. Time period: 1827-1975.
Includes Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience-- cross-disciplinary essays by today's leading scholars in Black Studies; backfiles of leading African-American newspaper, The Chicago Defender, 1910-1975;journals from Africa, the U.S., and the Caribbean; 110 black periodicals and newspapers between 1827-1940.
Church Missionary Society Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1804-2009
Location: South America, Europe, Africa, Asia
This resource provides digital access to two hundred years of serial publications from the British-based Church Missionary Society (CMS) and the South American Missionary Society. The collection consists of two modules. Module 1 features publications from the CMS and the South American Missionary Society between 1804 and 2009. The focus of Module 2 is on the publications of CMS medical mission auxiliaries, the work of the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society among women in Asia and the Middle East, newsletters from native churches and student missions in China and Japan, and 'home' material including periodicals aimed specifically at women and children.
Empire Online This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1492-2007
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of "Empire" and its theories, practices and consequences. The materials span across the last five centuries and are accompanied by a host of secondary learning resources including scholarly essays, maps and an interactive chronology. It is organized into the following five thematic sections:I) Cultural Contacts, 1492-1969; II) Empire Writing & the Literature of Empire; III) The Visible Empire; IV) Religion & Empire; and V) Race, Class, Imperialism and Colonialism, c1607-2007. Each section features essays by leading scholars in the field. The essays relate directly to the source material covered by the resource, with 30-50 links per essay to documentary evidence.
National Archives of Japan Digital Archive
Time period: 1800s to present
Location: Asia
"Official documents and records created by the Government ministries and agencies for administrative purposes are preserved as historical evidence and references for posterity."
Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Women and Transnational Networks (Gale Primary Sources) This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1797-1947
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Focuses on issues at the intersection of gender and class from the late 18th century to the era of suffrage in the early 20th century, all through a transnational perspective. The collection contains deep information on European and North American movements, but also expands its scope to include collections from other regions. Includes serials, books, manuscripts, diaries, reports, and visuals.
Women and Social Movements, International -- 1840 to present This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1840-2011
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Online archive of published and manuscript primary sources focusing on women's international activism since the mid-nineteenth century. The archive includes proceedings of women's international conferences, books, pamphlets, articles from newspapers and journals, as well as correspondence, diary entries, and memoirs. It is also rich in online publications of contemporary Non-Governmental Organizations. Covered topics include war and peace, poverty, child labor, literacy, disease prevention, women's rights and gender inequality.
World Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Time period: 1400s to present
Locations: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
The World Digital Library (WDL) is a project of the U.S. Library of Congress, carried out with the support of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), and in cooperation with libraries, archives, museums, educational institutions, and international organizations from around the world. The WDL makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from all countries and cultures.
This collection contains cultural heritage materials gathered during the World Digital Library (WDL) project, including thousands of items contributed by partner organizations worldwide as well as content from Library of Congress collections. The original World Digital Library site (preserved in LC’s Web Archives) and all descriptive metadata were translated from English and made available in six additional languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Russian, and Chinese.

Asia - 1900's

Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1827-1975
Location: North America, Africa, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania
Essays, primary sources, biographies, timelines, and other materials including documents from historic newspapers and magazines for researching the past, present and future of African-Americans, the wider African Diaspora, and Africa itself. It is comprised of several cross-searchable component databases.. Includes Black Studies Periodicals database and Black Literature Index 1827-1940. Supports Black Studies, History, Literature, Women's Studies and Religion. Time period: 1827-1975.
Includes Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience-- cross-disciplinary essays by today's leading scholars in Black Studies; backfiles of leading African-American newspaper, The Chicago Defender, 1910-1975;journals from Africa, the U.S., and the Caribbean; 110 black periodicals and newspapers between 1827-1940.
Church Missionary Society Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1804-2009
Location: South America, Europe, Africa, Asia
This resource provides digital access to two hundred years of serial publications from the British-based Church Missionary Society (CMS) and the South American Missionary Society. The collection consists of two modules. Module 1 features publications from the CMS and the South American Missionary Society between 1804 and 2009. The focus of Module 2 is on the publications of CMS medical mission auxiliaries, the work of the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society among women in Asia and the Middle East, newsletters from native churches and student missions in China and Japan, and 'home' material including periodicals aimed specifically at women and children.
Empire Online This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1492-2007
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of "Empire" and its theories, practices and consequences. The materials span across the last five centuries and are accompanied by a host of secondary learning resources including scholarly essays, maps and an interactive chronology. It is organized into the following five thematic sections:I) Cultural Contacts, 1492-1969; II) Empire Writing & the Literature of Empire; III) The Visible Empire; IV) Religion & Empire; and V) Race, Class, Imperialism and Colonialism, c1607-2007. Each section features essays by leading scholars in the field. The essays relate directly to the source material covered by the resource, with 30-50 links per essay to documentary evidence.
Immigrations, migrations and refugees: global perspectives, 1941-1996. This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1941-1996
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
A searchable digital archive that covers all aspects of 20th-century human migration. The news and analysis comes from reports gathered every day between the early 1940s and 1996 by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service, a U.S. government organization that became part of the CIA . These include translated and English-language radio and television broadcasts (transcripts), newspapers, periodicals and government documents.
Middle East Online: Arab Israeli Relations 1917-1970 This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1917-1970
Location: Asia
Arab-Israeli Relations 1917-1970—offers a wide range of original source material from the British Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office and Cabinet Papers from the 1917 Balfour Declaration through to the Black September war of 1970-1. Here major policy statements are set out in their fullest context, the minor documents and marginalia revealing the workings of colonial administration and, following the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, British diplomacy towards Israel and the Arab states. This collection provides access to over 138,000 pages documenting the politics, administration, wars and diplomacy of the Palestine Mandate, the Independence of Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Some of the topics covered include the British capture of Jerusalem, the milestones in the Palestine-Zionist tension and their impact on British policy leading to the Partition of 1948, Jewish terror groups, the background to the establishment of the State of Israel as a Jewish national home, the Border wars of the 1950s, formation of the United Arab Republic, the Cold War in the Middle East and Black September.
National Archives of Japan Digital Archive
Time period: 1800s to present
Location: Asia
"Official documents and records created by the Government ministries and agencies for administrative purposes are preserved as historical evidence and references for posterity."
Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Women and Transnational Networks (Gale Primary Sources) This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1797-1947
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Focuses on issues at the intersection of gender and class from the late 18th century to the era of suffrage in the early 20th century, all through a transnational perspective. The collection contains deep information on European and North American movements, but also expands its scope to include collections from other regions. Includes serials, books, manuscripts, diaries, reports, and visuals.
Post-War Europe: Refugees, Exile and Resettlement, 1945-1950 This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1945-1950
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Includes primary sources for the study and understanding of the challenges facing the European peoples in the aftermath of World War II. Covers the politics and administration of the refugee crisis in Europe after World War II as well as the day-to-day survival of the refugees themselves.
Women and Social Movements, International -- 1840 to present This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1840-2011
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Online archive of published and manuscript primary sources focusing on women's international activism since the mid-nineteenth century. The archive includes proceedings of women's international conferences, books, pamphlets, articles from newspapers and journals, as well as correspondence, diary entries, and memoirs. It is also rich in online publications of contemporary Non-Governmental Organizations. Covered topics include war and peace, poverty, child labor, literacy, disease prevention, women's rights and gender inequality.

Asia - 2000's

Church Missionary Society Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1804-2009
Location: South America, Europe, Africa, Asia
This resource provides digital access to two hundred years of serial publications from the British-based Church Missionary Society (CMS) and the South American Missionary Society. The collection consists of two modules. Module 1 features publications from the CMS and the South American Missionary Society between 1804 and 2009. The focus of Module 2 is on the publications of CMS medical mission auxiliaries, the work of the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society among women in Asia and the Middle East, newsletters from native churches and student missions in China and Japan, and 'home' material including periodicals aimed specifically at women and children.
Empire Online This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1492-2007
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of "Empire" and its theories, practices and consequences. The materials span across the last five centuries and are accompanied by a host of secondary learning resources including scholarly essays, maps and an interactive chronology. It is organized into the following five thematic sections:I) Cultural Contacts, 1492-1969; II) Empire Writing & the Literature of Empire; III) The Visible Empire; IV) Religion & Empire; and V) Race, Class, Imperialism and Colonialism, c1607-2007. Each section features essays by leading scholars in the field. The essays relate directly to the source material covered by the resource, with 30-50 links per essay to documentary evidence.
National Archives of Japan Digital Archive
Time period: 1800s to present
Location: Asia
"Official documents and records created by the Government ministries and agencies for administrative purposes are preserved as historical evidence and references for posterity."
Women and Social Movements, International -- 1840 to present This link opens in a new window
Time Period: 1840-2011
Location: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Online archive of published and manuscript primary sources focusing on women's international activism since the mid-nineteenth century. The archive includes proceedings of women's international conferences, books, pamphlets, articles from newspapers and journals, as well as correspondence, diary entries, and memoirs. It is also rich in online publications of contemporary Non-Governmental Organizations. Covered topics include war and peace, poverty, child labor, literacy, disease prevention, women's rights and gender inequality.

Jessie Ball duPont Library

Primary Historical Sources

Asia - 1700's and Before

Asia - 1800's

Asia - 1900's

Asia - 2000's