Empire Studies

Archives of the Royal Commonwealth Society from Cambridge University Library

This collection is divided into two parts. The first part details discussions related to relations with Indigenous peoples, race and empire, initial cultural contacts and race and cultural interchange. Part 2 covers Imperial and Commonwealth Conferences from 1887 to 1955. It brings together three types of material from the RCS Collection: Minutes of Proceedings, Reports and Papers of Conference, articles and periodical literature concerning the conferences and rare printed works providing a critical history of the Imperial and Commonwealth Conferences.

The Letterbooks and Papers of Duncan Campbell (1726-1803) from the State Library of New South Wales

Duncan Campbell (1726-1803), the successful and influential eighteenth-century West Indies merchant, is better known today for his role as the administrative lynchpin of convict transportation to Australia. This collection covers the complete set of letterbooks, and papers of Duncan Campbell held at the Mitchell Library at the State Library of New South Wales. Duncan Campbell’s letterbooks provide valuable information for those interested in British penal history and convict transportation to Jamaica, Virginia and Australia.

Black and Asian visitors to Britain, 1734-1942

This collection focuses on the lives and experiences of African and Asian visitors to Britain during the period 1734-1942. It provides the personal histories of some fifty men and women – many written in their own hand – and contains more than eighty printed works. While a number of these titles were printed in Britain, a selection were printed elsewhere, in Kolkata, Chennai, Dacca, Mumbai, Lucknow, Boston and New York, and include rare and first editions.

The Colonial Gazette, The African Colonizer, Colonial Enterprise and The African Times and Orient Review

Published between 1838 and 1917, these journals provide excellent sources for African History, Empire Studies, Economic History, and World History. Written from a range of viewpoints and often critical of British government policy, these journals provide exhaustive coverage of a wide range of subjects including politics, mining, finance, trade and conflict.

Manuscript Sources from the National Archives

Focusing on the twin themes of Empire and Suffrage, this collection is made up of material on four main areas: nationality law and its effects on women, the condition of Indigenous women, female colonial subjects and women of colour. and the extension of suffrage and other civil and political rights to women at home and in the dominions and the obligations of the UK as a member of international bodies and as a party to international treaties. The collection includes material from the UN on matters such as political freedom for women, the pay and working conditions of women, women's education and trafficking and prostitution.

The Colonial Secretary’s Papers, 1788-1825, from the State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales

From the First Fleet in 1788 to the establishment of settlements across eastern Australia, this collection describes the transformation of Australia from a prison settlement to a new frontier which attracted farmers, businessmen and prospectors. The papers of the Colonial Secretary take the form of letters sent by the colonial government, memoranda, regulations, proclamations, petitions, reports, returns and letters received. There is much on the development of the colony as the biggest social experiment of all time and the social life of the colony is described as well as material on the importance of women for the success and development of the colony.

The Papers of Lachlan Macquarie (1762-1824) and Family from the State Library of New South Wales

Lachlan Macquarie has been described by historians as a visionary and realist, and a man particularly noted for his liberal attitude towards emancipists. This collection features his papers and those of his family held at the Mitchell Library in the State Library of New South Wales. Macquarie’s journals, diaries and letterbooks, written throughout his adult life from 1787-1824 describe his military career in India, Egypt and Britain, and his period as Governor of New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land, 1809-1821.

Part 1: Jamaica c.1765-1848: The Taylor and Vanneck-Arcedekne Papers from Cambridge University Library and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London

This collection brings together two sets of excellent archival materials for the study of plantation life and slavery in Jamaica. Both feature a significant body of documents covering the career of Simon Taylor (1740-1813) who controlled six Jamaican plantations and played a full role in Jamaican politics. The Vanneck-Arcedekne Papers from Cambridge University Library - which are included here - provide the Jamaican Estate Papers relating to Golden Grove Plantation, Batchelors Hall, Spanish Town and Swamps Plantation and feature very detailed and often highly picturesque accounts of plantation life. The material from Cambridge University Library is combined with the Taylor Family Papers from the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London which include the correspondence and letter books of Simon Taylor , as well as documents by his friends and associates and other family members.