The Library will be hosting an online database training session exploring the Colonial State Papers on Thursday 19th January, from 10-11am. Links have been sent out the registered academics and PhD students in advance, but undergraduates are welcome to contact their Subject Librarian if interested.
This archive provides users with access to primary source documents from the periods 1574-1739. The earliest English settlements in North America, encounters with Native Americans, piracy in the Atlantic and Caribbean, the trade in slaves and English conflicts with the Spanish and French are all covered in this database.
Colonial State Papers integrates two important research tools as one service:
- Collection CO 1 from The National Archives, full name: Privy Council and related bodies: America and West Indies, Colonial Papers
- The Calendar of State Papers, Colonial: North America and the West Indies 1574-1739
Bringing them together in this way combines the searchable metadata of the Calendar with the full-colour digital reproductions of the original CO 1 documents. All of the documents from CO 1, including a number of contemporary hand-drawn maps, have been reproduced as full-colour, high quality images digitised directly from the original documents. Users can search the database and will be able to limit their view to just those records with images from CO 1 or expand it to include all documents recorded in the Calendar.
Last term the Library purchased 14 new electronic resources supporting multiple disciplines across the Arts and Humanities. This archive is one of those acquisitions and we hope it is of interest and support to your research. Please follow this link to the Library webpage and A-Z guide of all our electronic resources. https://libguides.tcd.ie/az.php
If you have questions or need any guidance as to how to navigate these resources please talk to your Subject Librarian.