Latin and South American History
Primary Sources Online
- Latin American Pamphlet Digital CollectionScarce and unique pamphlets, primarily from Chile, Cuba, Bolivia and Mexico, published during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Latin America and the Caribbean from the World Digital LibraryIncludes maps, photographs and illustrations.
- Latin American & Caribbean Digital Primary ResourcesA portal for digital collections. Use the Tableau window to search or browse for collections.
- Early Americas Digital ArchiveThe Early Americas Digital Archive (EADA) is a collection of electronic texts originally written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820.
- Latin American Network Information Center etext collectionThe LANIC Etext Collection is designed to facilitate access to the hundreds of thousands of pages of full-text resources that are hosted on LANIC servers. These resources include research papers written by Latin American studies scholars; theses and dissertations; etext versions of books; conference proceedings; speeches by Latin American leaders; periodical publications; and official documents. Some of the etexts are in Spanish, others are in English. In all cases, copyright resides with the respective authors.
Find Primary Sources in Books
Primary sources can be published in books. Use the main search in Library Search and include search terms personal narratives, sources, diaries, memoirs, papers, speeches, documents, or letters.
Personal narratives is a term assigned by librarians and is used for first person accounts.
Diaries and memoirs are terms used by writers and editors to describe their document. These are also normally in the first person.
Autobiography is often assigned to diaries and memoirs.
Letters and correspondence are published correspondence and occasionally include both outgoing and incoming letters.
Papers include correspondence, speeches and other previously unpublished items by the author.
Speeches were written to be spoken and have often been published.
Sources is another term assigned by librarians and often includes all of the types of documents listed above as well as government records.
Sample Primary Sources in Books
Voices of the Enslaved in Nineteenth-Century Cuba by ISBN: 9780807871942Publication Date: 2011Putting the voices of the enslaved front and center, Gloria Garcia Rodriguez's study presents a compelling overview of African slavery in Cuba and its relationship to the plantation system that was the economic center of the New World.
Life in Laredo: A Documentary History by ISBN: 9781574411737Publication Date: 2004Based on documents from the Laredo Archives, Life in Laredo shows the evolution and development of daily life in a town under the flags of Spain, Mexico, and the United States. Isolated on the northern frontier of New Spain and often forgotten by authorities far away, the people of Laredo became as "grand" as the river that flowed by their town and left an enduring legacy in a world of challenges and changes. Because of its documentary nature, Life in Laredo offers insights into the nitty-gritty of the comings and goings of its early citizens not to be found elsewhere.
The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability by ISBN: 9781595589125Publication Date: 2013The Pinochet File reveals a record of complicity with atrocity by the U.S. government. The documents, first declassified for the original edition of the book, formed the heart of the campaign to hold Gen. Pinochet accountable for murder, torture and terrorism.
Documents of the Coronado Expedition, 1539-1542: "They Were Not Familiar with His Majesty, nor Did They Wish to Be His Subjects" by ISBN: 9780826351340Publication Date: 2012This volume is the first annotated, dual-language edition of thirty-four original documents from the Coronado expedition. Using the latest historical, archaeological, geographical, and linguistic research, historians and paleographers Richard Flint and Shirley Cushing Flint make available accurate transcriptions and modern English translations of the documents, including seven never before published and seven others never before available in English.
Marvels and Miracles in Late Colonial Mexico: Three Texts in Context by ISBN: 9780826349750Publication Date: 2011Miracles, signs of divine presence and intervention, have been esteemed by Christians, especially Catholic Christians, as central to religious belief. During the second half of the eighteenth century Spain's Bourbon dynasty sought to tighten its control over New World colonies, reform imperial institutions, and change the role of the church and religion in colonial life. As a result, miracles were recognized and publicized sparingly by the church hierarchy and colonial courts were increasingly reluctant to recognize the events. Despite this lack of official encouragement, stories of amazing healings, rescues, and acts of divine retribution abounded throughout Mexico.
Colonial Lives: documents on Latin American history, 1550-1850 by Call Number: General Stacks F1410 .C725 2000ISBN: 0195125126Publication Date: 1999Colonial Lives offers a rich variety of archival documents in translation which bring to life the political and economic workings of Latin American colonies during 300 years of Spanish rule, as well as the day-to-day lives of the colonies' inhabitants.
The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics by ISBN: 9780822353461Publication Date: 2013The Chile Reader makes available a rich variety of documents spanning more than five hundred years of Chilean history. Most of the selections are by Chileans; many have never before appeared in English. The history of Chile is rendered from diverse perspectives, including those of Mapuche Indians and Spanish colonists, peasants and aristocrats, feminists and military strongmen, entrepreneurs and workers, and priests and poets. Among the many selections are interviews, travel diaries, letters, diplomatic cables, cartoons, photographs, and song lyrics. Texts and images, each introduced by the editors, provide insights into the ways that Chile's unique geography has shaped its national identity, the country's unusually violent colonial history, and the stable but autocratic republic that emerged after independence from Spain.
Haitian Revolution Reader: a documentary history by Call Number: General Stacks F1923 .G338 2014ISBN: 9780872208650Publication Date: 2014This reader includes beautifully written introductions and a fascinating array of never-before-published primary documents. These treasures from the archives offer a new picture of colonial Saint-Domingue and the Haitian Revolution.
