For many more primary source collections, see our primary source guide for History. I'm happy to help you find primary sources relevant to your topic.
Broad range of primary sources exploring the history of fifteen major commodities: chocolate, coffee, cotton, fur, opium, oil, porcelain, silver and gold, spices, sugar, tea, timber, tobacco, wheat, and wine and spirits, but other food and textile commodities are also included. Materials include maps, photographs, advertisements, paintings, statistics, and more.
Dates: 1500 CE-Present
This database will no longer be available after Dec. 31, 2025. If you have questions, please contact askus@wellesley.edu.
Primary sources illustrating links between food and identity, politics, power, gender, race, and socio-economic status. Materials include cookbooks, advertising, government reports, films, and more, from around the world, but with an emphasis on the United States and the United Kingdom.
Dates: 9th Century-21st Century CE
This database will no longer be available after Dec. 31, 2025. If you have questions, please contact askus@wellesley.edu.
Primary sources tracking forms of colonialism, empire, and imperialism, from the explorations of Columbus to recent decolonization, with an emphasis on the 19th and 20th Centuries.
Dates: 1482-2003 CE
This database will no longer be available after Dec. 31, 2025. If you have questions, please contact askus@wellesley.edu.
Primary sources documenting slavery and abolition, including court records, slavery testimonies, pamphlets, books, maps, and more. Areas of focus include the African coast, the Middle Passage, slavery and the Islamic world, spiritualism and religion, resistance and the Underground Railroad, free Black settlements.
Dates: 1490-2007 CE
This database will no longer be available after Dec. 31, 2025. If you have questions, please contact askus@wellesley.edu.
Full text of more than 60 newspapers from across Africa, in English and other languages.
Dates: 1800-1922 CE
Thousands of articles by scholars focused on the lives and events that have shaped African American and African history and culture, along with primary source documents, encyclopedias, and biographies.