Mexican Broadsides: Early 1600s to 1899This collection comprises broadsides (single and double-sided, one-sheet documents) produced in Mexico between the early 1600s and 1899. They include religious and government documents on a wide range of topics. The government documents include correspondence between representatives from a range of state and federal agencies, gubernatorial and presidential administrations, and state and national legislatures.
Archivo General de Centro America, 1544-1821. GuatemalaThe following description is from The William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections, McMaster University Libraries.
The Archivo General de Centro America (General Archive of Central America) was founded in Guatemala City, Guatemala to hold the government records of this region. These records outline the conquest and governance of Central America by Guatemala and its provinces: Chiapas, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The archive in Guatemala contained records which were deteriorating from the effects of moisture and insects. In 1970, at the urging of Dr. John Browning, then Associate Professor of Spanish at McMaster University, University Librarian William Ready, along with Business Manager Arthur Lawrence visited Guatemala. A contract was signed allowing the archives to be microfilmed for scholarly studies.
The microfilmed documents are arranged and were filmed by province (later country): Chiapas, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Within each geographical location, arrangement is by type of document: A1, Superior Gobierno (Central Government); A2, Capitania Generale (Judicial, Economic, and Military); A3 Real Hacienda (Exchequer, Court Documents, Accounts, and Taxation).
Guide to Documentary Sources for Andean Studies, 1530-1900Published in Collaboration with the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art A definitive resource for early works on indigenous Andean cultures Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the first half of the sixteenth century, Andean peoples had no tradition of writing. For this reason, texts written by early modern European chroniclers and later Andean authors are a critical source of information on the Andes. This landmark three-volume reference work inventories the principal sources useful for the study of the region?particularly its Prehispanic and vice-regal cultures?covering relevant texts from the sixteenth through the nineteenth century. With written contributions by 122 scholars from nineteen countries and amply illustrated with drawings, engravings, photographs, and maps, the Guide offers new perspectives on key works and reflects substantial changes in historical and cultural studies of the past fifty years. The first volume contains twenty-nine essays about the origin and nature of the sources, focusing on recent research and interpretations. The subjects covered range from Andean knotted-string records and colonial bookmaking to legal affairs and natural history. The essays also address topics relatively new to Andean studies, such as popular drama, travel accounts, and the influence of the classical tradition in the Andes. Volumes 2 and 3 list specific authors alphabetically and discuss their texts. The entries contain such information as biographical data, locations of manuscripts, publication history, translations, and references to secondary literature. The Guide is an indispensable research tool for scholars and students of pre-Columbian and colonial Andean studies, particularly in anthropology, archaeology, religious studies, history, and art history. It underscores the cultural complexities of the European presence in the Andean region and helps readers gain a deeper understanding of the varied purposes and perspectives of these records.
Confidential Print: Latin America, 1833-1969This link opens in a new windowPapers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices, from one page letters or telegrams to large volumes or texts of treaties. All items marked "Confidential Print" were printed and circulated immediately to leading officials in the Foreign Office, to the Cabinet, and to Heads of British missions abroad.
Church Missionary Society PeriodicalsThis link opens in a new windowIncludes publications from the Church Missionary Society and the latterly integrated South American Missionary Society. Documents missionary work from the 19th to the 21st century.
Spanish Legal Documents (15th-19th Centuries)The majority of Spanish legal documents in the collection are briefs, i.e., forensic writings related to disputes on inheritance and titles of nobility, taxes, church privilege and the like. Items of special interest include documents pertaining to the Spanish Inquisition; papal bulls and ecclesiastical concordats; as well as laws, statutes, instructions and decrees of Spanish kings and government officials.
SALALM Latin American & Caribbean Digital Primary SourcesThis site hosts a database of listings that provide links to open access digitized collections of primary sources that relate to Latin America and the Caribbean. The materials listed are freely available to the public and were created or are hosted at an academic institution associated with SALALM (Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials), either through institutional membership or through the personal membership of a staff member. Currently, the listings may be searched by country, genre/format, hosting institution, and collection title. Questions about the content of the listed collections or their links should be directed to the host library or archive. Please note that digital collections may be continuously added to. You are encouraged to revisit for updates and to revisit our site for newly added content to the database.
Catálogo Colectivo de Impresos Latinoamericanos hasta 1851 (CCILA)The Catálogo Colectivo de Impresos Latinoamericanos hasta 1851 (CCILA) is an ongoing effort to catalog the printed heritage of Latin America and the Philippines before 1851. As a bibliography, it provides a census of surviving works. As a union catalog, CCILA will list institutional holdings for those works and will endeavor to identify microfilm and digital surrogates. It is a large-scale cooperative effort, designed to involve every library in Europe, the Americas, or the Philippines possessing relevant materials. To request microfilm copy the above link, then submit an RCRF Microform/Newspaper Request Form
The Huexotzinco Codex - Lesson PlanStudents will analyze a set of pictograph documents created by native peoples of Puebla, Mexico in 1531. Students will take on the role of historians, study the documents, and create a scenario to explain what these documents were for, who created them, and why. The codex was an accounting of excess taxation and students will decode the images and tabulate the quantities of goods paid to the local government.