Library Guides: History: America: Primary Sources: 18th C and earlier

17th Century & Earlier

Archive of Early American Images
Collection of images that date from 1492 to the 1820s

Colonial State Papers This link opens in a new window
Contains primary source documents that relate to the governance of, and activities in, the American, Canadian and West Indian colonies of England. [1570-1759]
Early American Imprints, Series I (1639 - 1800) This link opens in a new window
Digitized collection of primary documents and images of American life from 1639-1800. (Evans Digital Editions - Readex Digital Collections - Archive of Americana)
Indexes items and images offering insight into every aspect of American life in the 17th and 18th centuries such as agriculture, auctions, foreign affairs, diplomacy, literature, music, religion, the Revolutionary War, temperance, and witchcraft. Provides online access to the print and microform counterparts American Bibliography by Charles Evans, and Supplement to Evans' American Bibliography by Roger Bristol. (Archive of Americana allows cross-searching of several databases: Early American Imprints , Series I and II; Early American Newspapers; American State Papers; US Congressional Serial Set.)

Early Americas Digital Archive
Collection of electronic texts and links to texts originally written in or about the Americas from 1420 to approximately 1820

Early Encounters in North America: Peoples, Cultures, and the Environment This link opens in a new window
Digitized archive that documents the relationships among early North American peoples and the environment.
Includes prints, drawings, paintings, maps, bibliographies, letters, photographs, and original facsimile pages documenting the relationships among peoples and with the environment in North America. Focuses on personal accounts and providing unique perspectives from all the protagonists, including traders, slaves, missionaries, explorers, soldiers, Native Americans as well as a wide range of Europeans.

Early Virginia Religious Petitions
Digitized versions of 423 petitions submitted to the virginia legislature between 1774 and 1802

European Views of the Americas: 1493 to 1750 This link opens in a new window
Guide to printed records about the Americas written in Europe before 1750. [1493-1750]
Contains more than 32,000 entries and is a comprehensive guide to printed records about the Americas written in Europe before 1750. It covers the history of European exploration as well as portrayals of Native American peoples. A wide range of subject areas are covered; from natural disasters to disease outbreaks and slavery.

Friendly Association Papers
Papers dating from 1750s and 1760s of the Pennsylvania-based "Friendly Association for Regaining and Preserving Peace with the Indians by Pacific Measures."
Plymouth Colony Archive Project
Primary documents from the Plymouth Colony including court and probate records and laws

Virginia Company Archives This link opens in a new window
Provides access to the archive of the Virginia Company, which brought settlers to the new world.
The Virginia Company was set up in 1606 as a way to settle what would become New England. Within this archive, discover the handwritten manuscripts, later printed records, and much more about this early attempt to colonize the new world.

Salem Witch Trials Documentary Project
Contains court records, diaries, and other primary sources, in facsimile and transcribed versions.

18thConnect
Search tool that helps you discover content related to 18th century American and British literature and culture, located in both freely available digital projects and commercial produced databases.
American Revolution from a British Perspective, 1763-1783 (BOA)
Includes content written by the Founding Fathers of the United States. Also includes British Parliamentary debates about how much independence to give to the United States. Other items cover the trials of Americans who were tried for treason, in varying levels of detail. The pamphlets are arranged by year, then alphabetically by author or by title when the author is not known.
Archive of Early American Images
Collection of images that date from 1492 to the 1820s
Colonial Currency
A Project of the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment at the University of Notre Dame.

Early American Imprints, Series II (1801-1819) This link opens in a new window
Digitized collection of primary documents and images of American life from 1801-1819. (Readex Digital Collections - Shaw-Shoemaker - Archive of Americana)
Indexes books, pamphlets, broadsides, state papers and other print genres published from 1801-1819. Covers all aspects of American life including taxation, public health and diseases, slavery, military law, Indians, Christianity, cosmology, etiquette, and much more. Based on the American Bibliography of Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker. (Archive of Americana allows cross-searching of several databases: Early American Imprints , Series I and II; Early American Newspapers; American State Papers; US Congressional Serial Set.)

Investigating Indentured Servitude
Digital history project using interactive visualizations of data compiled from indenture contracts. Dataset can be downloaded.
The Performing Arts in Colonial American Newspapers, 1690-1783
A database that includes all references to music, poetry, dance and theater found in early American newspapers, from the earliest extant copy (1690) through the Revolutionary War (1783).
Probing the Past: Virginia & Maryland Probate Inventories 1740-1810
Information from 325 probate inventories that were recorded between 1740 and 1810 in several counties of Virginia and Maryland.