Primary Sources
Primary Sources are documentary evidence of events as remembered by the people that experienced. There are a wide variety of sources that can be label "primary" such as:
- Artwork (painting, sculptures, pottery, posters)
- Diary, memories, and autobiographies
- Interviews in a newspaper or magazine
- Letters
- Performance (like a play or a ballet or a flash mob)
- Poem and other types of literature (novels, short stories, fables, etc.)
- Treaty and other legal documents that document decisions such as bills of sales, wills, etc.
Sometimes, a secondary source (a source that analyzes primary sources to understand why a phenomenon happened such as scholarly articles published in academic journals, research books, biographies, textbooks, etc.) can be treated as a primary source depending on the context of your research. For example, if you are doing a research study about how biology teaching has changed through time, then biology textbooks are considered a primary source.
Primary sources can be found both in libraries and archives. Many have been digitized and accessible online while others are only accessible by visiting an archive or getting a print book at the library or through Interlibrary Loan. Explore the tabs on this page to see where and how you can find and access these sources!
Caption: The West India Flower Girl. Engraved color image by Agostino Brunias. C. 1810. Source: NYPL
The UCSB Library, as well as the rest of the UC campuses, hold rich collections of archival materials from Latin America, the Caribbean and Iberia. Some collections are accessible physically at UCSB Archives and Special Collections while other can be accessed online through the Online Archive of California (where you can search for finding aids) and Calisphere, the portal to digital collections from California's libraries, archives, and museums.
Definitions:
- Finding Aids: Its a guide for an archival collection. It includes an explanation of the historical background of the collection; information about the content (dates of coverage, subjects, creators, individuals or events represented, etc.), how it has been organized and an inventory of the content and where it is located (boxes and folders). You use it to find materials that you want to see and/or request from an archive
- Surrogate(s) or facsimiles: Copy of item from a collection that are made available either as a print or electronic format. For example, Calisphere offers access to electronic surrogates of papers, photographs and/or movies from many archival collections housed across the state of California.
Not all archival collection is available online so it is important to check the finding aids first to determine if the archive have what you want to access.
Explore these resources following the links below:
- UC Library Search for Archival CollectionsYou can search for archival collections using UC Library Search!! Select the option UCSB Special Research Collections on the top of the screen. Then, on the search box, type your keywords, e.g. Caribbean, Cuba, Barbados... to see what type of collections about those countries are available
- Calisphere
Calisphere aggregates digital materials from all UC's, and libraries, archives, and museums across the state. A great resource to find images and other digital resources related to the Caribbean. You can search across all collections, search for specific collections, or search within any of the UC campuses sites. Try search by country or a topic such as the "Cuban Revolution". Tip: Use quotation marks to search for phrases! - Edouard Pecourt Collection: CubaRich collection documenting many areas of 20th-century music history, including Astor Piazzolla and the Argentine tango, Latin American music, and the early French sound recording industry. This collection has a section dedicated to Cuba. Visit the site to listen to this music!
- Archives & Manuscripts Search at the UCSB LibraryIf you know the title of the archival collection you are looking for or want to see the inventory, also known as Finding Aid, of a collection, click on Archives & Manuscripts and type your search term, e.g. Caribbean, Cuba, Barbados... to see what type of collections about those countries are available. Filter your search to UCSB Archives & Special Collections to locate our collections.
The databases below are great to find primary sources about the Caribbean!
- Revolution and Protest Online This link opens in a new windowRevolution and Protest Online explore the protest movements, revolutions, and civil wars that have transformed societies and human experience from the 18th century through the present. You can search for revolutions and/or protests that impact the Caribbean such as the Haitian and the Cuban Revolution, Jamaica's independence.
- Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new windowThe Digital National Security Archive contains the most comprehensive set of declassified government documents available. The resource now includes over 45 collections consisting of over 80,000 meticulously indexed documents, with more than 500,000 total pages. Each of these collections, compiled by top scholars and experts, exhaustively covers the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century. Together, these collections offer unparalleled access to the defining international strategies of our time. Glossaries, chronologies, bibliographies, overviews, and photographs are included.
- Archives of Latin American and Caribbean History, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century This link opens in a new windowThis multidisciplinary resource will include a comprehensive range of content for the region, providing research across the humanities, both for current Latin America and the Caribbean and as a historical perspective back through the colonial period
Newspapers are a type of primary source used in history. Many archives have newspaper collections, and some of them have even been digitized and may available online. Depending on the context, the time that the news was published, and the type of account (chronicles, editorials, etc.) a newspaper account can be considered both a primary and/or a secondary source. Check with your professor before using these resources.
As any primary source used for historical research, be aware of the strengths (first witness accounts) and weakness (bias, forgetfulness, sensationalism) of this type of source.
- Newspapers as Historical Sources by Joseph Baumgartner Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society Vol. 9, No. 3 (September 1981), pp. 256-258An excellent articles that explains the pros and cons of using newspapers as primary sources.
Historical Newspapers Databases:
- Latin American Newspapers, Series I This link opens in a new windowYou can search for historical newspapers published in the Caribbean in this database. Instructions: Go to Advanced Search and type the Caribbean country in the search box for "Place of Publication". Although not all Caribbean countries are available, key ones such as Cuba are present.
- Latin American Newspapers, Series II This link opens in a new windowYou can search for historical newspapers published in the Caribbean in this database. This is a different set of titles and countries from Latin America and the Caribbean. Instructions: Go to Advanced Search and type the Caribbean country in the search box for "Place of Publication". Although not all Caribbean countries are available, key ones such as Cuba are present.
Caribbean Newspapers
- The US Caribbean & Ethnic Florida Digital Newspaper ProjectThe US Caribbean & Ethnic Florida Digital Newspaper Project is a collaborative project between the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, the library system at the University of Puerto Rico–Rio Piedras, and the University of the Virgin Islands, as part of the state and territories’ involvement in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
- Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC)The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is a cooperative digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean. dLOC provides access to digitized versions of Caribbean cultural, historical and research materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections. Search the collection to access a wide variety of primary sources.
- Revistas Puertorriqueñas Digitalizadas at UConnThis is a selection of magazines from the Puerto Rican Collection, formerly known as the Géigel Family Collection or Géigel Collection that have been digitized and made freely available to researchers.
The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Below is a selection of several of the series available on the site that focuses on Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain. Visit their site to see the whole list.
- Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series webpageThe Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity around the world. The Caribbean and its countries are represented in this series. It is usually in volumes that use the phrase the Americas. Search within the volumes, or browse them by administration; see also a list of all pre-Truman volumes.
Some examples of this series:
- Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, American Republics; Cuba 1961–1962; Cuban Missile Crisis and Aftermath, Volumes X/XI/XII, Microfiche SupplementThis volume, which was published in 1998 in microfiche only, is currently in the process of being digitized, but the digitization is incomplete. The original microfiche has been scanned in image form (3,113 images in all, including front matter and 746 documents), but the text has not yet been extracted from these images. Thus, the text of this volume is not searchable or accessible to screen readers.
- Volume X: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Cuba, January 1961–September 1962 (Kennedy Administration)This volume is unique among Foreign Relations volumes published to date in its presentation of a detailed record of a major U.S. foreign policy with a central involvement of the intelligence community and centered upon covert military-political action. The editor decided early in the preparation of this volume in the late 1980s that the context, development, execution, and policy aftermath of the Bay of Pigs operation during the Kennedy administration warranted a detailed documentary record.
- Volume XXXII: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Dominican Republic; Cuba; Haiti; Guyana (Johnson Administration)Johnson Administration: Foreign Relations, 1964-1968 Dominican Republic; Cuba; Haiti; Guyana
This is a selection of digital archives that contain primary sources from the Caribbean. Content may be either in Spanish or English.
- Digital SchomburgThe Photographs and Prints Division contains both documentary and fine art photographs, which document the history and culture of people of African descent worldwide as well as the work of photographers of African descent. It has a great collection related to the Caribbean
- Digital Library of the Caribbean CollectionsIn this site you can browse a wide variety of digital materials about/from the Caribbean such as maps, newspapers, videos, images, etc...
- Historical Maps of the CaribbeanAn useful resources from the New York Public Library digital collections
- National Archives of the UK: Caribbean collectionsThe National Archives’ collection of Caribbean images are drawn from the Ministry of Information (INF 10) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (CO 1069) and span over 100 years of history.
- Digital Archive of Latin American and Caribbean Ephemera This link opens in a new windowThis digital collection from Princeton University offers a wide array of social activists, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, political parties, public policy think tanks, and other types of organizations ephemeral publications (transitory written or printed matters that are not meant to be retained or preserved). Great resources to understand social movements or human rights efforts across the Caribbean
- Latin American & Caribbean Digital Primary ResourcesThis 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. List curated by members of SALALM ((Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials)
Hispanic Caribbean Collections
- Biblioteca Digital Puertorriqueña/Puerto Rican Digital LibraryFrom the University of Puerto Rico's Library, a digital library comprises of caricatures, posters, labor movement documents, photographs (including photographs from the newspaper El Mundo), drawings, prints, rare books and much more.
- Cuban Ephemera Collection at UCLAThe Cuban Ephemera collection contains materials from partner organizations Instituto de Historia de Cuba and Cinemateca de Cuba as well as collections about Cuba held by UCLA Library. Materials include historical newspapers, Cuban designed movie posters, and tourism related ephemera.
- Castro Speech DatabaseThis database includes speeches, interviews, etc., by Fidel Castro from 1959 to 1996. All texts are in English.
- Discursos e intervenciones del Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro RuzTranscript of all Castro speeches, in Spanish, from 1959 to 2008.
UCSB's faculty, staff, and students have free and unlimited use of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) collections, available for extended periods via Interlibrary Loan or immediately through their digital collections. CRL supports advanced research and teaching in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences by preserving and making available to scholars the primary source material critical to those disciplines. They have print, microfilm, and digital holdings. Geographical coverage: worldwide. Great place to find Latin American, Caribbean, Brazilian, and Portuguese collections from around the world!
- Center for Research Libraries Catalog
You can search the rich collection of books, serials, microfilm, and digitized content available through CRL to UCSB faculty and students. Use the advanced search options to limit your search by country, e.g. Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, or by dates.
Tips:
In the Advanced Search you can select to search all CRL holdings, or just their Serials (book series, reports), Newspapers, Dissertations, or Digital collections. On the search menu, you can search by author, title, subject, and then limit the search by language, year(s), Country of Publication, and Bib Level, e.g. monographs, serials, etc. - CRL's Latin American Studies Topic GuideResearch guide that showcase the digital collections for Latin America and the Caribbean available to UCSB faculty and students through the Center of Research Libraries
