Guides: British Documents Related to Colonial America : Overview

Introduction

The American colonies that were under British colonial rule were governed and led by policies of the British. Consequently, research on Colonial America often requires access to British government documents of the period. Some of these documents, such as parliamentary debates and royal proclamations, are easy to find. Others are quite complex. Contact a librarian if you experience any difficulty.

Finding Aids to Colonial Office Papers

Calendar of State Papers, Colonial: North America and the West Indies 1574-1739 [e-resource; Penn-only]
This is the main guide to colonial state papers relating to America created before 1739. It provides references to the original documents, the fulltext of C.O. 1 documents, and extracts from related series (C.O. 5, State Papers Domestict, etc.) that are often substantial enough to fulfill research needs without requiring one to look at the original document from which they were taken.
Calendar of State Papers, Colonial: North America and the West Indies 1574-1739 [free version]]
Same as the above except that the full-text of C.O.1 documents is not provided and the search interface is not as advanced.
Guide to the materials for American History, to 1783, in the Public Record Office of Great Britain: Volume 1, The State Papers. [e-book]
Volume 1 provides detailed class- and, often, series-level descriptions of state papers relating to the North American colonies in the National Archives. The descriptions often provide enough information for researchers to identify particular series of documents that are relevant to their work.
Guide to the materials for American History, to 1783, in the Public Record Office of Great Britain: Volume 2, Departmental and Miscellaneous Papers. [e-book]
Volume 2 provides detailed class- and, often, series-level descriptions of National Archives records that aren't state papers. These include papers of the Admiralty, War, and Treasury Offices. The descriptions often provide enough information for researchers to identify particular series of documents that are relevant to their work.
List of reports and representations of the Plantation councils, 1660-1674 the Lords of trade, 1675-1696, and the Board of trade, 1696-1782, in the public record office
Chronological list of reports from the Board of Trade relating to North America. It is selective in that documents that can readily be found elsewhere or are of a "trifling" nature have been excluded. The reports will have typically been calendared in C.O. 1 (before 1704) or the Journal of the Board of Trade (after 1704).

Subject Guide

Nick Okrent

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Subjects: Africana Studies, Asian-American Studies, History, Philosophy, U.S. History