Area Studies microforms collections are those collections which pertain to a specific region and/or country. Collections are grouped by region, and within region, alphabetically by country. Be sure to check listings for both the general resources and the country to find all collections with information about your subject. Countries are listed under their current official name in English.
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Church Missionary Society WEST INDIES MISSION RECORDS, 1819-1861
London: Church Missionary Society, 1967.
14 reel(s)
Mission work in the West Indies was begun in Antigua in 1813 when William Dawes offered to act as a Church Missionary Society agent. A mission was established in Barbados in 1820, British Guiana (Guyana) in 1827 and Trinidad in 1836. The Church Missionary Society was turned over to the Anglican Church after a financial crisis in 1839. In addition to the Barbados, British Guiana and Antigua mission records, there are documents in the West Indies collection relating to Anguilla, Bahamas, Dominica, Honduras, Jamaica, Nevis, Trinidad, St. Kitts, and St. Vincent. Letterbooks from 1829 to 1861, containing copies of outgoing correspondence from secretaries at headquarters, and mission books, containing incoming papers for the same dates, are filmed. Contemporary name indexes are included for each mission and letter book. The last and largest grouping of records is Original Papers. These papers consist mainly of letters, journals and reports but minutes of local Church Missionary Society committees are also included. The bulk of these papers are sorted by the individual who wrote them and arranged alphabetically. They are concerned with appointment of clergy, mission schools, emancipation of slaves, and local disasters.
NOT IN MERLIN
FILM 15:1
Church Missionary Society. Africa (Group 3) Committee. Catalogue of the papers of the missions of the Africa (Group 3) Committee.
The guide provides a description of the letter books, the reprints, and the correspondence in the collection.
COLECCIÓN DE DOCUMENTOS INÉDITOS RELATIVOS AL DESCUBRIMIENTO, CONQUISTA Y ORGANIZACIÓN DE LAS ANTIGUAS POSESIONES ESPAÑOLAS DE AMÉRICA Y OCEANIA.
Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Photoduplication, 1978.
7 reel(s)
These documents from the Royal Indian Archives and other royal archives, covering the period from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century, relate to the discovery, conquest, and settlement of former Spanish possession in the Americas and East Indies. The collection includes forty-two separate volumes. Although there is no systematic arrangement for the documents, an index is included at the end of each volume and volume 33 includes a retrospective, chronological index covering the years 1474-1660.
Great Britain. Colonial Office. AMERICA AND WEST INDIES; ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE (VARIOUS): C.O. 5.
London: Public Record Office,
56 reel(s)
This collection is the largest and most important Colonial Office group on American colonial history. It consists of the original correspondence and entry books of the old Board of Trade and Plantations and the secretary of state. The Board of Trade and Plantations managed the early economic development of the American colonies until its abolition in 1782. The military and political government was under the control of the secretary of state. The papers include miscellaneous letters from authorities in England to military personnel and secretaries of state in the colonies, letters exchanged between governors, and petitions from colonists. Topics covered in Ellis' holdings include a narrative of the Boston Tea Party, peace negotiations, Indian affairs, the Canadian, Carthagena, and Louisburg expeditions, expenses of colonial establishments, correspondence of Lieutenant General John Burgoyne and Major General William Heath concerning American troops captured at Saratoga, patents and grants of land in North Carolina (1707-1775), and letters of governors, the Board of Trade, and the secretary of state, Lord Shelburne, relating to West Florida.
Ellis Library has vol. 7-9, 41, 42 (incomplete), 43-45. Vol. 36 of List and Indexes provides a general index to the collection.
FILM 10:11-12
Andrews, Charles McLean, 1863-1943. Guide to the materials for American history, to 1783, in the Public record office of Great Britain ….
The guide provides the historical background of the collection and a partial (but useful) list of contents.
Great Britain. Public Record Office. Lists and indexes..
HUMAN RELATIONS AREA FILES.
Ann Arbor, Mich: University Microfilms International, 1968.
Human Relations Area Files
The Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) were developed to facilitate study, teaching, and research in the behavioral sciences, in area studies, and in the humanities. They should be especially valuable as a basis for world and comparative studies of human behavior, social life, and culture in the fields of anthropology, sociology, geography, politics, and psychology. The HRAF files are reputed to be one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of cultural data in existence and they cover approximately three hundred world cultures. The collection contains books, articles, unpublished manuscripts, and the results of field work. HRAF material includes many rare sources and many exclusive translations from foreign texts. HRAF's unique arrangement facilitates comparative studies.
An uncataloged guide, The Nature and the Use of HRAF Files, is available in the Special Collections Office. The collection is organized into separate Cultural Files, each of which corresponds to a cultural unit listed in the Outline of World Cultures (OWC). Within each cultural file the material is organized according to the subject classification system in the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM). A complete list of the titles included in the collection is available in HRAF Source Bibliography. The researcher may also wish to consult the Index to the Human Relations Area Files and its supplement (1979). Users are encouraged to ask a Special Collections staff member for assistance in the use of this collection.
NOT IN MERLIN
Murdock, George Peter Outline of World Cultures (OWC)..
Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM)..
Contains a list of titles in the HRAF collection.
Index to the Human Relations Area Files.
The index is a page-by-page, line-by-line index to the sources included in the HRAF files organized (up to 1979) according to the subject categories in the OCM.
NAVAL OFFICE SHIPPING LISTS FOR THE WEST INDIES (EXCLUDING JAMAICA) 1678-1825: IN THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON.
East Ardsley, Yorkshire, England: Micro Methods, 1980.
British records relating to America in microfilm
15 reel(s)
The establishment of spice and sugar plantations was a major factor in the expansion of trade and the consistent growth of shipping traffic which occurred in the West Indies during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The islands were also important exporters of coffee and tropical fruit. The origin of the shipping lists goes back to the Navigation Act of 1663, which required colonial officials to record all ships entering or leaving American ports. Provincial clerks, called Naval Officers, gathered this data and periodically dispatched it to London. Accumulating the information proved particularly difficult in the British West Indies where most of the islands had several ports but only one Naval Officer and one official port of entry. Exceptions to this were Bermuda, Grenada, and Martinique, all of which had two official ports of entry. Due to their increasing economic value, possession of the West Indies was hotly contested and the region's political geography was in a state of flux during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This was a result of Britain's wars with Spain, France, the Netherlands, the United States, and Denmark. This situation stabilized after 1815, but of the nineteen islands mentioned in the records only Antigua, Barbados, Bermuda, Crooked Island, Exuma, and Tortola remained under British control throughout the period of 1678 to 18125. This factor has resulted in gaps in the records. The shipping lists contain the dates of entry and clearance, the name of the ship, home port, style of construction, tonnage, registration, the names of the master and owner, number of guns, cargo (including slaves and indentured servants), usually the last port of clearance, the port of immediate destination, and the location where bond may have been posted.
A description of the collection and its arrangement appears on the first reel.
FILM 22:9
Minchinton, Walter E. The Naval Office shipping lists for the West Indies 1678-1825 (excluding Jamaica) in the Public Record Office, London.
The guide contains a provenance, background on naval officers and naval office shipping lists, specific information on the West Indies shipping lists and historians who have used them, a summary of shipping information for the lists, contents of the film, and a bibliography of related works.
NEW DEAL AGENCIES AND BLACK AMERICA IN THE 1930'S.
Frederick, MD: University Publications of America, 1983.
Black studies research sources
25 reel(s)
This collection contains documents from those New Deal agencies concerned with the economic and social conditions of black Americans. Specifically, the documents come from the Office of Education, the National Youth Administration, the Department of the Interior, the Farm Security Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Employment Service in the Department of Labor, the National Recovery Administration, the Department of Commerce and the Works Progress Administration.
New Deal agencies and Black America : guide.
The guide contains a roster of Roosevelt's "Black Cabinet" of informal advisers on black issues, a table of contents, and a reel index.
Povey, Thomas. PAPERS RELATING THE ENGLISH COLONIES IN AMERICA AND THE WEST INDIES, 1627-1699 IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
East Ardsley, Yorkshire, England: E. P. Microfilm, 1974.
British records relating to America in microfilm
1 reel(s)
This material was collected by Thomas Povey, who served in several positions as an administrator of colonial affairs in England. The documents focus heavily on the sugar producing islands of the West Indies, with specific material on the conquest of Jamaica, the sugar boom in Barbados, and affairs in the Leeward Islands. In addition, because he had a relative involved, Povey's collection includes important information on Bacon's Rebellion in 1675-76 in Virginia. The collection also reflects the role that London merchants played in formulating mercantilist policy in the middle of the 17th century. The vast majority of the documents were written between 1655 and 1680 and are arranged chronologically.
An uncataloged guide, Papers Relating to the English Colonies in America and the West Indies, 1627-1699 in the British Museum, is available in the Special Collections Office. The guide contains information on the provenance of the collection, general background description of the material, an annotated list of film contents, and a bibliography of related works. The guide is reprinted at the beginning of the reel.
FILM 22:10
SCHOMBURG CENTER CLIPPING FILE, 1925-1974.
New York: NCR for the New York Public Library, 1975.
9673 fiche
This collection reproduces the clipping file in the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The Schomburg Center is one of the most important centers in the world for the study of black life and history. The comprehensive, international collection covers black activity wherever peoples of African descent have lived. Writings by authors of African descent are collected, regardless of the subject matter or language. The basis of the collection was the private library of Arthur Alfonso Schomburg (1874-1938), a Puerto Rican of African descent, who amassed one of the largest collections devoted to the Negro. The clippings file represent 80 drawers of vertical file materials. Included are clippings, magazine articles, programs, and broadsides. The materials are classified in detail by biographical, geographical, and subject headings. Information can be found on such people as Tom Mboya, Sekou Toure, Abdel Nasser, Nkrumah, and Azikiwe. Geographical emphasis includes Ghana, Nigeria, Togoland (now part of Ghana and the Republic of Togo), and the Mali Federation. Other subjects include civil rights, education, housing, slavery, and theater.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Index to the Schomburg clipping file..
'The Schomburg Clipping File Index provides subject access.
WEST INDIES RECORDS OF THE UNITED SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL 'E' SERIES, 1901-1950.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: Microform Academic Publishers, 1987.
British Records Relating to America in Microform
13 reel(s)
FILM
The guide gives a description of each chronologically arranged reel, and a bibliography.
WEST INDIES RECORDS OF THE UNITED SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL, 1710-1908.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: Microform Limited, 1984.
British records relating to America in microform
19 reel(s)
The material in this collection covers the growth of the Society and its work in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbadoes, Antigua, Trinidad, British Guiana (Guyana), Honduras, and the Mosquito Coast. A central issue for several reels concerns the Codrington bequest to the Society for creation of an institution to convert and educate slaves.
FILM 22:12-13
West Indies records of the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, c. 1710-1908 [guide].
The guide contains the provenance of the collection, background information on the Society and a description of its records, a list of contents for each reel and a bibliography of related works, both primary and secondary. The guide is reproduced at the beginning of reel one.
Great Britain. Colonial Office. BARBADOES. ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. 1689/1752: (C.O. 28; C.O. 537).
London: Public Record Office, 1969.
30 reel(s)
Barbados (formerly known as Barbadoes) was first settled in 1627 by the British. As a British colony, Barbados traded (not always legitimately) with New England, New York, and Virginia throughout the colonial period, exchanging sugar, cotton, molasses, and ginger for foodstuffs. Many settlers migrated from Barbados to the Carolinas. This collection contains original correspondence with the Board of Trade and the secretary of state. Letters from the governors, including James Kendall, James Cunninghame, Edwin Stede, and Henry Grenville, relate to petitions, memorials, and proceedings in chancery and admiralty courts. Topics include the security of Barbados and regulation of goods (mainly sugar) exported to Europe.
FILM 10:12
United States. Department of State. RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE RELATING TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF CUBA, 1910-29.
Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1963.
National Archives microfilm publications. Microcopy no. M 488; v. National Archives record group 59.
99 reel(s)
Political adjustments in Cuba after the second United States intervention (1906-1909), the revolts of 1912, 1917, and 1924, the mission of United States General E.H. Crowder, and presidential elections are some of the subjects discussed in this Department of State decimal file. Other documents relate to Bolshevism, citizenship, regulation of arms, ammunition and explosives, sugar cultivation, mines and mining, and railroads. Three of the reels pertain to registration and infringement of trademarks, most of which belonged to American companies.
An uncataloged guide, Records of the Department of State relating to internal affairs of Cuba, 1910-29, is available in the Special Collections Office. A complete list of the contents precedes the filmed documents. They are arranged by subject according to the Department of State's decimal classification system.
FILM 6:6-6:7
United States. Department of State. RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE RELATING TO POLITICAL RELATIONS BETWEEN CUBA AND OTHER STATES, 1910-29.
Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1963.
National Archives microfilm publications. Microcopy no. M 510; v. National Archives record group 59.
1 reel(s)
A long printed document discussing Cuba's need to adopt a foreign policy introduces this small Department of State decimal file. This 1926 document also contains the text of an address given by a University of Havana professor of international law calling for the removal of United States naval bases in Cuba. Other documents relate to treaty negotiations between Cuba and Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Syria, China, and Japan.
An uncataloged guide, Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between Cuba and Other States, 1910-29, is available in the Special Collections Office. A complete list of the contents of the collection precedes the documents. They are arranged by subject according to the Department of State's decimal classification system.
FILM 6:8
United States. Department of State. RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE RELATING TO POLITICAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA, 1910-29.
Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1963.
National Archives microfilm publications. Microcopy no. M 509.
2 reel(s)
The records are concerned with efforts to maintain friendly relations and negotiate treaties between the United States and Cuba. Cuba agitated to abolish the Platt Amendment, which gave the United States the right to intervene in Cuban affairs to preserve Cuban independence. Newspaper articles and documents relate to the Kellogg-Briand Pact for the renunciation of war. Consular affairs represent a large portion of the papers: the suppression of liquor and narcotics traffic, the smuggling of birds and animals, extradition agreements, most-favored-nation privileges, and the disposition of estates of deceased nationals. A portion of the correspondence led to the ceding of twenty-five acres of Cuban land to the United Sates for a memorial at the San Juan Hill battlefield.
An uncataloged guide, Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between the United States and Cuba, 1910-29, is available in the Special Collections office. A complete list of the titles included appears on the first reel. The documents are arranged by subject according to the Department of State's decimal system.
FILM 6:8
CRISES IN PANAMA AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: NATIONAL SECURITY FILES AND NSC HISTORIES (1963-1969).
Frederick, Maryland: University Publications of America, 1982.
Presidential documents series
8 reel(s)
In 1964, rioting erupted in Panama directed largely against United States' control of the Panama Canal. During the next four years, the United States and Panama renegotiated treaties concerning the Canal. In 1965, the United States feared the possibility of a communist insurgency in the Dominican Republic. This fear led to the military intervention of the United States in that country. This collection contains the documents in the files of the National Security Council that pertain to these events.
A Guide to Crises in Panama and the Dominican Republic : national security files and NSC histories.
The guide contains a table of contents and a reel index.
United States. Department of State. CONSULAR DESPATCHES FROM UNITED STATES MINISTERS IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 1883-1892.
Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1946.
National Archives microfilm publications. Microcopy no. M 93; v. National Archives record group 59.
2 reel(s)
This collection deals primarily with commercial relations between the United States and the island of Santo Domingo. The diplomatic dispatches include correspondence concerning both the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti. A portion of the collection includes dispatches from Frederick Douglass during his tenure as minister. Specifically, much of the material refers to claims of United States citizens and companies against the government of either country, negotiations of commercial treaties, and some references to the Pan-American Congress. Ellis Library has only the first two reels of the collection that covers the years from 1883 to 1906.
An introductory note for each reel appears at the beginning of the reel. The material is arranged chronologically.
FILM 1:10
United States. Department of State. RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE RELATING TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 1910-29.
Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1966.
National Archives microfilm publications. Microcopy no. M 626; v. National Archives record group 59.
79 reel(s)
This collection contains the records of the Department of State decimal file relating to the internal affairs of the Dominican Republic during the period from 1910 to 1929. There are documents in the collection concerning the Dominican Republic's political affairs, public order and safety, military affairs, naval affairs, social matters, economic matters, industrial matters, communications and transport, navigation, and other internal affairs. During this entire period the United States controlled the collection of Dominican customs and the records reveal that much of United States intervention in the internal affairs of the country was conducted in order to protect the interests of creditors to the republic in addition to United States lives and property. Much of the collection is concerned with the insurrectionary activity which was endemic in the republic between 1910 and 1916. These records detail the activities of the Army of the Dominican Republic in its attempts to suppress the various rebel factions and the dispatch of United States warships in order to quell rebellion and protect American interests. Included are communications regarding attempts to forestall revolutionary expeditions thought to be embarking from Britain's West Indian possessions and regarding United States marine intervention from 1916 to 1924. The records on military affairs provide details of small arms negotiations for the Army of the Dominican Republic. Those on social affairs include documents on race problems, religion, education, cultural relations with Spain, and disasters.
A complete list of the contents precedes the filmed documents. They are arranged by subject according to the Department of State's decimal classification system.
FILM 7:14-8:1
United States. Department of State. RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE RELATING TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF HAITI, 1910-29.
Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1965.
National Archives microfilm publications. Microcopy no. M 610; v. National Archives record group 59.
94 reel(s)
The United States' occupation of Haiti (1915-1934) and control of Haitian financial affairs are thoroughly documented in this Department of State decimal file. The frequent changes in the presidency, the activities of Haitian nationalist agitator Joseph Jolebois, and activities of a militarized police force are discussed in correspondence and other records. Annual reports of the general receiver of Haiti, monthly bulletins of the United States government financial advisers, and daily reports of United States military officers are included. Appointment papers and other documents preliminary to the 1930 United States Commission to Investigate Conditions in Haiti are also in the collection. Non-political subjects discussed include the growing of sisal, the tobacco monopoly of the Tobacco Rehandling Company of England, coffee culture, the pineapple industry, rubber production, and the Artibonite Irrigation Project.
A reel contents list is available in the Special Collections Office and a complete list of the documents included is filmed on reels 1-2. The documents are arranged by subject according to the Department of State's decimal classification system.
FILM 7:5-7
United States. Department of State. RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE RELATING TO POLITICAL RELATIONS BETWEEN HAITI AND OTHER STATES, 1910-29.
Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1965.
National Archives microfilm publications. Microcopy no. M 612; v. National Archives record group 59.
4 reel(s)
Haiti's bluebook, Documents Diplomatiques Affaires Diverse (Port-au-Prince, 1921) is filmed in this Department of State decimal file. With the exception of a very few documents relating to Haiti's political affairs with Great Britain, France, Denmark, Germany, and the Holy See, the file is concerned with the lengthy boundary dispute between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The dispute centers on the Pedernales River as the international boundary between the countries and the alleged unequal diversion of its water for irrigation. There are documents in the file related to the purchase of land by an American business, the Enriquillo Company, in the disputed territory. A 1929 treaty called for the appointment of a commission to fix the boundary.
A complete list of the contents of this collection precedes the filmed documents. They are arranged by subject according to the Department of State's decimal classification system.
FILM 7:7
Finding an Article in Special Collections
Chronological Listing of Periodicals by Decade
Newspapers in Microform in Ellis Library
Electronic Newspapers and Indexes
Chronological Listing of Newspapers by Decade
Geographical Listing of Newspapers
Primary Microform Resources in Art, Literature, Languages and Music
Contact: Special Collections - Email: SpecialCollections@missouri.edu
Copyright © Curators of the University of Missouri
Published by: Special Collections
Last revised:
Friday, January 23, 2009