LibGuides: Topic: Black Experience in the Americas: Primary Sources

Primary Sources in History

Primary sources are documents that were created during a particular time in history that described events as they were happening. Letters, memoirs, newspapers, bills, and accounting books are some of the many types of sources that historians used to study the past. On this page, check out the different web resources available to find primary sources that document the African Diaspora in the Americas.

Newspaper articles are considered a type of primary source. Check out these newspaper databases:

African American Newspapers
Access to collection of African American newspapers covering cultural life and history during the 1800s and includes first-hand reports of the major events.
Latin American Newspapers
Historical newspapers from Latin American from the 19th to the mid-20th century. Content in Spanish.

Archival Resources

Today, the web contains many archival and rare books materials that have been digitized and are freely available online. Below is a list of some of the best site to search for primary sources online.

Collaborative Archive from the African Diaspora (CAAD)
The Collaborative Archive from the African Diaspora (CAAD) is an online portal to the collective documentation of Black history and culture in Florida and the Caribbean.
African Diaspora on the Internet
An Columbia University portal to sites that have archival collections or information related to the African Diaspora.
First Blacks in the Americas
Main focus is to document the African presence in the Americas in the Dominican Republic.
Digital Schomburg
The 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.

Archival Projects

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database (Data from published and archival information)
A non-UConn Database that is free and allow to find documentation that track the ships that transported slaves to the Americas. Great place to find the names of the ships that transport the slaves, list of African names of the slaves transported in the ships, statistics of how many slaves were transported, etc...

Digital Collections (Images)

Digital Images from the NYPL Digital Collection--African Diaspora in the Caribbean
This digital compilation was developed in support of the NYPL website, "The African American Migration Experience," a sweeping 500-year historical narrative from the transatlantic slave trade to the Western migration, the colonization movement, the Great Migration, and the contemporary immigration of Caribbeans, Haitians, and sub-Saharan Africans.
Digital Images from the NYPL Digital Collection--African Diaspora in South America
This digital compilation was developed in support of the NYPL website, "The African American Migration Experience," a sweeping 500-year historical narrative from the transatlantic slave trade to the Western migration, the colonization movement, the Great Migration, and the contemporary immigration of Caribbeans, Haitians, and sub-Saharan Africans.

Topic: Black Experience in the Americas — Primary Sources

Primary Sources in History

Archival Resources

Digital Collections (Images)