Below you'll find an array of digital primary source collections, databases, and portals that have materials relevant to Brazil. They are divided into different themes or types of archives.
Find at least one primary source document pertaining to your topic and save it in the Zotero folder. Everyone in the group should contribute something different.
Housed at the University of Miami, the Pan American World Airways digital collection features annual reports, brochures, directories, periodicals, and timetables from 1929 to 1991.
Digital collection of Latin American travel accounts from the 16th-19th centuries in Brown University's Special Collections. Includes browse-by-country function, essays, and bibliography.
From the everyday to the extraordinary, these rare diaries and the supporting correspondence describe the travel experiences, destinations and desires of nineteenth and twentieth century American women.
The project has wide ranging interdisciplinary appeal, offering first hand accounts of major historical events as reported by eye witnesses, detailing key interests and themes in women’s lives, providing snapshots of cities, cultures and customs, and charting the rise of modern tourism and the travel industry. Topics covered include: Emigration and daily life, Missionary Work, World War I, World War II, Boxer War in China, Frontier Life in America, Personal Enlightenment through travel, Education and Finishing School, Sightseeing, Holidays and Tourism, Customs, culture and leisure.
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database has information on almost 36,000 slaving voyages that forcibly embarked over 10 million Africans for transport to the Americas between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The actual number is estimated to have been as high as 12.5 million. The database and the separate estimates interface offer researchers, students and the general public a chance to rediscover the reality of one of the largest forced movements of peoples in world history.
hosted at Vanderbilt University, the SSDA is dedicated to identifying, cataloging, and digitally preserving endangered archival materials documenting the history of Africans and their descendants in the Atlantic World. Its largest and oldest collections were generated by the Catholic Church; the baptismal records preserved in Slave Societies are the oldest and most uniform serial data available for the history of Africans in the Atlantic World and offer the most extensive information regarding their ethnic origins.
Documents, images, videos, plays, articles, and poetry connected to Abdias Nascimento (1914-2011), an Afro-Brazilian artist, scholar, and politician. He founded the Black Experimental Theater in 1944 and later became the first Afro-Brazilian elected to the Senate in Brazil.
Black History is a sub-collection of Fold3, an extensive database of historical military records. It includes digitized documents from the following U.S. National Archives (NARA) record series: US, Civil War Service Records (CMSR) - Union - Colored Troops 2nd-7th Infantry, 1861-1865; US, Amistad - Supreme Court records, 1839; US, Military Intelligence Division - Negro Subversion, 1917-1941; US, Civil War Service Records (CMSR) - Union - Colored Troops 8th-13th Infantry, 1861-1865; US, American Colonization Society, 1792-1964; US, Board of Commissioners - Emancipation of Slaves in DC, , 1862-1863; US, Amistad - Federal court records, 1815-1858; US, Court Slave Records for DC, 1851-1863.
Part of ancestry.com's Fold3 platform for military records, this database includes thousands of digitized records, photos, and firsthand accounts from the following collections: WWII Naval Press Clippings, 1942-1960; Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs), WWII, 1942-1947; Military Intelligence Division - Negro Subversion, 1917-1941; WWII JAG Case Files, Pacific - Army, 1944-1949; WWII JAG Case Files, Pacific - Navy, 1944-1949; WWII Allied Military Conferences, 1941-1945; WWII Allied Military Conferences, 1941-1945; Pearl Harbor Muster Rolls, 1939-1947; and WWII US Air Force Photos.
ProQuest, in partnership with The National Security Archive, produce the Digital National Security Archive, the most comprehensive collection available of significant primary documents central to U.S. foreign and military policy since 1945. Collections cover the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post-World War II through the 21st century, with access to more than 150,000 indexed, declassified government documents. The DNSA is comprised of many database collections which can be searched individually or together.
The resource comprises the following databases; Afghanistan: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1973–1990; The Afghanistan War and the United States, 1998-2017; Argentina, 1975-1980: The Making of U.S. Human Rights Policy; The Berlin Crisis, 1958–1962; Chile and the United States: U.S. Policy toward Democracy, Dictatorship, and Human Rights, 1970–1990; China and the United States: From Hostility to Engagement, 1960–1998; CIA Covert Operations: From Carter to Obama, 1977-2010; CIA Family Jewels Indexed; Colombia and the United States: Political Violence, Narcotics, and Human Rights, 1948-2010; The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962; The Cuban Missile Crisis: 50th Anniversary Update; The Cuban Missile Crisis Revisited: An International Collection, From Bay of Pigs to Nuclear Brink; Death Squads, Guerrilla War, Covert Ops, and Genocide: Guatemala and the United States, 1954-1999; Electronic Surveillance and the National Security Agency: From Shamrock to Snowden; El Salvador: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1977–1984; El Salvador: War, Peace, and Human Rights, 1980–1994; Iran: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1977–1980; The Iran-Contra Affair: The Making of a Scandal, 1983–1988; Iraqgate: Saddam Hussein, U.S. Policy and the Prelude to the Persian Gulf War, 1980–1994; Japan and the United States: Diplomatic, Security, and Economic Relations, 1960–1976, 1877-1992, and Part III, 1961-2000; The Kissinger Telephone Conversations: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969-1977; The Kissinger Transcripts: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969-1977; Mexico-United States Counternarcotics Policy, 1969-2013; The National Security Agency: Organization and Operations, 1945-2009; Nicaragua: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1978–1990; Peru: Human Rights, Drugs and Democracy, 1980-2000; The Philippines: U.S. Policy During the Marcos Years, 1965–1986; Presidential Directives on National Security, Part I: From Truman to Clinton; Presidential Directives on National Security, Part II: From Truman to George W. Bush; South Africa: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1962–1989; The Soviet Estimate: U.S. Analysis of the Soviet Union, 1947–1991; Targeting Iraq, Part 1: Planning, Invasion, and Occupation, 1997-2004; Terrorism and U.S. Policy, 1968–2002; U.S. Climate Change Diplomacy: From the Montreal Protocol to the Paris Agreement, 1981-2015; U.S. Espionage and Intelligence, 1947–1996; U.S. Intelligence and China: Collection, Analysis and Covert Action; The U.S. Intelligence Community: Organization, Operations and Management, 1947–1989; The U.S. Intelligence Community After 9/11; U.S. Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction: From World War II to Iraq; U.S. Military Uses of Space, 1945–1991; U.S. Nuclear History: Nuclear Arms and Politics in the Missile Age, 1955–1968; U.S. Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy, 1945–1991; U.S. Policy in the Vietnam War, Part I (1954-1968) and Part II: (1969-1975); U.S. Policy toward Iran: From the Revolution to the Nuclear Accord, 1978-2015; and The United States and the Two Koreas, Part 1 (1969-2000) and Part II (1969-2010).
Historical Newspapers: U.S. & U.K.
For students who can't read Portuguese, you can search these historical newspaper databases to see how Brazil was covered in the U.S. and U.K. press.
A subset of the America's Historical Newspapers Collection from Readex, which includes African American newspapers from around the United States, including the New Orleans Daily Creole, New Orleans Tribune, Weekly Louisianian and the Weekly Pelican.
African American Periodicals, 1825-1995, features more than 170 wide-ranging periodicals by and about African Americans. Published in 26 states, the publications include academic and political journals, commercial magazines, institutional newsletters, organizations bulletins, annual reports and other genres.
Contains text-searchable digitizations of U.S. newspapers published between 1690 and 1980, including titles from all 50 present states. Tulane has access to the following collections and series: African American Newspapers; Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection; Hispanic American Newspapers; Series 1: From Colonies to Nation; Series 2: The New Republic; Series 3: From Farm to City; Series 4: The Rise of Industry; Series 5: An Emerging World Power; Series 6: Compromise and Disunion; Series 7: Reform and Retrenchment; Series 8: A Nation in Transition; Series 19: Southern Newspapers, the Politics of Race in the South.
Historical Black Newspapers (ProQuest) allows you to access full text articles in the: Atlanta Daily World, 1931-2010; Baltimore Afro-American, 1893-2010; Cleveland Call and Post, 1934-2009; Los Angeles Sentinel, 1946-2010; New Journal and Guide (Norfolk, VA), 1921-2010; New York Amsterdam News, 1922-2010; Philadelphia Tribune, 1912-2010; and Pittsburgh Courier, 1955-2010. Individual titles may also be searched separately.
Advanced search page to access all ProQuest News & Newspaper databases available through Tulane University Libraries. Includes historical newspapers: The American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger (1857-1922); The American Israelite (1854-2000); The Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945); Atlanta Daily World (1931 - 2010); The Baltimore Afro-American (1893-2010); The Baltimore Sun (1837-1998); The Boston Globe (1872-1993); Chicago Defender (1909-2010); Chicago Tribune (1849-1998); The Christian Science Monitor (1908-2011); Cleveland Call & Post (1934-2010); Detroit Free Press (1831-1999); The Guardian & The Observer (1791-2003); The Irish Times & The Weekly Irish Times (1859-2022); The Jerusalem Post (1932-2008); The Jewish Advocate (1905-1990); The Jewish Exponent (1887-1990); Le Monde (1944-2000); Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2010); Los Angeles Times (1881-2000); New York Amsterdam News (1922-2010); The New York Times (1851-2020); New York Tribune (1841-1922); Norfolk Journal & Guide (1916-2010); Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2010); Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2010); The Scotsman (1817-1950); The Times of India (1838-2011); The Wall Street Journal (1889-2012) and The Washington Post (1877-2008). Recent Newspapers (2008-current): Chicago Tribune; Los Angeles Times; New York Times; Washington Post. Newsstreams: Latin American Newsstream, U.S. Hispanic Newsstream.
This database offers full page and article image scans of The New York Times with searchable full text of every available issue from 1851 to 2020. Select "Browse Issues" from the menu to peruse content by date.
This database offers full page and article image scans with searchable full text of every available issue of The Washington Post from 1877 to 2008. Select "Browse Issues" from the menu to peruse content by date.
Brazilian Newspaper Archives
For those students who can read Portuguese, there are a number of digital collections worth exploring. Some may include documents and books in English.
The URL opens to the World Newspaper Archive's search page for the combined Latin American Newspapers Series 1 & 2 gateway page. Series 1 includes more than 35 nineteenth- and twentieth-century Latin American newspapers, featuring titles from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and elsewhere Series 2 features over 250 Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Latin American Newspapers. Featuring titles from: Belize, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay.
The Diario de Pernambuco is acknowledged as the oldest newspaper in circulation in Latin America. The issues from 1825-1923 offer insights into early Brazilian commerce, social affairs, politics, family life, slavery, and such. Published in the port of Recife.
This digital archive provides access to nineteenth and twentieth century newspapers housed at the National Library in Brazil, such as "Correio Braziliense," "Gazeta do Rio de Janeiro," "Diário Carioca," and "Correio da Manhã"
Manoel de Oliveira Lima (1867-1928) was a Brazilian diplomat, journalist, historian and book collector whose career spanned Brazil's transition from empire to republic. Brazilian history and literature was the central focus of his writing and collecting. This database's monographs collection offers access to approximately 3,800 publications from the mid-16th through the early 20th century. The roughly 4,000 pamphlets in the collection date from the 19th to the early 20th century and are on Brazilian subjects or by Brazilian authors.
The National Archive of Brazil has databases for the following collections, many digitized: Sistema de Informações do Arquivo Nacional, Acervo Judiciário, Entrada de Estrangeiros no Brasil, Família Ferrez, Memórias Reveladas, Movimentação de Portugueses no Brasil (1808 - 1842), História da Holanda e Holandeses no Brasil, Ofício de Notas da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Processos do Supremo Tribunal Federal, do Supremo Tribunal da Justiça e da Casa da Suplicação, Biblioteca Maria Beatriz Nascimento, and SECOM (Serviço de Comunicações, 1940-1959).
Digital collection of executive branch serial documents issued by Brazil’s national government between 1821 and 1993, including presidential reports and messages, the Almanak of the Brazilian Royal Court, and ministerial reports. Project carried out by the Center for Research Libraries' Latin American Materials Project (LAMP).
