Latin American History
For additional assistance, contact Library Support
Finding Primary Resouces
What are primary sources? Finding Primary Sources on the Web? Evaluating primary sources.
An instructional page about how to idenitfy, find and evaluate primary sources.
UA Library Catalog
How to Search:
- On the keyword search page, type your major search topic into the top line.
- In second line change “Any Field” to "Subject.”
- Type any of the following into the Search Box:
Sources, Interviews, Personal Narratives, statistics, diaries, correspondence, biography, Archives . Please note, “biography” includes both autobiographies and secondary works. - You can search more than one of these by putting "or" between words. e.g. sources or personal narratives or interviews.
- Autobiographical information can be found by changing “Any Field” to "AUTHOR" and typing in the name of the person.
Maps are also primary sources. To find maps -
- Search by country name or region [subject] and Maps [subject] and limit by dates
Atlases of historical maps can be found by searching the country or region [subject] and historical geography [subject] and maps [subject]
e.g. baja [subject] and maps [subject] and after 1900 before 1930
germany [subject] and historical geography [subject] and maps [subject] (finds historical atlases)
Links to Web Site of Primary Sources
Archive of Early American Images.
A database of pictures and maps of the colonial Americas, from Hudson Bay to Tierra del Fuego, based on primary sources printed or created between 1492 and ca. 1825.
Arizona Archives Online
A web searchable database of many Finding Aids to the special collections at ASU, NAU, and the UA. From ASU this includes their Chicano Research Collection, Labriola National American Indian Data Center and Arizona Collection among others.
Arizona-Sonora Documents Online
A collection of digital images relating to Sonora, Mexico that are located at three Arizona repositories: the University of Arizona Library Special Collections; the Arizona Historical Society-Tucson; and the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records. The collections date from the 19th and early 20th centuries. They cover a broad range of topics, including ranching, mining, land grants, anti-Chinese movements, crime on the border, and governmental issues
ARTstor
A repository of hundreds of thousands of digital images and related data
Congressional Universe
Index to U.S. Government hearings, reports and the Serial Set from 1789- present. Includes material that relates to the border and issues that cross between Latin American countries and the U.S.
Declassified Documents
United States. Selected documents from the FBI, CIA and State Department. 1941-
Digital National Security Archive
The Digital National Security Archive contains the most comprehensive collection of documents from the CIA, FBI, National Security Council, Presidential files and more.
Early Encounters in North America: Peoples, Cultures, and the Environment
Letters, dairies, memoirs and accounts of early encounters between Europeans and Native Americans, 1650-1700. Material includes encounters throughout North America and the Caribbean.
Ecclesiastical Sources for Slave Societies
Images of more than 750,000 ecclesiastical records of African and African descended individuals from Brazil, Cuba, and Spanish Florida. Includes 16th century black baptisms, marriages, and burials from the Cathedral of Havana, 18th century black wills and testaments from the Diocese of Nova Iguaçu, Brazil, 18th and 19th century black brotherhood records from Brazil and Cuba, and 19th century burials of unbaptized "Asiaticos" in Matanzas, Cuba.Team members have also digitized related collections dealing with Africans and African descended people in the provincial archives in Matanzas and Guantanamo, Cuba.
Latin American Microfilm at the U of A.
Collections of primary documents at the University of Arizona Library.
Lexis-Nexis Congressional Universe
Index to U.S. Government hearings, reports and the Serial Set from 1789- present. Includes material that relates to the border and issues that cross between Latin American countries and the U.S.
Library of Congress Hispanic and Portugese Guide: An Illustrated Guide.
The Library of Congress includes substantive primary research materials in any area of Hispanic and Portuguese studies, including Latin America and the Caribbean. This web site is an introduction to the collection.
Maps of Primeria: Early Cartography of the Southwest
Illustrations and descriptions of original rare and historic maps from the University of Arizona Library Map Collection. They portray and chronicle four centuries of mapping from the earliest map of the region in the collection,1556.
Mexican History Microfilm at the U of A.
Collections of primary documents at the University of Arizona Library.
Mexico from Empire to Revolution
A Web resource that draws on the collection of the Getty Research Institute which includes photographic reproductions from the period, 1857-1923.
National Security Archive at George Washington University
A free web reproduction of documents that have been released by the U.S. government that were formerly classified. Among the collection at this site are materials related to: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Related to Digital National Security Archive above.
Repositories of Primary Sources: Latin American and the Caribbean.
Excellent collection of links to Web collections of primary sources.