AM publishes unique primary source collections from archives around the world.
University of Portsmouth has access to the following AM collections. Search across all of them via the search box above, or browse the list of links.
African American Communities
Focusing predominantly on Atlanta, Chicago, St Louis, Brooklyn, and towns and cities in North Carolina this collection presents multiple aspects of the African American community through personal diaries and scrapbooks, pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals, correspondence, official records and in-depth oral histories, revealing the prevalent challenges of racism, discrimination and integration, and a unique African American culture and identity.
African American Communities (AAC)
Focusing predominantly on Atlanta, Chicago, St Louis, Brooklyn, and towns and cities in North Carolina this collection presents multiple aspects of the African American community through personal diaries and scrapbooks, pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals, correspondence, official records and in-depth oral histories, revealing the prevalent challenges of racism, discrimination and integration, and a unique African American culture and identity.
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Archives Direct
Archives Direct is a suite of collections sourced from The National Archives, Kew, the official archive of the United Kingdom. Containing diplomatic correspondence, letters, reports, surveys, material from newspapers, statistical analyses, published pamphlets, ephemera, military papers, profiles of prominent individuals, maps and many other types of document, it consists of the history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from the British state’s point of view.
Archives Direct: Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969
From the Egyptian reforms of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Middle East Conference of 1921, the Mandates of Palestine and Mesopotamia and the Suez Crisis in 1956, to the partition of Palestine, post- Suez Western foreign policy and the Arab-Israeli conflict these government documents inform the volatile situation in the region today.
Archives Direct: Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980
Formerly restricted British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1919 and 1980. Featuring diplomatic dispatches, letters, newspaper cuttings, political pamphlets, reports of court cases and other materials, this collection represents a constant exchange of information between London and the British embassies and consulates. Due to the unique nature of the relationship between Britain and China, these formerly restricted first-hand accounts provide unprecedented levels of detail into a turbulent period in Chinese history.
Archives Direct: Foreign Office Files for Japan, 1919-1952
Discover Japan’s rise to modernity and its relations with global superpowers through official British Government documents from The National Archives, UK. This collection provides significant insight into the events between First World War victory and Second World War defeat, crucial to understanding the political journey of Japan during this period.
China: Trade, Politics and Culture
This digital collection answers the need for clear, intelligible and informative English-language sources relating to China and the West, which can be used in the classroom. It would also benefit independent projects on any aspect of Chinese history during the country's monumental social and political upheaval.
Early Modern England
Explore the lived experiences of Early Modern English society, from ordinary people to prominent families. This collection of primary sources looks at two centuries of everyday, political, religious, working, trading and administrative life in England during this pivotal epoch.
Empire Online
Spanning five centuries, and charting the rise and fall of empires around the world, Empire Online is a powerful digital resource enabling research of colonial history, politics, culture and society. From Columbus to debates on American Imperialism, Empire Online is driven by a panel of consultant editors from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA and has been designed specifically to encourage the use of primary sources in teaching.
First World War
Revealing the voices and experiences of the men and women who served in the First World War, this rich and varied collection will be an invaluable source for anyone studying and researching the ‘Great War’. Material is sourced from the Imperial War Museum, the National Archives, UK and more.
Food and Drink in History
From feast to famine, explore five centuries of primary source material documenting the story of food and drink. The materials in this collection illustrate the deep links between food and identity, politics, power, gender, race, and socio-economic status, as well as charting key issues such as agriculture, nutrition, and food production.
Gender: Identity and Social Change
Explore records from men’s and women’s organisations, advice literature and etiquette books to reveal developing gender roles and relations. Gain an insight into changing societal expectations about gender roles through personal diaries and correspondence and explore the life and careers of key figures and pioneers in gender history.
Indigenous Histories and Cultures
From early contacts between European settlers and American Indians and the subsequent political, social and cultural effects of those encounters on American Indian life, these materials tell both the historical and the personal stories of the colonization of the Americas. Continuing through to the modern era, and told against the backdrop of the 19th century expansion into the ‘Western Frontier’ right through to the civil rights movement of the mid-twentieth century.
Life at Sea
This exciting resource brings together unique primary sources drawn from world-class maritime archives and heritage collections. Reflecting current trends in Maritime history, this resource takes a sociocultural approach, focusing on the individual experiences and personal narratives of seafarers and their lives lived on the high seas.
London Low Life
London Low Life brings to life the teeming streets of Victorian London, inviting students and scholars to explore the gin palaces, brothels and East End slums of the nineteenth century’s greatest city. From salacious ‘swell’s guides’ to scandalous broadsides and subversive posters, the material sold and exchanged on London’s bustling thoroughfares offers an unparalleled insight into the dark underworld of the city.
Mass Observation Online
The Archive of Mass-Observation, a pioneering social research organisation, has been described as a "treasure trove", "an invaluable resource for sociologists and cultural historians" and "a fascinating source of precious data for researchers across the widest range of disciplines". Mass Observation Online makes the Mass Observation Archive available to researchers in its entirety.
Mass Observation Project
Mass Observation Project provides digital access to a unique life-writing archive, capturing the everyday experiences, thoughts and opinions of people living through the turbulent final decades of the 20th century and the advent of the 21st century.
Migration to New Worlds
From departure to destination, discover the dreams and harsh realities for migrants to the New World and Australasia during the ‘century of immigration’. This captivating, multi-archive collection provides a wide-ranging and in depth look at the emigration of peoples from Great Britain, mainland Europe and Asia during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975
Music, Politics, Fashion, Youth Culture – the period from 1950 to 1975 witnessed dramatic changes in society. There was the onset of Rock & Roll; the introduction of computers and credit cards; the boom of radio and television; and campaigns for black power, civil rights and women’s liberation. All around the world there were challenges to authority.
Poverty, Philanthropy and Social Conditions in Victorian Britain
Discover what life was like for the poorest communities in Victorian Britain, and explore the social reform and philanthropic efforts of charitable institutions that sought to alleviate poverty.