New Books Display – February 2023

Currently on our New Books Display for the month of February, you can find a wide selection of the latest additions to the History Faculty Library’s collection, covering a range of historical periods and subject matter. Several items are featured below, along with a short summary of their contents. Click the photo to be taken to the item’s SOLO record. All NBD items can be borrowed at the Circulation desk in the Lower Camera reading room.

The Mughals and the Sufis: Islam and Political Imagination in India, 1500-1750 by University of Chicago Professor Muzaffar Alam, presents the author’s findings through a critical study of a large number of contemporary Persian texts, court chronicles, epistolary collections, and biographies of Sufi mystics. Professor Alam examines the complexities in the relationship between Mughal political culture and the two dominant strains of Islam’s Sufi traditions in South Asia. Muzaffar Alam analyses the interplay of these elements, their negotiation and struggle for resolution via conflict and coordination, and their longer-term outcomes as the empire followed its own political and cultural trajectory as it shifted from the more liberal outlook of Emperor Akbar “The Great” (r. 1556-1605) to the more rigid attitudes of his great-grandson, Aurangzeb Alamgir (r. 1658-1701). Alam brings to light many new and underutilized sources relevant to the religious and cultural history of the Mughals and reinterprets well-known sources from a new perspective to provide one of the most detailed and nuanced portraits of Indian Islam under the Mughal Empire available today.

The Persistence of Party: Ideas of Harmonious discord in Eighteenth-Century Britain by Dr Max Skjönsberg examines the development of how the idea of a political party was viewed in the eighteenth century, at a time when some of the core components of modern, representative politics were being trialled. From Bolingbroke to Burke, political thinkers regarded party as a fundamental concept of politics, especially in the parliamentary system of Britain. In the eighteenth century, the concept of a political party was usually understood as a set of flexible and evolving principles, associated with names and traditions, which categorised and managed political actors, voters, and commentators. This book seeks to demonstrate that the idea of party as ideological unity is not purely a nineteenth- or twentieth-century phenomenon, but can be traced to its roots in the eighteenth century. Also available as an eBook through Cambridge Core, accessible once you are signed into SOLO via your Single Sign On.

 From Near and Far: a Transnational History of France by historian Tyler Stovall relates the history of modern France from the French Revolution to the present. The work considers how the history of France interacts with both the broader history of the world and the local histories of French communities, examining the impacts of such figures as Karl Marx, Ho Chi Minh, Paul Gauguin, and Josephine Baker, alongside the rise of haute couture and contemporary art movements. Particularly, the nation’s relationship with Europe, the United States, and the French colonial empire is contextualized and examined in depth. This ‘transnational’ approach to the history of modern France allows Dr. Stovall to explain how the theme of universalism, so central to modern French culture, has manifested itself in different ways over the last few centuries. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of historical narrative both within and outside the boundaries of the nation. From Near and Far therefore situates the reader in a vision of France that is simultaneously global and local.

The Dutch Overseas Empire: 1600-1800 by Pieter C. Emmer and Jos J. L. Gommans is a new work that attempts to answer the question of how the Dutch empire compared to other imperial enterprises, and how it was experienced by the indigenous peoples who became a part of its colonial power. Beginning in the seventeenth century, the Dutch Republic emerged at the centre of a global empire that stretched along the edges of continents. In this empire, ideas of religious tolerance and scientific curiosity went hand in hand with severe political and economic exploitation of the local populations through violence and slavery. This pioneering history of the early modern Dutch Empire, encompassing two centuries, provides for the first time a comparative and indigenous perspective on Dutch overseas expansion. As well as the impact of the empire on the economy and society in the Dutch Republic itself, it also offers a fascinating window into the contemporary societies of Asia, Africa and the Americas: through their interactions, we see the effect of the Dutch overseas empire on processes of early modern globalization. Also available electronically through Cambridge Core, accessed via SOLO.

The Witches of St. Osyth: persecution, betrayal and murder in Elizabethan England by University of Exeter historian Marion Gibson is an account of witch trials in Essex (1581-2). Despite the history of English witchcraft and documented witch hunts and trials being studied extensively, the events are St. Osyth have been overlooked in previous scholarship. These accusations caused a destructive wave of persecution which tore apart this Essex community. Using fresh archival sources that pertain not only to the village of St. Osyth itself, but also its neighbouring hamlets, Gibson offers a comprehensive exploration into the sixteen women and one man who were accusd of practicing sorcery in addition to posing provocative and relevant questions about the way history is recollected and interpreted. Combining landscape fieldwork and readings of crucial documents, the author skilfully unlocks the poignant personal histories of those whose voices have been lost to history. Also available electronically through Cambridge Core, accessible through your SOLO account.

Queens of the age of Chivalry: England’s fourteenth-century Consorts, 1299-1409 by Alison Weir is the newest work by well-known public historian Weir, whose expertise lies in both medieval and post-medieval biography and historical fiction of the royalty of England, particularly when it comes to the lesser documented lives of female figures. Medieval queens were seen as mere dynastic trophies and political pawns, yet many of the Plantagenet queens of the High Middle Ages dramatically broke away from the restrictions imposed on them and wielded considerable influence over the male courtly figures who surrounded them, as well as the kingdom as a whole. Using personal letters and other vivid primary sources, Weir evokes the lives of five of these remarkable queens of the chivalric age: Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois. Each of these women lived through a period which oversaw some of the most environmentally and politically turbulent events in English and wider European history, including the Black Death, the Peasants’ Revolt, the Hundred Years War against France and baronial civil wars against their own monarchy. The turbulence of the fourteenth-century, and these Queen’s role in it, set the stage for the later dramatic events of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to unfold as the Middle Ages drew to a close and Europe entered the early modern period.

On Savage Shores: how Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe by University of Sheffield historian Dr. Caroline Dodds Pennock. This work has grown out of her cutting edge researches into the transatlantic journeys and exploration of Indigenous Mesoamerican and North American peoples during the sixteenth century. Although the reason for this was often due to the slave trade, Pennock documents other reasons for these individual’s travels to Europe – as diplomats, merchants and explorers. Pennock presents the story of the Brazilian king who met Henry VIII; the Aztecs who mocked up human sacrifice at the court of Charles V; the Inuk baby who was put on show in a London pub; the children of Indigenous American mothers and Spanish fathers who then returned to Spain – as well as the many servants employed by Europeans of every rank. The people of the Americas were regarded as exotic and were marginalised by European society; but their interactions, worldviews, and cultures still had a profound impact on European civilisation. Drawing on first-hand account of their surviving literature and poetry, as well as European eyewitness accounts, Pennock gives us a sweeping and monumental presentation of Indigenous American presence in early modern Europe.

Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Northern Europe 1080-1350: A Sourcebook is an edited collection with contributions by several social historians, designed to introduce researchers to the everyday lives of Jewish people living in the German Empire, northern France, and England from the 11th to the mid-14th centuries. The volume consists of translations of primary sources written by or about medieval Jews. Each source is accompanied by an introduction that provides it’s historical context. Through the sources, readers can become familiar with the spaces frequented by medieval Jewish Europeans, their daily practices and rituals, and their worldview and wider culture. The subject matter ranges from culinary preferences, garments, objects, and communal buildings and relationships. The documents testify to how Sabbath and holidays were enacted, weddings and births celebrated, and the mourning of the dead. Some of the sources focus on the relationships they had with their Christian neighbours, local authorities, and the Christian Church, while others shed light on their economic activities and professional life.

New discovery tool to search Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts

[Re-blogged from the Bodleian Libraries’ announcement]

The Bodleian Libraries have today released Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts https://archives.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/, providing access to the Bodleian’s world-renowned collection of archives and manuscripts on a new, user-friendly site.

The resource is in beta and researchers are encouraged to give feedback.

Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts is a new interface which revolutionizes the discoverability of archives. Whereas previously descriptions of archives and manuscripts were available in separate online catalogues, they’ve now been brought together into one site.

https://archives.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts currently includes descriptions for approximately 100,000 boxes of archival material collected by the Bodleian Libraries, dating from c. 1500 to the 21st century. Material described is predominantly in manuscript form, but the collections also contain large amounts of photographic material, audiovisual items, and born-digital content. Over the next 12 months Bodleian Libraries staff will continue to add to Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts, incorporating some of the Bodleian’s most important published catalogues – the Summary and New Summary Catalogues.

The predecessor to Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts, the Online Catalogue for Archives and Manuscripts, will remain available until early January 2020 at which point we will switch over to Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts fully, and decommission the Libraries’ old Online Catalogues platform.

For more information and an FAQ about Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts visit the public FAQ document.

While you are here…

The online catalogue for Medieval archives and manuscripts held in the Bodleian Libraries is available at https://medieval.bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

A guide to finding aids for Bodleian Libraries’ oriental archival collections is in the LibGuide for Oriental Manuscripts.

Administrative records of the University of Oxford are part of the Oxford University Archives.

New in Oxford: East India Company – Women in The National Archives – Foreign Office Files for the Middle East, 1971-1981

I am pleased to announce that Bodleian Libraries has been able to make a number of eresources purchases some of which will be of interest to historians.

The Bodleian Libraries have committed substantial external funding to a one-off set of purchases of electronic research resources deemed to be important to researchers in the University. This follows a project to identify desiderata across all subjects and to list suggestions from readers. The list includes items which cannot easily be covered by recurrent budgets.

East India Company

This resource offers access to digitised primary source documents from the India Office Records, held at the British Library, a key archive for the history of South Asia from 1599 to 1947 and the most important collection for the history of the East India Company itself. The resource contains digitised royal charters, correspondence, trading diaries, minutes of council meetings and reports of expeditions, among other document types, this resource charts the history of British trade and rule in the Indian subcontinent and beyond from 1599 to 1947.

Also of interest: 

Women in The National Archives

This resource provides access to an online finding aid for women’s studies resources in The National Archives (TNA), Kew, covering 1559-1995. It also gives access to early 20th century original documents on the Suffrage Question in Britain, the Empire and Colonial Territories.The finding aid enables researchers to quickly locate details of documents relating to women held in The National Archives (TNA). It is still far more detailed and extensive than anything available elsewhere on the web and has the benefit of ranging across all of the classes held at TNA. The original documents will be valuable for those teaching courses on: The Campaign for Women’s Suffrage in Britain, 1903-1928 and The granting of women’s suffrage in Colonial territories, 1930-1962.

It’s a useful resource for those researching women’s history generally but particularly the history of abortion, clothing, conditions of service, divorce, domestic work, education and training, employment, equal opportunities and pay, health, marriage, maternity and child welfare, nursing and midwifery, prostitution, single parents, teaching and teacher training, trade unions, widows, women’s organisations, women’s suffrage and women’s rights and status.

Highlights of the collections include: The campaign for women’s suffrage in Britain and the British Empire; Biographical information on individual suffragettes; The ‘Cat and Mouse’ campaign; Police surveillance; Prison conditions; Parliamentary debates and committee reports.

Also of interest:

Foreign Office Files for the Middle East, 1971-1981

This is an online collection of documents sourced from The National Archives, UK. It comprises formally classified British government documents, including correspondence, annual reports, dispatches, maps, minutes of ministerial meetings and printed leaflets. The documents relate to a number of topics including the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Oil Crisis, the Lebanese Civil War and the Camp David Accords, the Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War.

Also of interest:

New ejournal: Brill Research Perspectives in Jesuit Studies, 1, 2019-

Oxford historians will be pleased to know that online access to Brill Research Perspectives in Jesuit Studies (eISSN 2589-7454) is now available via SOLO.

This peer-reviewed journal publishes four fascicles each year on various thematic subjects. It has a global reach and covers early modern and modern history.

Vol.1, Issue 1 (2019): Jesuit Schools and Universities in Europe 1548–1773

Vol. 1, Issue 2 (2019): Gathering Souls: Jesuit Missions and Missionaries in Oceania (1668–1945)

While you are here, you might also be interested in:

  • Index Religiosus: International Bibliography of Theology, Church History and Religious Studies [subscription resource]: Index Religiosus is a reference bibliography for academic publications in Theology, Religious Studies and Church History. It covers publications written in various European languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, etc.) and is the result of collaboration between the Catholic University of Louvain and the KU Leuven, which are both recognized internationally for their excellence in the field of Theology and Religious Studies. The new bibliography starts on the basis of two existing bibliographies: the bibliography of the Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique and the Elenchus Bibliographicus from the journal Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses. From January 2014 onwards, the printed version of the bibliography of the Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique and the Elenchus Bibliographicus will be no longer available. These printed bibliographies will be replaced by the Index Religiosus.
  • ATLA with ATLASerials [subscription resource]: ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials is the full text version of the ATLA Religion Database (ATLA). This database is a collection of major religion and theology journals selected by some of the major religion scholars in the United States. Coverage of this database dates back to 1949
  • Digital Library of the Catholic Reformation [subscription resource]: Catholic authors of the 16th and 17th centuries took advantage of print technology to create a vast treasury of published documents–a legacy that to this day has been but selectively sampled and appreciated. The Digital Library of the Catholic Reformation makes the documentary riches of this era more accessible than ever, adding powerful functionalities that maximize the flexibility with which researchers can search, view, organize, and manipulate this historically important source material. With new content uploads occurring on a regular basis, the database offers a constantly growing treasury of documents, including papal and synodal decrees, catechisms and inquisitorial manuals, biblical commentaries, theological treatises and systems, liturgical writings, saints’ lives, and devotional works.
  • Catholic Encyclopedia: The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed in fifteen hardcopy volumes.Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.

Trial until 24 April: Leisure, Travel and Mass Culture – the History of Tourism

Oxford researchers are now invited to trial Leisure, Travel and Mass Culture – the History of Tourism. This resource provides access to a highly diverse collection of material on well-known, little-known and far-flung travel destinations across the world between 1850s and 1980s.

It can be accessed via SOLO or OxLIP+. Please note that PDF downloads are not available during this trial.

From Adam Matthew Digital, http://www.amdigital.co.uk/m-products/product/leisure-travel-and-mass-culture-the-history-of-tourism/detailed-information/, accessed 27 March 2017

Collections come from multiple archives, including Thomas Cook, provide a multi-national perspective on the evolution of affordable tourism between 1850 and the 1980s. It offers researchers an interesting insight into social and cultural history, such as the growth and expansion of travel agents and transport companies and the integral role they played in the accessibility of destinations across Britain, Europe, North America and around the World.

Key subject themes include:

  • Beachfront
  • Historical, Cultural or Religious Tourism
  • Road, Rail and Automobile Travel
  • Children and Families
  • Women and Tourism
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Planning and Business
  • International Relations
  • Package Tours
  • Cruises and Organised Travel
  • Accommodation, Hospitality and Entertainment
  • Health and Medical Travel
  • Urban Tours and City Breaks

The resource features a wide range of different document types, including:

From http://www.amdigital.co.uk/m-products/product/leisure-travel-and-mass-culture-the-history-of-tourism/detailed-information/, accessed 27 March 2017

  • Travel diaries and journals
  • Scrapbooks
  • Photographs
  • Guidebooks
  • Film
  • Posters
  • Postcards
  • Leaflets and brochures
  • Correspondence
  • Periodicals
  • Maps
  • Government documents
  • Printed books
  • Ephemera
  • Prints, engravings, illustration and sketches

 

 

 

The coverage of countries is global, with documents covering the Arctic, Asia, Africa and Americas, Caribbean, Middle East and of course Europe.

Send feedback to isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk by 24 April.

Trial until 26 October: Women, War and Society, 1914–1918 (Archives Unbound)

I am pleased to announce a trial of Women, War and Society, 1914–1918 (Archives Unbound) which is now available to our readers.

Women, War and Society, 1914–1918 - screenshotThis resource fully documents the essential contribution of women during the Great War as well as the revolutionary and permanent impact the War had on the personal, social and professional lives of these women. It is an important collection for research into 20th century social, political, military and gender history.

The resource reproduces primary source material brought together in the Imperial War Museum, London, and originally published by the Air Ministry, League of Mercy and War Fund, Purple Cross Service, Russian Relief Fund and many other organizations. This definitive digital collection of charity and international relief reports, pamphlets, photographs, press cuttings and more is fully searchable.

Please leave feedback at History databases desiderata & trials or email isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Related resources:

Guest blog: C Hoare and Co archives – useful for early modernists and modernists

C Hoare and Co buildingC. Hoare & Co. is the sole survivor of the private deposit banks which were established in the 17th and 18th centuries. The bank has been owned and directed by members of the Hoare family since it was founded by Richard Hoare in 1672. The archive might be interest to researchers of the 17th to early 20th centuries, even if you don’t study financial history. For instance, a ledger showed a subscription generated in 1807 to fund William Wilberforce’s re-election to the House of Commons.

Pamela Hunter, archivist at C. Hoare and Co, writes:

The records that are likely to be of most interest to researchers are the customers ledgers.  We have a virtually complete series dating from 1673 onwards. Note though that there is a 100 year closure on all our records – so currently only those up to 1914 would be accessible.  Although I suspect that should be enough to be going on with!

C Hoare and Co ledgers.jpgOther records of possible interest might be the incoming letters, although the survival of these is patchy; the outgoing letter books, which cover 1701-1706 and then Dec 1758-Jan 1771, March 1778- Jan 1861; the partnership memo books, covering Jan 1793-Sept 1809, March 1817-1938; various order books re the goldsmithing side of the business, covering 1680s to 1720s; misc papers re the Hoare family and their various estates 18-19th cents.

Please note too that because the archive is a private one all applications for access have to be formally agreed by the partners.  Therefore I would need a letter (or email) of introduction from a student’s supervisor, outlining what they would like to see and why, to pass on to the partners with a request for access. 

Probably the best way forward for a student who thinks they might be interested in the material here is for them to email me in the first instance explaining what they are interested in.  I can then check the indexes to see if there is anything relevant.

Pamela Hunter, archivist, C Hoare and Co.