History Database of the Month: State Papers Online

Each month we will be highlighting an online database available to Oxford University historians here on our blog and on the noticeboard in the Upper Radcliffe Camera.

February’s database is State Papers Online I – IV: The Tudors, Stuarts & Commonwealth 1509-1714 (Foreign & Domestic).(c) Gale Cengage

What is State Papers Online?

State Papers Online (SPO) contains the Tudor and Stuart government ‘domestic’ and ‘foreign’ papers – the equivalent of today’s documents from the Home and Foreign Offices and the Royal Archives.

Research Tools area on SPO

Research Tools area on SPO

These everyday working papers of the British royal government reveal Tudor and Stuart society and government, religion and politics in all its drama allowing scholars to trace the remarkable  –  and frequently violent  – transformations of the 16th & 17th centuries. This major resource re-unites the Domestic, Foreign, Borders, Scotland, and Ireland State Papers of Britain with the Registers of the Privy Council and other State Papers now housed in the British Library.

The papers are accompanied by fully searchable calendars, and each calendar entry has been linked directly to its related state paper.  As well as being able to search and browse through papers and calendars, there are additional research tools, including information about dates, money and maps, image galleries and essays by historians.

More information about the resources is available in the SPO online guided tour.

SPO via OXLIPHow can I access State Papers Online?

SPO can be accessed via OxLIP+ or SOLO by searching ‘State Papers Online’.  Current student and staff members of Oxford University can access SPO off campus by signing into SOLO or OxLIP+ using their Single Sign-On (SSO).

Other useful databases covering the 17th century

These databases are all available via OxLIP+

Related Links Primary Sources Online Guide for Historians (PDF)  | Early Modern History Sources Guide | Contact the History LibrarianGuide to using OxLIP+ |

Database of the month in the Upper Camera

Database of the month in the Upper Camera

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.