History

For quick access to high quality information for your assignments, try the links on these pages.

Set up the University VPN system to access these resources any time, anywhere! 

Free until 30th April 2024Oxford University Press most read items from 2023

fully searchable in EBSCO Discovery

A gateway to thousands of the UK's richest archives held in over 220 institutions across the country. The Archives Hub helps you discover unique and often little-known sources to support your research.


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If you want to trace details about a specific person or place, or perhaps need inspiration for creative writing, this could be just what you need! Connected Histories provides an all-in-one search across electronic content available on various sites such as 19th Century British Pamphlets, the Clergy of the Church of England, Charles Booth Archive, Convict Transportation Registers, Proceedings of the Old Bailey, British Newspapers 1600-1900 etc. If you find something useful on a resource we pay for e.g. British Newspapers, you may need to follow the link to that resource from the Finding Articles page within these Subject Pages.


fully searchable in EBSCO Discovery

A variety of reference works, including dictionaries, which tutors may well prefer to Wikipedia, and it even tells you how to set out a reference to what you find. Try out the 'Mind Map' feature to see how your keyword links to others - useful for essay planning and dissertation work.

These short videos show you how Credo can speed up your research:

  1. Search tips
  2. Using the automated mind map

Additional access instructions:

For off campus access use this link


fully searchable in EBSCO Discovery

Links to primary historical documents that are transcribed, reproduced in facsimile, or translated.


• Europeana 

A cultural gateway into over 50 million digitised documents, maps, images and newspaper archives from across Europe. Thematic collections include World War I, fashion, industrial heritage, personal stories and sport. Special newspaper collections include issues covering the Paris World Exhibition of 1889, World War I and Eastern Europe in 1989.


Explore five centuries of primary source material documenting the story of food and drink. The story of food and drink is a unique lens through which to view social and cultural history. 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.

You can access printed and manuscript cookbooks, advertising ephemera, government reports, films, and illustrated content revealing the evolution of food and drink within everyday life and the public sphere. The unique material in this collection has been sourced from across the globe to reflect a wide range of food cultures and traditions, creating an unparalleled research resource.

Additional access instructions:

Authentication required for off campus access


• Hantsphere 

Hantsphere is an online local heritage resource relating to the geographic county of Hampshire. You can search and explore digitised local studies collections from across Hampshire, including Southampton and Portsmouth. These collections comprise a selection of photographs, postcards, prints, books, newspaper articles, documents and images of artefacts from local libraries, archives and museums. The vast majority of digitised items originated in the Local Studies collections of Hampshire's and Portsmouth City's libraries.

Digitised local studies collections from across Hampshire.


The UK national centre for History based at Senate House, University of London.


fully searchable in EBSCO Discovery

This gives a wide range of statistics on population, education, (un)employment, agriculture, industry, motor vehicles, railways, TV and radio etc.

Data can be viewed as PDF (downloadable) or Excel format which can then be exported. Make sure to use the "Search within book" option, not Spinger's general search box at the top of the screen.


Enhance your research by searching over 450 free collections hosted by JSTOR but digitized from the holdings of over 135 universities, libraries and archives around the world. As well as documents, you will find postcards, maps, photos, student artwork and more. Although you can browse all collections, you may find it quicker to click Contributors and identify an institution you are interested in, then search within what they have provided.

Examples of what's there include student activism at the University of Sussex, National Cycle Archives and British healthcare 1900-1948 at the University of Warwick, the Livesey Collection of temperance material at the University of Central Lancashire, Trades Union Congress Collections at London Metropolitan University. 


This website presents the often untold stories of the migrants who came to and shaped the British Isles from Roman times to the 21st century. While it is primarily designed to support teachers and students studying migration to Britain, its aim is to be a useful resource for anyone interested in Britain’s migration history.


fully searchable in EBSCO Discovery

The national record of over 60,000 biographies, 72 million words, 11,000 portraits of significant, influential or notorious figures who shaped British history and culture, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century - extremely useful for detailed biographies about literary figures.


fully searchable in EBSCO Discovery

Useful advice defining primary sources, then how to find and evaluate them on the web. This is provided by the American Library Association so some of the sources mentioned are most useful for those doing American history.

 

Your Subject Team

 Anne Worden

Faculty Librarian

email Anne.Worden@port.ac.uk

phone (023) 9284 3243

 Sharon Bittner

Assistant Faculty Librarian

email sharon.bittner@port.ac.uk

phone (023) 9284 3234