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British Documents
Cold War Eastern Europe, 1947-1982
During the Cold War, the British Foreign Office was interested in every aspect of political, economic, cultural, social, and dissident life behind the Iron Curtain. They had embassies and consulates across the Eastern Bloc reporting on state leadership, party politics, protest movements, agricultural output, international trade agreements, scientific progress, minority populations, religion, sporting events, state-run media, and popular culture. And now, these previously secret files are available for teaching and scholarship.
The collection, sourced exclusively from The National Archives (UK), lets us look into the workings of every country in the Eastern Bloc during the post-Stalin era, through thousands of English-language insights written in the first person by officials of the time.
Macmillan Cabinet Papers, 1957-1963
Macmillan Cabinet Papers, 1957-1963 provides complete coverage of the Cabinet conclusions (minutes) (CAB 128) and memoranda (CAB 129) of Harold Macmillan’s government, plus selected minutes and memoranda of policy committees (CAB 134).
The Cabinet conclusions are taken by the secretary of the Cabinet or one of their assistants and consist of summaries of all discussions in Cabinet, together with a note of decisions reached. Cabinet memoranda consist of all papers circulated to members of the Cabinet and to other ministers for information or as a basis for discussion. These classes provide a distillation of the work of all the other departments of government, ranging in subject matter from agricultural policy and trade to nuclear policy and issues of international diplomacy.
The Nixon Years, 1969-74
This collection provides complete FCO 7 and FCO 82 files for the entire period of Richard Nixon’s presidency.
Top-level Anglo-American discussions and briefing papers dominate these papers. There is also a wealth of material on social conditions, domestic reforms, trade, culture and the environment.
In addition, there is strong coverage of US policy decisions by the FCO and the British embassy in Washington; White House staff appointments and UN discussions; views on Europe; the deployment of F-111 aircraft on US airbases in the UK and Nixon’s battles over funding from Congress; visits to the US by Harold Wilson and Edward Heath; and the internal situation in the US and domestic reform. There are also detailed assessments of all the changes brought about by the presidential election of 1972, in which Nixon beat George McGovern by a record-breaking margin and in every state but one, only to resign two years later in the face of almost certain impeachment.
Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980
The years following the communist revolution were to see upheavals of a similar magnitude, as the civil war was followed by the economic chaos and mass starvation of the Great Leap Forward, and then Mao’s efforts to return to prominence through the socio-political alterations of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
Due to the long-unique nature of the relationship between Britain and China, these formerly restricted British government documents, consisting of diplomatic dispatches, letters, newspaper cuttings, maps, reports of court cases, biographies of leading personalities, summaries of events and diverse other materials, provide unprecedented levels of detail into one of the most turbulent centuries of Chinese history.
Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980
This collection of files from the Foreign Office (later the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) and Dominions Office focuses on the political and social history of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980 consists of the complete run of documents in the series DO 133, DO 134 and FCO 37, as well as all documents covering the Indian subcontinent in the FO 371 series. Events covered include independence and partition, the Indian annexation of Hyderabad and Goa, war between India and Pakistan, tensions and war between India and China, the consolidation of power of the Congress Party in India, military rule in Pakistan, the turbulent independence of Bangladesh and the development of nuclear weapons in the region.
The files address these events from the standpoint of British officialdom. In addition to high politics, they deal with such issues as economic and industrial development, trade, migration, visits to South Asia by British politicians and by South Asian politicians to Britain and elsewhere, education, administrative reorganisation, conflict over language, aid, political parties, agriculture and irrigation, and television and the press. Together they form a resource of fundamental value to scholars and students of modern South Asia.
Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969
his collection consists of the Confidential Print for the countries of the Levant and the Arabian peninsula, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Sudan. Beginning with the Egyptian reforms of Muhammad Ali Pasha in the 1830s, the documents trace the events of the following 150 years, including the Middle East Conference of 1921, the mandates for Palestine and Mesopotamia, the partition of Palestine, the 1956 Suez Crisis and post-Suez Western foreign policy, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Wilson Center Digital Archive
The Digital Archive contains once-secret documents from governments all across the globe, uncovering new sources and providing fresh insights into the history of international relations and diplomacy. It collects the research of three Wilson Center projects which focus on the interrelated histories of the Cold War, Korea, and Nuclear Proliferation.
Foreign Office Files for Southeast Asia (Adam Matthew)
Published in two parts, this extensive collection of Foreign Office Files explores South East Asia between 1963 and 1980 in a time of conflict, growth and change. Consisting of correspondence, maps, government dispatches and press releases from the FO 371, DO 169, DO 187, FCO 15 and FCO 24 series, this resource offers an unparalleled insight into the political and economic challenges faced during this period as the region moved towards industrialisation and establishing the foundations for economic growth. Text mining is permitted, but certain conditions apply. Please contact Digital Scholarship Hub
House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (ProQuest)
As the working documents of government, ProQuest U.K. Parliamentary Papers encompass all areas of social, political, economic and foreign policy, showing how issues were explored and legislation was formed. Library can facilitate negotiating text-mining rights for this database for McGill faculty and students wishing to acquire the rights with their own research funds. Please contact Digital Scholarship Hub
Secret Files from World Wars to Cold War
Explore secret intelligence files from four key 20th-century conflicts: the Spanish Civil War, World War II, the early years of the Cold War, and the Korean War—with previously undigitized materials from The National Archives (UK). At the heart of the collection are the files of the Permanent Undersecretary’s Department (PUSD), the point of liaison between the Foreign Office and the British intelligence establishment, documenting intelligence activities and its influence on foreign policy from 1873 to 1951, and providing new insights into key moments of 20th-century history through an intelligence lens.
