Endangered archives blog: Government records

09 November 2009

October Accessions

Last month we received material from two projects. Towards the end of October we received another consignment of discs from the United National Independence Party of Zambia. Included were correspondence papers from Regional Headquarters and minutes of government and provincial committee meetings, plus correspondence concerning elections. This project is nearly completed and we expect to receive more material in November.

We also received microfilm from the project Preserving early print literature on the history of Tamilnadu.

This project aims to produce both microfilm and digital copies of 19th and 20th century books and periodicals and to make them available to researchers. The material is currently housed in different library and private collections. The items being copied relate to the Dravidian and politicals movements. They also cover the histories of Vaishnaviam, Saivism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. The images here have been produced from the microfilm by the project.

Posted by Lynda Barraclough at 12:50 PM in Africa , Asia , Buddhism , Government records , Islam , Microfilm , Periodicals , Printed texts | Permalink | Comments( 0) | TrackBack( 0)

05 November 2009

The Collections - Political Records

It's November 5, Guy Fawkes Day. In Britain, on this day, we commemorate the gun powder plot of 1605 which failed to blow up James I's parliament. The lives of many politicians and other people were saved. I often think, though, that in the act of destroying parliament the explosion would also have destroyed a large number of government papers and archives.

It's worth reflecting that, by thwarting the conspirators, the authorities simultaneously rescued some of Britain's important and irreplaceable political documentary heritage. This made me wonder how many political archives are the subject of EAP surveying or copying activities. As it turns out, quite a few. And they are:

Tuvalu National Archives preservatoin pilot project and Tuvalu National Archives major project

First Yap State Constitutional Convention audio tapes conversion project

Rescuing Liberian history: a pilot study to preserve and enable access to Liberia's Presidential and National Archives and Rescuing Liberian history: preserving the personal papers of William V S Tubman, Liberia's longest serving President and Rescuing Liberian history - preserving the photographs of William VS Tubman, Liberia's longest serving President

Pilot project to seek, identify, contact and report on collections of the endangered archives of the states of Maranhao and Para in the Amazon region of Brazil and Endangered African diaspora collections of the State of Para in the Amazon region of Brazil

Rescuing Eastern Nigerian history: preserving the holdings of Enugu and Calabar regional archives

Digitising the photo documents of Georgia's central state audio-visual archive

Pilot project to identify endangered African diaspora collections at the major archives of the province of Matanzas, Cuba and Digitisation of endangered African diaspora collections at the major archives of the province of Matanzas, Cuba

A survey of the endangered court records of Nevis, West Indies

Preserving the archives of the National Independence Party of Zambia

Inventory of archival holdings in Jamaica

Digitisation of Bolivian indigenous communities' records on ayllu structure, tax and land tenure

Creating a digital archive of Afro-Colombian history and culture: black ecclesiastical, governmental and private records from the Choco, Colombia

Preservation of endangered historical records in the Public Records and Archives Administration (PRAAD) in Tamale, Northern Ghana

History of Bolama, the first capital of Portuguese Guinea (1879-1941), as reflected in the Guinean National Historical Archives

Digitising the endangered archives of Grenada

The titles alone display the variety and reach of these collections. They comprise and document African diaspora and slavery records, the struggle for political independence or separation from colonial powers, land use and taxation of indigenous populations, the early histories of new states, the correspondence of local and national governments, the relationship between church and state and the papers of long serving political leaders and their parties.

Some of these projects have been the subject of past blog entries. One early project focused on photographs held by Georgia's central state audio-visual archive. This was a pilot project and the team aimed to survey the existing photographs. In this they were successful. Although no major copying was done, some sample images were made:

Posted by Lynda Barraclough at 4:40 PM in Africa , Americas , Asia , Europe , Government records , Oceania , Slavery | Permalink | Comments( 0) | TrackBack( 0)

03 October 2009

September accessions

Last month the EAP received material from the following projects:

Tuvalu National Archives major project

Pages of Azerbaijan sound heritage

Digital archive of north Indian classical music

Preserving the archives of the United National Independence Party of Zambia

This provides an interesting mix of government and political records, traditional oral music and classical music. Audio material is always nice to receive as it's very accessible. All I have to do is put on my headphones and click on a track. Some of the written material can be less easy to access because of the variety of languages and scripts the materials display.

That's why I was very pleased to be able to read through some of the papers copied from the United National Independence Party (UNIP) of Zambia. Being official papers from Zambia, these are in English so I was able to indulge my natural curiosity and examine some of the files. These records contain Province Reports, Circulars, Party Provincial Administration papers and general Correspondence.

It was in one of this later file-type dated 1976 that I found a draft copy of a 'secret declaration'. Here it is:

The draft declaration goes through a consultation and re-writing process, all documented in the file. The UNIP collection also contains minutes of the National Council meetings and the National Conventions, speeches, research reports and correspondence with regional party headquarters. The project also copied papers belonging to the African National Congress, dating from the late 1940s to the early 1970s.

Posted by Lynda Barraclough at 10:59 AM in Africa , Digital images , Government records | Permalink | Comments( 0) | TrackBack( 0)

03 July 2009

Records from Jamaica

This week we received material from another project copying records relating to slavery: Inventory of archival holdings in Jamaica. It seems appropriate to highlight this material, following on from my last post.

The project focused on undertaking a survey of endangered records, but also copied items from the Jamaica Archives and Records Department, the National Library of Jamaica, the Library of the University of the West Indies and the Roman Catholic Chancery in Kingston. All four institutions contain valuable material relating to the lives of enslaved Africans and free blacks in Jamaica during the period 1655-1800. The material chosen to be copied covers birth, death and marriage registers, manumission registers, indentures, correspondence and petitions. The surveys reveal many other records containing genealogical and historical information relating to slaves and slavery in Jamaica.

Here's a page from one of the Manumission Registers:

These Registers were deposited with the Office of the Island Secretary of Jamaica. They contain certificates, or deeds, of freedom for free people of "colour", which included people with both black and mixed-race backgrounds. They're written in English and Spanish and give names, dates and other information. They're currently housed at the Jamaica Archives and Records Department.

While looking over this new accession I noticed the poor condition of some of the original records. Jamaica's tropical climate and warm temperatures provide less than ideal conditions for storing historical material long term. Paper and other materials suffer from heat and fluctuations in temperature due to their chemical make-up; and vermin and insects particularly like hot and humid climates, and can be very tenacious in discovering ways into archival stores. In this, the records of Jamaica have something in common with those from Tuvalu.

Posted by Lynda Barraclough at 4:59 PM in Americas , Government records , Religious records , Slavery | Permalink | Comments( 0) | TrackBack( 0)

22 June 2009

Records of the African diaspora in Matanzas, Cuba

In 2007 Britain marked the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. The same year saw the completion of the following EAP project: Pilot Project to Identify Endangered African Diaspora Collections at the Major Archives of the Province of Matanzas, Cuba.

Slavery wasn't legally abolished in Cuba until 1886. In colonial Cuba, the Province of Matanzas was an important centre for sugar production and thus a major destination for African slaves. The office of the Governor of Matanzas was responsible for regulating the slave trade and for supervising, or administering, issues relating to slavery. The Governor's office thus created and kept records documenting the activities of slaves, slave traders and slave owners.

These records cover topics such as slave revolts, runaways, the arrival of ships carrying slaves (both legally and illegally) and abolition. Some of the correspondence includes:

Communication to Don Ignacio de Acosta authorising him to land and transport African slaves on two [inappropriately named] American ships, the Liberty and the Friendship, March 1800 (EAP060/1/1/5)

Communication of the Matanzas Governor on a runaway slave found dead inside an empty house, May 1816 (EAP060/1/1/10)

Communication to Don Juan Tirry y Lacy on the expenses to protect white colonists from African slaves, October 1818 (EAP060/1/1/18)

Communications to Matanzas' Governor on measures to eradicate the African slave trade in Cuba, April 1826 (EAP060/1/1/26)

Draft of a communication to the Captain of Ceiba Mocha on two horses abandoned by two runaway slaves, June 1838 (EAP060/1/2/61)

Communication to Matanzas' Governor on the dissolution of a police battalion that failed to prevent slave revolts, July 1837 (EAP060/1/3/11)

Measures taken by O'Donnell to prohibit cockfighting among slaves, February-June 1844 (EAP060/1/3/47)

Here is a page from a communication by the Matanzas' Medical Officer noting that African slaves landed in Matanzas have been vaccinated (EAP060/1/1/19):

The project also copied registers of births, death and marriages for "blacks and coloured peoples" kept by the Matanzas Cathedral. These registers show how Cuban society divided itself according to colour and ethnic origin. The Cathedral organised its registers into three categories: Blancos (Whites), Indios (Natives) and Pardos y Morenos (Blacks). The project copied those registers recording births, deaths and marriages for the Pardos y Morenos.

The outcome of the project, including a full catalogue, can be found on the EAP webpages.

Posted by Lynda Barraclough at 11:26 AM in Americas , Cuba , Government records , Religious records , Slavery | Permalink | Comments( 0) | TrackBack( 0)

Endangered archives blog

37 posts categorized "Government records"

October Accessions

The Collections - Political Records

September accessions

Records from Jamaica

Records of the African diaspora in Matanzas, Cuba

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