British Online Archives

We’re delighted to announce that we have a new primary source collection coming soon—Germany, 1920–1969: British Foreign Office Confidential Print.

The twentieth century was a time of great change and turmoil for Germany. In just fifty years, it experienced post-war revolution, an experiment with liberal democracy, the rise of Hi**er and the N**i Party, the establishment of a brutal dictatorship, the horrors of war and genocide, occupation by foreign powers, and division into two ideologically-opposed states.
Comprising over 55,000 images sourced from The National Archives (UK), Germany, 1920–1969: British Foreign Office Confidential Print surveys material relating to Germany and its nearest neighbours. It contains a wide variety of documents, all of which were selected by the Foreign Office for inclusion in its Confidential Print series, on the basis of their significance.

The government files in this collection reveal how well-informed British officials and diplomats perceived, interpreted, and responded to Germany throughout much of this critical period, offering an unrivalled English-language insight into the frequent and significant changes which Germany experienced during that time.

You can register your interest in this forthcoming resource by visiting the collection landing page at https://hubs.ly/Q04kGBK50.

You can explore our full range of unique primary source collections at https://hubs.ly/Q04kG06n0.

Our latest “Document of the Week”, chosen by our Editor, Nishah Malik, is an article from our new primary source collection, West Africa Magazine, 1917–2003, titled “African Cultures and Globalisation”. It explores how culture became a source of resistance, identity, and renewal in the post-colonial era.

Learn more about our new collection here: https://buff.ly/uGogdVF

Read the full post here: https://buff.ly/7aXBkwv

We’re delighted to announce that we have published a new primary source collection—West Africa Magazine, 1917–2003.

Featuring over 170,000 images, this comprehensive run of West Africa magazine offers remarkable insights into a period of significant transformation across Africa and the wider world. Through reports, intellectual debate, letters, opinion columns, and photographic coverage, this publication charted the transition from British rule to independence across Nigeria, the Gold Coast (later Ghana), Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.

While its core focus remained British colonial territories throughout West Africa, the magazine also reported extensively upon French West Africa. It likewise surveyed events and debates across central, eastern, and southern Africa.

Originally published in London and aimed at British “coasters” employed by British trading companies and by the UK government’s Colonial Office, following the Second World War, West Africa magazine underwent a process of “Africanisation”. Increasingly, it addressed an African readership, focusing on nationalist movements and leaders and, subsequently, the political turbulence of the post-independence era.

The pages of West Africa magazine reflect and document key events and trends within twentieth-century African and global history. Its extensive English-language coverage of francophone and anglophone affairs across West Africa makes it particularly valuable for the study of modern colonialism and decolonisation. It will also appeal to students, educators, and researchers situated within the fields of social, cultural, and political history, as well as those pursuing literary studies.

You can learn more and request a free 30-day institutional trial of this resource by visiting the collection landing page at https://buff.ly/uGogdVF.

Our latest “Document of the Week”, chosen by our Editorial Assistant, Chloe Haney, is a clipping of a newspaper article by David Ainley titled “Behind the ban on advertising—the face of injustice”, which appeared in the Morning Star on 2 July 1968.

Read the full post here: https://buff.ly/52bnOVX

Our New Purchasing Scheme is Open!

Until 31 July 2026, we are offering a 20% discount on 20 of our most popular collections! The scheme allows for further discounts—the more collections that are purchased, the greater the potential discount that we can offer!

Every collection on the scheme is available as a one-off perpetual purchase.

To showcase this year’s selection, we have compiled a dedicated brochure. It provides overviews of each collection, such as The Laws of War: Justice, Rights, and Ethics in Military Contexts.

Containing over 100,000 images from The National Archives (UK), this collection shows that the laws of war could take many forms. These range from overarching grand ideas about when it is, or is not, legitimate to declare war, through policies designed to safeguard civilians, and down to the mechanisms of courts martial, which have sought to apply a distinctive conception of justice to the relative mayhem of warzones.

This collection will interest historians, legal scholars, criminologists, and defence and strategic studies experts—it illuminates attitudes to warfare over the last 300 years and how efforts to regulate it have fared.

You can learn more about the BOA Purchasing Scheme and peruse our brochure by visiting https://britishonlinearchives.com/series/24/boa-purchasing-scheme

You can explore The Laws of War: Justice, Rights, and Ethics in Military Contexts, as well as related collections, by visiting https://britishonlinearchives.com/collections/135/the-laws-of-war-justice-rights-and-ethics-in-military-contexts

New contextual essay from BOA!

Dr Debra Parish, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Queensland, delves into our fascinating new primary source collection, Witchcraft and Magic in England, c. 1400–1920. Debra shows how the legendary Mother Shipton—the so-called “Yorkshire Witch”—offers a clear example of the slippery boundaries between the early modern prophet and witch. Significantly, Debra also highlights the ways in which Mother Shipton’s biography and legacy demonstrate the vulnerability of the early modern female prophet to accusations of witchcraft.

Read the full article at

Mother Shipton: Prophet and “Yorkshire Witch” With a reputation as both a visionary prophet and a devilish witch, the legendary Mother Shipton offers a clear example of the slippery boundaries between the early modern prophet and witch.

This summer, on 4 July 2026, the United States of America will celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which sought to take the colonists’ grievances a step further and on a path to autonomy. Although their separation was not formally recognised until the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the Declaration’s anniversary is a significant marker in the history of the USA.

To commemorate this moment, we are pleased to announce a 20% discount on our fascinating primary source collection, The American Revolution from a British Perspective, 1763–1783.

It contains a range of pamphlets written and published on both British and American sides of the Atlantic in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War from 1763 up to the conclusion of the American War of Independence twenty years later.

These sources detail key events, such as the Boston Massacre in 1770, various tax acts (including on tea), debates and speeches in parliament, Founding Father John Adams’ history of the dispute, as well as examples of political theories around the very nature of colonial independence inspired by Thomas Paine.

The diversity of perspectives represented in this collection’s pamphlets contribute to a comprehensive collection covering a pivotal moment in early American republic history, British empire history, and the wider age of political revolution and social movements.

You can learn more by visiting https://buff.ly/8Xbnuxf.
Alternatively, you can contact us at [email protected].

Our Purchasing Scheme is Open!

Until 31 July 2026, grab a 20% discount on 20 of our most popular collections.
The scheme allows for further discounts—the more collections that are purchased, the greater the potential discount that we can offer!

Every collection on the scheme is available as a one-off perpetual purchase!
To showcase this year’s selection, we have compiled a dedicated brochure. It provides overviews of each collection.

You can learn more about the scheme and peruse this brochure by visiting https://buff.ly/aHfQKLu.
You can explore our full range of unique primary source collections by visiting https://buff.ly/dk3Le04.

Our latest “Document of the Week” was chosen by our Senior Curator, Dr Charlie Hall. It shows how the British government sought to understand the likely psychological impact of a nuclear attack on the British population in the early 1980s.

Read the full post here: https://buff.ly/GIyHOFJ

At BOA, we are aware of, and value, the proliferation of interdisciplinary research and teaching methodologies across the humanities, social sciences, and STEM disciplines. Consequently, we strive to ensure that our curation process, and the unique primary source collections that it yields, align with this significant scholarly trend.

Our ethos is guided by a belief that primary sources speak to multiple fields of knowledge, offering key insights far beyond traditional historical narratives and facilitating progressive, interdisciplinary engagement.

We realise that primary sources are of the utmost importance to students, educators, and researchers situated within a wide range of disciplines, from sociology to engineering.

If you would like to learn more about how our collections can facilitate interdisciplinary modes of research and teaching, please read our latest article, authored by our Editor, Nishah Malik. Nishah utilises three of our primary source collections—Witchcraft and Magic in England, c. 1400–1920; British Colonial Rule in the Cape of Good Hope and Basutoland, 1854–1910; and The Laws of War: Justice, Rights, and Ethics in Military Contexts—as case studies in order to demonstrate just how versatile these resources are

You can read Nishah’s article by visiting https://buff.ly/fCRcIUz.
You can explore our full range of primary source collections by visiting https://buff.ly/dk3Le04.

Interdisciplinary Nature of BOA’s Collections Historical material is often perceived as static records of the past—sources that offer only a glimpse of history. However, this view is limited. In reality, historical documents are dynamic and versatile. Crucially, they can speak to multiple fields of knowledge, offering insights far beyond trad...