Webography on War in the 17th and 18th Centuries

This webography provides a list of online primary sources, educational resources and online encyclopedias associated with some of the major conflicts during the relevant period. The most important wars included for this period are:

The most important wars included for this period are:

  • Thirty Years War (1618–48)
  • English Civil War (1642–51)
  • Habsburg-Ottoman Wars (1683–1718)
  • American Colonial Wars (1689–1763)
  • War of Spanish Succession (1701–13)
  • Seven Years War (1756–63)

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Institution: University of Missouri
Abstract:

A collection of pamphlets touching on a range of social, economic, political, medial, legal, religious, and other affairs, this archive of British tracts covers more than 20,000 entries across the entire three-century period. It includes a searchable database and page images viewable within the browser. Hosted by the University of Missouri since the 1940s, the collection is founded on the collection of 17,000 pamphlets collected by the Philadelphian bookseller Ralph Howey, but has grown since then to include other donations and acquisitions. Others include petitions, treatises aimed at influencing the British government, including related to issues of war, politics, and society.

http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?page=home;c=pam
Institution: Austrian National Library
Abstract:

ANNO is the digital newspaper and magazine reading room of the Austrian National Library. Here you can leaf through, search for and read online in historical Austrian newspapers and magazines.

http://anno.onb.ac.at/
Institution: Bayerische Staatsbiblothek
Abstract:

The Digital Collections of the State Library of Bavaria encompass manuscripts, reference works, and periodicals, with an emphasis on local and regional Bavarian  history, national German history as well as collections on Eastern Europe and musicology. Other collections, organized by type, include photographs and rare printed materials. A few remarkable and rare items are listed separately. Holdings are searchable by author, title, and keyword, and include English-language sources among the much larger number of German-language materials.

https://www.bsb-muenchen.de/en/collections/
Institution: David Plant
Abstract:

Privately created and maintained, this site comprises an online encyclopedia of the larger interlinked conflicts that make up the English Civil War and the related conflicts that shook Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England alike. It spans the period from the signing of the Scottish National Covenant of 1638 to the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. The site includes timelines of events, a browseable list of biographical entries, a section on traditional military history of units and tactics, and a series of brief explanations of basic topics of religion, politics, and political philosophy. 

http://bcw-project.org/
Institution: Biblioteca Nacional de España
Abstract:

La Biblioteca Digital Hispánica (BDH), or Hispanica Digital Library is a project of the National Library of Spain, and provides free access to digitized documents and books dating to the 15th century. It also includes manuscripts, drawings, engravings, pamphlets, posters, photographs, maps, atlases, music scores, historic newspapers and magazines and audio recordings. Its goals are disseminating cultural heritage, preserving it, and contributing to broader European Union plans for digital library access. Using the search function, users can access full-text images of sources.

http://www.bne.es/en/Catalogos/BibliotecaDigitalHispanica/Inicio/index.html
Institution: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
Abstract:

One of the consequences of the Thirty Years' War was that the most important collection of books in the 17th century Holy Roman Empire, the Bibliotheca Palatina, was divided between two principal locations: Heidelberg and the Vatican. Since 2001, Heidelberg University Library has been working on several projects that aim to digitize parts of this great collection, the final goal being a complete virtual reconstruction of the "mother of all libraries." The digital archive allows users to search digitized materials, which are primarily in German, Latin, and Greek. A particular point of strength, its collections of early literature of Protestantism are rich, and were one of the features that made it a prize during the Thirty Years' War.

http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/bpd/
Institution: Institute of Historical Research
Abstract:

A digital library of printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain and Ireland, British History Online concentrates on the years between 1300 and 1800. Aimed at students, teachers, and researchers globally, it provides searchable, annotated, full-text digital versions of sources across the whole range of potential subjects, including women and war. The library also provides handy subject guides and aides for citation. Featuring an updated interface, the site's collections continue to grow. Founded by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust in 2003, the library contains over 1,270 volumes.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/
Institution: Canadian War Museum
Abstract:

The Canadian War Museum's online exhibits feature modules on Canada's involvement in major wars from 1812 and the Boer War to both World Wars, as well as the country's membership in NATO. Each exhibit features photos and objects with text descriptions, as well as essays on subjects ranging from life on the front lines to the home front. The site also features a full-scale French–language version.

http://www.warmuseum.ca/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/
Institution: Deutsches Historisches Museum
Abstract:

As part of its website, the German Historical Museum (Berlin) offers users a collection database that includes an extensive inventory of objects, printed material, film, etc., relating to many periods of modern German history. Entries are searchable by title, keyword, and other criteria. Site is in both English and German, although the majority of holdings are in German. The collection also includes a lot of material on the history of military and warfare in German Central Europe.

https://www.dhm.de/en/collections-research.html
Institution: Richard Hacken
Abstract:

Hosted by the Harold B. Lee Library of Brigham Young University, EuroDocs represents a clearinghouse of links to sources hosted at other sites and by other institutions. Links connect to European primary historical documents that are transcribed, reproduced in facsimile, or translated. In addition, links direct users to videos, sound files, maps, photographs, databases, and other sources, which encompass a broad sweep of historical periods, as well as of social, political, cultural, military, and other themes.

http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/
Institution: German Historical Institute
Abstract:

Initiated by the German Historical Institute in Washington, DC, German History in Documents and Images (GHDI) provides primary sources on German history dating back to the early-modern period. The collection is divided into thematic sections, each curated by scholars, framed by introductory essays, and accompanied by primary sources (including English–language sources), as well as maps and images. Subjects include government and administration, military, economics, gender and family, and more. Materials are text-searchable and fully translated.

http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org
Institution: Herzog August Bibliothek
Abstract:

In the Wolfenbüttel digital library, the Herzog August Library Wolfenbüttel, Germany, makes research-relevant, particularly rare, outstanding or frequently used parts of its old holdings available on the Internet. All digitized titles are not only available here, but also, as far as they are independent prints or monographs, via the PICA-OPAC. In the case of projects that go beyond the formal indexing in the catalog, a database for project-specific research, a call number list with an overview of the digitized titles or materials or a search link in the catalog, information on secondary literature and Information on the project materials used. The aim is to offer more extensive information and research options in a project portal beyond the library formal and subject indexing. You can obtain information on digitized manuscripts from the manuscript database. This offers proof of digitized manuscripts, including those of other institutions, as well as access to full descriptions. The...

http://www.hab.de/de/home/bibliothek/digitale-bibliothek-wdb.html
Institution: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
Abstract:

Since 2016, the German Research Foundation (DFG) has been funding a specialist information service (FID) for the subject of history, which is managed by the Bavarian State Library and the German Museum in Munich - the latter responsible for the history of technology, natural sciences and the environment. In close dialogue with historians, "historicum.net - Fachinformationsdienst Geschichtswwissenschaft" is building a digital range of information on the entire spectrum of historical studies, which, in addition to the basic supply at university and other academic libraries, creates optimal conditions for historical research in Germany. This includes the acquisition and indexing of specialized literature, be it printed or digital, and access to it. In particular, the FID provides so-called FID licenses for a group of registered FID users in the form of databases, electronic journals and e-book offers.

https://www.historicum.net
Institution: Thüringer Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Jena
Abstract:

A digital archive created by the Thuringian University and State Library in Jena, kulthura offers a searchable archive of cultural resources of the German state. Bringing together books, dissertations, documents, and other materials from archives, libraries, museums, and other sources, the archive provides access to a range of materials to students, teachers, and researchers. The site has some basic English pages and returns some English search results, but the site and materials are primarily in German. It is designed to integrate with other regional projects into a future German Digital Library. One field of prinary sources is the history of war and poiitics in the German lands, including the Thirty Years' War.

http://www.digitalesthueringen.de/
Institution: Universiteit Leiden
Abstract:

Provided by Leiden University (Netherlands), the University Library's Digital Special Collections archive offers users access to visual and textual sources including maps, photos, books, and manuscripts, as well as an editorial apparatus and digital exhibitions on specific themes. The collections' search feature allows for English language searches, although many of the items in the collection are presented primarily in Dutch.

https://socrates.leidenuniv.nl
Institution: National Army Museum
Abstract:

A public organization that includes corporate partnerships, the National Army Museum strives to be a source for both education and the general public. It includes materials and exhibits in Great Britain's military history, with its collections concentrated on the centuries from the English Civil War onward. In addition, it is expansive enough to include Britain's imperial and colonial possessions. In contrast to the Imperial War Museum, the Army Museum's remit is narrower, focusing on specifically military matters. Extensive online exhibitions on a range of chronological and thematic topics, including Florence Nightingale and the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, offer a small selection of primary sources and brief accompanying essays.

http://www.nam.ac.uk/online-collection/
Institution: Emory University
Abstract:

A comprehensive website on the Trans-Atlantic and Intra-American Slave Trade between 1514 and 1866. Databases on slave voyages and names of African captives are completed with image galleries, interactive maps and timelines of the slave trade. The digital memorial raises questions about the largest slave trades in history and offers access to the documentation available to answer them. European colonizers turned to Africa for enslaved laborers to build the cities and extract the resources of the Americas. They forced millions of Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas, and from one part of the Americas to another. Analyze these slave trades and view interactive maps, timelines, and animations to see the dispersal in action.

https://www.slavevoyages.org
Institution: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek – TU Darmstadt
Abstract:

A project of the Technical University of Darmstadt, the Digital Resources of the library and archives provide users with access to manuscripts and rare books, as well as maps, musical scores, and other materials for the entire modern period. Other sources include local newspapers from Hesse, as well as photographs and other visual sources. The project's portal is available in English, but search and materials are primarily in German.

http://www.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/spezialabteilungen/digitale_sammlungen_2/digitale_sammlungen.de.jsp
Institution: Tulane University
Abstract:

Assembled by the Howard–Tilton Memorial Library, the Tulane University Digital Library is a source of digitized and digital holdings for teachers, researchers, and the public. Strengths of the collections include music, especially jazz, as well as Latin America, the local history of New Orleans and Louisiana. Drawn from a range of collections and centers at Tulane University, the library provides a search feature, as well as thematic collections, and browsable sections defined by title, date, subject, source, and other criteria. Of particular interest are thematic collections on World War II and the American Civil War. Documents are presented as images, fully annotated and tagged for subject matter.

http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/
Institution: National Archives
Abstract:

A project of—among others—the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the Welcome Library, and the Women's Library, the UK Web Archive (UKWA) is designed as a resource for the public, teachers, students, researchers, and more. It aims to provide a record of UK based websites for preservation, a record that begins with 2004, when archiving began. The larger project is based at the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, Cambridge University Library, the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and the library of Trinity College Dublin. Full access is available only through those sites, but partial access is available on this web portal, which is text searchable. Relevant thematic collections include the First World War Centenary and Women's Issues collections.

http://www.webarchive.org.uk/