Primary Sources Access – Foundation (Plan E): Historical International Newspapers

The big picture and intimate personal perspectives: that's what you get from primary source material. But getting access to those materials isn't always easy, especially about a country that tightly censors much of its journalism and social media.

Enter ProQuest Historical Newspapers™ Chinese Newspapers Collection! Read details in these 12 English-language Chinese newspapers that you won't find elsewhere, about the artistic, social, scientific, and political thinking of China as the country transitioned from more than 2,000 years of imperial rule to a republic.

Explore the civil wars, the Japanese invasion, the occupation by foreign nations, the rise of communism, and more, from 1832-1953. With the cover-to-cover full-images, you will see cartoons, editorials, classifieds, and even advertising. This makes this resource a snapshot of life, crucial for a variety of subject study, including anthropology, Asian/Chinese/Japan studies, colonial studies, ethnic studies, history, political science, and sociology.

Primary sources promote a deeper understanding of history as it really happened, unfolding day by day. Develop  critical thinking while getting lost in the research, with ProQuest resources.

[Bottom photo: The China Weekly Review (1923-1950): Oct 29, 1927. p 12.]

ProQuest and The Globe and Mail will streamline research of Canadian life and history by making the complete works of Canada's "newspaper of record" accessible in the powerful ProQuest digital research environment. As part of ProQuest's Historical Newspaper collection, the archive of The Globe and Mail will be cross-searchable with a worldwide selection of both major and specialty newspapers – from The New York Times and The Guardian to the Chicago Defender and the Jerusalem Post – significantly enhancing productivity and efficiency of researchers and journalists exploring historical events.

Until now, the more than 1.5 million digital pages of The Globe and Mail have been available on an isolated platform. In its new incarnation, it can be searched in conjunction with over 30 million pages of historical newspaper content as well as current multimedia news.

"The Globe and Mail's contribution to understanding North American history is essential, but it has been in its own silo, apart from other major news sources," said Rod Gauvin, ProQuest Senior Vice-President of Information Solutions. "We've eliminated the extra step that researchers had to take to explore it, boosting its accessibility and research power with a far richer context."

The archive of The Globe and Mail captures 165 years of history dating from the newspapers first edition in 1844 as The Globe. Every edition is digitized from first page to last, capturing even the tiniest elements in news stories, photographs, maps, ads, classifieds, political cartoon, birth and death notices, and so on. Working with the content within the ProQuest research environment allows precision search and buoys it with management tools that support researchers across the scope of their projects — from discovery to collaboration to output.

"The Globe and Mail has tremendous historical importance in the tracking not only Canadian life, but the Canadian perspective on world events," said Angus Frame, Vice-President, Digital Media & Technology, at The Globe and Mail. "We're delighted to work with ProQuest and have our e-archive move another step forward through integration with other major world newspapers. We're confident this will enable more sophisticated use by researchers of this important content."

The Guardian (1821-2003) and its sister paper, The Observer (1791-2003) give readers online access to facts, firsthand accounts, and opinions of the day about the most significant and fascinating political, business, sports, literary, and entertainment events from the past two centuries. From Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo to the Russian Revolution to Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, these British historical newspapers bring history to life for researchers.

The Guardian and The Observer have reputations for fearless reporting and controversial opinions. The Guardian was first published in response to the Peterloo Massacre. Originally known as the Manchester Guardian, it was a Saturday-only paper until the newspaper stamp duty was repealed in 1855. Businessmen who hated its progressive opinions would tear the paper in half, throw the commentary out the train window, and only read the portion containing stock prices.

The Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday paper, was first published in 1791. Thought-provoking writers such as George Orwell, Vita SackvilleWest, Clive James, Philip Toynbee, and others were contributors, continuing a tradition of freedom of the press and providing serious coverage of politics and literature. 

The ability to cross-search the archives of two major Irish newspapers with ProQuest's existing U.S. and British historical newspapers provides researchers with additional distinct perspectives on key international events, such as the 1916 Easter Uprising and formation of the Republic of Ireland, the repercussions of the Irish Potato Famine, World Wars I and II, and the War in Iraq.  Researchers will be able to compare news, political cartoons, and editorials about the same events in Irish, U.S., and British newspapers.

"The Irish Times and The Weekly Irish Times have earned international acclaim for their independent reporting," said Rod Gauvin, senior vice president of publishing for ProQuest.  "They have truly been innovators in newspaper publishing.  In fact, The Irish Times was the first newspaper in Britain and Ireland, and among the first 30 in the world, to publish on the World Wide Web.  We are pleased that these renowned titles are now part of ProQuest's news publishing program."

"The Irish Times is delighted to be working alongside ProQuest, the largest worldwide distributor of digitized newspaper archives, said Niall O'Connor, The Irish Times New Media Division.  "The inclusion of The Irish Times digital archive in ProQuest Historical Newspapers will allow people to delve into the history of Ireland and the world through a unique perspective and historical context."

Since its inception, The Irish Times has evolved from reflecting the views of its founder-- in its first issue it described itself as a 'new conservative daily paper'-- to becoming a truly politically- and commercially-independent newspaper.  The Irish Times has earned an international reputation as Ireland's quality daily newspaper. News reporting from throughout Ireland is accompanied by reports from a comprehensive network of foreign correspondents, as well as sports and business coverage, features and arts sections, lifestyle, jobs and property. Each issue contains well-informed background analysis and assessment of the events of the day, and diversity of debate in the daily opinion columns.  The Weekly Irish Times coverage, which will be available digitally for the first time, will include The Irish Times pictorial section. 

The Irish Times and The Weekly Irish Times archives will be cross-searchable with ProQuest Historical Newspapers, the world's largest digital newspaper archive, encompassing more than 17 million pages dating from 1764.  A core research holding in major libraries around the world, it includes such formidable newspapers as The Guardian, The Observer, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The New York Tribune, The Washington Post, Atlanta Constitution, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, The Chicago Defender, New York Amsterdam News, Pittsburgh Courier, Los Angeles Sentinel, and Atlanta Daily World. ProQuest's Historical Newspapers is the definitive digital newspaper archive with full-page views and images, keyword searching, article-level search results, and the ability to browse through an issue page by page.

Founded in 1932 as The Palestine Post, this paper established itself as the top English-language paper of the Middle East and Jewish world. Popular with British servicemen and women stationed in the region, as well as readers in Cairo and Alexandria, the paper had strong readership in both Jewish and Arab cities throughout Palestine. The publication fervently supported the struggle for a Jewish homeland and freely opposed British restrictions on Jewish immigration.

In 1948, only months prior to the declaration of Israel as an independent state, terrorists parked a stolen vehicle loaded with explosives outside the newspaper office in the center of Jerusalem. The devastating attack left three people dead, dozens injured, and the presses completely destroyed. Yet, by the next morning, the latest edition of The Palestine Post was out in print, albeit in a reduced format, run off at small local print shop.

The publication came to be known as The Jerusalem Post in 1950. Over the decades, the paper espoused a left-leaning perspective that shifted to the right in the 1980s. It is regarded as one of the world’s most important newspaper titles, with in-depth historical coverage of regional and world events, and excellent resource for researchers of a various topics. But perhaps above all, this collection of digitized pages from The Jerusalem Post archives (1932–2008) particularly tells firsthand the history of the state of Israel.

ProQuest is adding The Scotsman, Scotland's newspaper of record since 1817, to ProQuest Historical Newspapers.  The Scotsman has played a vital role in forming opinion and reporting on events, both internationally and in Scotland, for the past 200 years , and complements the coverage in The Guardian and The Irish Times and other titles in ProQuest Historical Newspapers.  ProQuest will make every page of every issue of the paper from 1817 through 1950 available digitally through ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 

"Newspapers have a unique ability to bring history to life," said Rod Gauvin, senior vice president of ProQuest.  "The Scotsman does just that by providing a matchless account of the 19th and 20th centuries through the voice of its passionate writers.   We're pleased to partner with The Scotsman to give unfiltered insight into world events, opinions of the time, and daily life to researchers in libraries throughout the world."

Henry Faure Walker, General Manager, The Scotsman Publications Ltd, commented:  "The Scotsman digital archive, with its huge depth of content represents possibly the best Scottish resource for anyone interested in news events over the last 200 years.  We are delighted to be adding The Scotsman archive to the ProQuest portfolio and in so doing further extending the access and enjoyment of this formidable historical resource." 

The Scotsman archive provides analysis of world events at times of extraordinary change.  Primary accounts provide detailed insights into the immediacy of the Empire, the Industrial Revolution, mass emigration from the United Kingdom to the U.S. and around the globe, as well as the legacy and impact of the Scottish Enlightenment.  The Scotsman includes in-depth reporting on a range of global news events from the death of Sir Walter Scott to the death of Abraham Lincoln, from the Catholic Emancipation Bill to the Battle of Gettysburg, from the building of the Forth Rail Bridge to the crash of the U.S. stock market, and comprehensive reporting of the First and Second World Wars.  The Scotsman is a vital source of information for Scottish/Celtic studies, world history, literature and the arts, foreign policy, conflict resolution, and migration studies.  Further, the deep backfile makes The Scotsman a valuable resource for genealogists tracing their Scottish roots. 

ProQuest continues to add U.S. and international titles to its Historical Newspapers program, developing an online primary source that not only provides the news, but also advertisements, obituaries, marriage announcements, editorials, classifieds, comics, cartoons, and more.  The archives of this newly added paper are cross-searchable with ProQuest Historical Newspapers, the world's largest digital newspaper archive, encompassing more than 20 million pages dating from 1764.  A core research holding in major libraries around the world, it includes such formidable newspapers as The Guardian, The Observer, The New York Times, New York Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, Atlanta Constitution, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, The Chicago Defender, New York Amsterdam News, Pittsburgh Courier, Los Angeles Sentinel, and Atlanta Daily World.

Give international researchers new insights into Hong Kong’s unique political and social history during the 20th century with online access to the South China Morning Post. This premier English-language title is known for its authoritative, influential, and independent reporting on all of Asia as well as its perspective of the rest of the world.

This premier English-language historical newspaper from China advances research in the following areas, and more:
• Chinese Revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty, China’s last imperial dynasty.
• Spread of the bubonic plague and adoption of the Peak Reservation Ordinance.
• Battle of Hong Kong in December, 1941, which led to the Japanese occupation during World War II.
• Reestablishment of the British colonial government after the end of the war.
• Communist Revolution in China in 1949.
• Industrialization and economic growth of Hong Kong.

In addition to the article content, this rare archive provides the big picture with full-image views of every page, cover to cover. And, every part of every page is searchable, including advertisements, editorials, cartoons, and classified ads that illuminate history as much as the articles. 
 

The world's most widely circulated English daily newspaper was founded in 1838 to serve British residents of West India. Today this historical newspaper serves researchers interested in studying colonialism and post-colonialism, British and world history, class and gender issues, international relations, comparative religion, international economics, terrorism, and more. In its pages, The Times of India illuminates key historical events such as the Sepoy Mutiny, which led to British rule in India; the formation of the Indian National Congress; and the rise of Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement. It captures the 1947 partitioning of India and Pakistan, the war over the Kashmir region, and the creation of Bangladesh. It reports on the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi; the Bhopal industrial disaster, which resulted in thousands of deaths; and the rise of Pakistan as a nuclear power. And, it provides coverage of sports, the Indian film industry, and other stories of everyday life.

Curriculum Focus
• Area Studies
• Colonial Studies
• Film Studies
• History
• International Studies
• Journalism
• Politics

Canada’s highest-circulation newspaper (based on weekly circulation), this newspaper had a major influence on the development of the nation’s social policy. In 1899, Joseph E. Atkinson became the Toronto Star editor, who then inspired the publication’s on-going commitment to advocating for social justice. Historically, the Toronto Star’s early opposition to the Nazi regime resulted in it being the first North American paper banned by the German government.