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World Civilization II - HIST102 - Primary Sources
Resources in Library Catalog
eBooks on this list are only available to RVCC students, faculty, and staff and require a login with your G# and password.
A defence of liberty against tyrants; a translation of the Vindiciae contra tyrannos
An influential Huguenot tract published in Basel in 1579. The work proceeds through four questions concerning the response of the people to their king. The first two questions concern whether a people are bound to obey their king when he breaks the divine law. The third and longest question considers whether the people can resist a king on the grounds that he is destroying the commonwealth.
English women's voices, 1540-1700
This collection resurrects an extraordinary array of women's writings from the mid-sixteenth through the seventeenth centuries. The focus of English Women Voices is not on females writing "literature" but on the actual lives of women, as described in their own words. Recorded in diaries, letters, sermons, pamphlets, formal petitions, health manuals, trial records, biographies, and autobiographies, the words escape from the past, as vital as current events.
Hakluyt's voyages; the principal navigations, voyages, traffiques & discoveries of the English nation made by sea or over-land to the remote and farthest distant quarters of the earth at any time within the compasse of the 1600 yeeres
Selections from Hakluyt's multi-volume collection that illustrate the variety and multi-faceted nature of the set, and demonstrate the complex nature and purpose of it.
The history and description of Africa and of the notable things therein contained
Written by a man of questionable lineage who was born around 1492, these three volumes describe his travel in Africa and the Middle East.
The Historye of the Bermudaes or Summer Islands
The account relating to 1609-1622 by Nathaniel Boteler; edited, from a manuscript in the Sloane Collection, British Museum. Originally attributed to John Smith.
The last voyage perform'd by de la Sale
Translation of a journal kept by Joutel, who traveled with René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle during his last North American expedition in the late 17th century.
The letters of Machiavelli: a selection of his letters
This collection of the most brilliant and characteristic familiar letters of Machiavelli is the first such collection available in English.
Life and labor in ancient Mexico; the brief and summary relation of the Lords of New Spain
The "Brief and Summary Relation of the Lords of New Spain" is one of the major contemporary accounts of the economic, political, and social impact of the conquest of Aztec Mexico. Written by Alonso de Zorita, a Spanish judge of high integrity and many years' experience in colonial administration, it provides a detailed description of Aztec life before and after the Conquest. Based on Zorita's stay in Mexico from 1556 to 1566, it reflects the anguish felt by a devoted and humane servant of the Crown.
Machiavelli and his friends: their personal correspondence
The intimate world of Niccolo Machiavelli comes to life in this first complete collection in English of the letters he wrote and received. Spanning his adult life from 1497 until his death in 1527, these letters to and from his friends and compatriots reveal his personality and present a panorama of life, people, and critical events in Renaissance Italy.
Machiavelli: Chief works, and others
A selection of Niccolò Machiavelli's writings on topics like governance, war, law and history, plus letters, songs, sonnets, and comedies.
The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques & discoveries of the English nation : made by sea or over-land to the remote and farthest distant quarters of the earth at any time within the compasse of these 1600 yeeres [years]
Originally printed in 1589, this collection was complied by Richard Hakluyt, who lived from about 1552 to 1616. Hakluyt was an English writer who promoted English colonization through his writings.
Shakespeare's world: the tragedies : a historical exploration of literature
This analysis of primary documents allows readers to understand Shakespeare's tragedies within the context of historical issues of Renaissance England.
The six bookes of a commonweale
Originally written in 1576 by Jean Bodin, this text discusses his thoughts on politics, sovereignty, religion, and the importance of climate and geography in the shaping of a people's character.
The Spanish colonie
In 1551 Casas printed a series of tracts in Seville which assailed the treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards. Reprint of the edition originally published in 1583.
Voyages of Marquette in the jesuit relations
Marquette was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan. In 1673 Father Marquette and Louis Jolliet were the first Europeans to explore and map the northern portion of the Mississippi River Valley.
The world encompassed
Original title page reads: The world encompassed, by Sir Francis Drake... carefully collected out of the notes of Master Francis Fletcher, preacher in this employment, and divers others his followers in the same. Offered now at last to publique view, both for the honour o[f] the actor, but especially for the stirring up of heroick spirits, to benefit their countrie, and eternize their names by like noble attempts. London, Printed for Nicholas Bovrne and are to be sold at his shop at the Royall Exchange, 1628.
The world encompassed by Sir Francis Drake, being his next voyage to that to Nombre de Dios
The original work, of which the present volume is a reprint, was published in 1628, in a small quarto, collected by the nephew of the Admiral out of the notes of Francis Fletcher, who was the chaplain on board Drake's ship...Besides this manuscript narrative of Mr. Fletcher, which extends only to the end of what he calls the first part of the voyage... we have added some detached Notes which exist in handwriting of the time.
Resources in Library Databases
Off campus, these resources are available only to RVCC students, staff, and faculty and require a login with your G# and password.
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Modern World History Online This link opens in a new windowAn online resource that provides an overview of world history from the mid-15th century to the present with timelines, videos and slideshows, biographies, maps and graphs of historic explorations, empires and kingdoms, and wars plus links to many primary source documents.
Perform a keyword search, then select Primary Sources from the tabbed results.
To browse, select Primary Sources and then The First Global Age: 1450-1770.
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World History In Context This link opens in a new windowA Gale resource that provides a media rich overview of world history that covers the most-studied events, periods, cultures, civilizations, religions, conflicts, wars, ideologies, cultural movements, and people.
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JSTOR This link opens in a new windowA multidisciplinary, scholarly database containing digitized back issues of academic journals, books, primary sources, and current issues of journals.
Resources on the Internet
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Avalon Project: 16th Century Documents (1500-1599)This collection out of Yale Law School contains documents in law, history, and diplomacy. Browse by date or search from the home page.
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Avalon Project: 17th Century Documents (1600-1699)This collection out of Yale Law School contains documents in law, history, and diplomacy. Browse by date or search from the home page.