Archives Unbound - New Releases September 2023

Eli Whitney Papers, 1716-1959

Eli Whitney, a notable American inventor, is famous for creating the cotton gin, a device streamlining the separation of cotton fibers from seeds. Though this innovation enhanced cotton farming's ease and profit, manual picking persisted. The cotton gin's advancement is linked to fueling the American Civil War. The Eli Whitney Papers encompass correspondence, business records concerning the gin's invention and patents, plus Whitney's firearm-making system with interchangeable parts. This compilation holds machinery sketches, land/legal documents, accounts, and personal papers of Eli Whitney and family, providing valuable historical insights.

Inquisitions: Manuscripts of the Spanish, Portuguese, and French Inquisitions in the British Library, London

The Inquisitions offers a unique compilation of original manuscripts spanning the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries, encompassing the Spanish and other Inquisitions. Collected over time from antiquarians and diplomats, this archive includes distinctive originals and early transcripts—statutes, trial records, tracts, Council of the General Inquisition correspondence, and papers. Beyond its focus on the Inquisition's persecution of Jews and Moors, these documents reveal a broader view of its operations, addressing the suppression of other "heretical" groups like the Waldensians and Cathars. Published for the first time from the British Library, these materials shed light on the Inquisition's theological and political influence across Catholic Europe, especially in the sixteenth century. For scholars delving into the role of the Inquisitions in early modern Europe, this collection serves as an indispensable primary source.

Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between the United States and Chile, 1945-1959

Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between the United States and Colombia, 1945-1959

Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between the United States and Costa Rica, 1945-1959

Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between the United States and Ecuador, 1945-1959

Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between the United States and Panama, 1950-1959

Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between the United States and Paraguay, 1945-1959

Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between the United States and Peru, 1945-1959

Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between the United States and Uruguay, 1945-1959

Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between the United States and Venezuela, 1945-1959

After World War II, with two global superpowers vying for influence, access, and control, the United States looked to its Department of State to provide detailed analyses of and insight into the international stage. Containing extensive documents about the political affairs of Central American and South American countries primarily in the early Cold War years, these nine collections give researchers unique insight into American foreign policy during one of the tensest periods of international relations in U.S. history. Publications include cables, memoranda, and correspondence addressing the political affairs and concerns affecting each state. These records are bound to be of great interest to diplomatic historians and researchers of Latin American studies who seek to understand American foreign affairs during this period.