National Archives Research Articles (Page 1)

ABSTRACT The British administration in Malaya witnessed significant changes in the social and economic structure of the local community. With the introduction of a capitalist economy by the British, the role of women, particularly as labourers, underwent a notable transformation. In the early twentieth century, women’s growing participation in plantations, mining, and services allowed them to contribute directly to British economic development in Malaya. Despite playing a role comparable to men, their health and welfare were often neglected, causing many deaths and economic impact. Recognising this, the British introduced policies to protect and improve female labourers’ overall welfare. This study aims to examine British health policies for women labourers in Malaya during the British administration from 1900 to 1955. The findings show that the implementation of these British health policies significantly succeeded in overcoming health problems among women labourers and had a positive impact on their well-being. This article employs a qualitative method through content analysis of primary sources such as Federated Malay States files, Annual Reports, and records obtained from the National Archives of Malaysia. Throughout the discussion, it was found that there were implications and challenges for the British in implementing these policies.

ABSTRACT The historiography of independent Libya often portrays King Idris’ reign (1951–1969) as a puppet state heavily reliant on foreign aid. Drawing on records from the Bank of England and the UK National Archives, this paper challenges this narrative, demonstrating that significant steps toward financial sovereignty were made during the monarchy with the establishment of the National Bank of Libya in 1956. Although foreign control did not disappear, this development marked a shift from British dominance in the financial sector to increasing Libyan control over monetary policy and financial leadership. This paper thus marks a significant step toward revisiting and reshaping the historiography of monarchical Libya. In doing so, it contributes to the broader literature on central banks in newly independent developing countries – especially those under former British control. While acknowledging the presence of economic reasoning, this paper confirms that political motivations were the primary drivers behind the establishment of central banks in these contexts. Furthermore, it emphasises that understanding the development of postcolonial financial institutions benefits from integrating local, regional, and broader geopolitical perspectives.

ABSTRACT The Arab-Israeli conflict was the first foreign-policy arena tackled by the European Community (EC), the predecessor of today’s European Union (EU), upon its decision to turn itself from an economic power into a political player on the world stage. This paper explores the EC’s policy formation on the conflict in the early 1970s and asks why and how the European Political Cooperation (EPC) mechanism that was established for that purpose formulated its policy. It argues that policymakers’ main goal in conducting European policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict was to strengthen the nascent European political integration process and position the EC as a global actor. The paper is based on previously unresearched archival diplomatic records from the British National Archives and the Israel State Archives. It provides, for the first time, empirical evidence that leads to historical conclusions on EPC policy formulation on the conflict. These, in turn, contribute to the conceptual understanding of phenomena regarding European foreign policy, political integration and normative power. The paper sheds light on a pivotal episode in European foreign policy that has not yet been fully explored, as well as on Europe’s first foray into the realm of foreign policy at large.

The Hungarian National Library (or National Széchényi Library) and the National Archives of Hungary has been collecting ‘Hungarica’ materials abroad since the nineteenth century. The National Széchényi Library actively seeks these materials, including through partnerships with other libraries. Since 1990, several programs attempted to collect private Hungarica material globally, most recently through the Kelemen Mikes program (2013–18). The repatriation practices of this program have been criticised from the perspective of diasporic heritage archives, dismissing the ‘hyphenated’ identities of this heritage. The article explores challenges of preserving such hyphenated heritage, utilising the library of the Hungarian Community Centre in Wantirna, Australia as a case study. The article enlists existing solutions beyond physical repatriation, such as digital preservation or linked archival systems, highlighting the need for host countries to better support migrant archives.

Abstract This note offers a preliminary survey of archives containing photographic material – both digitized and nondigitized – related to northern Ghana. Despite the region’s historical marginalization, this condition has not necessarily resulted in a scarcity of sources. On the contrary, numerous archives preserve rich and underexplored photographic documentation. By identifying and describing key collections across institutions such as the White Fathers phototèque, the Ministry of Information in Accra, the University of Cambridge, the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, the Imperial War Museum, the National Archives in London, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, this note seeks to illuminate underexplored visual sources.

Abstracts - This study aims to determine the influence of organizational culture and work environment on employee job satisfaction. A good organizational culture can shape the company's image and become a guideline for employee behavior. Meanwhile, the physical and non-physical work environment also affects job satisfaction, which ultimately has an impact on employee work results. This study was conducted at the Legal, Cooperation, and Public Relations Bureau of the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia with a quantitative approach. A sample of 40 employees was obtained through questionnaires. The results of the t-test showed that organizational culture had a significant effect on job satisfaction (t count = 2.366> 2.026; sig. = 0.023 <0.05), and the work environment also had a significant effect (t count = 3.863> 2.026; sig. <0.05). Simultaneously, organizational culture and work environment affected employee job satisfaction (F count = 21.599> 3.24; sig. <0.001). Thus, both variables contributed significantly to increasing employe job satisfaction. Keywords: Organizational Culture, Work Environment, Employee Job Satisfaction.

MGM’s 1969 epic royal biopic Alfred the Great presents an illuminating case study for investigating film promotion, especially how to promote historical film, during the intense industrial and cultural changes of ‘New Hollywood’. Through an examination of documentation related to the film’s promotion, held in director Clive Donner’s special collection (BFI National Archive), this article explores deep divisions between the promotional strategies envisaged and implemented by different factions within MGM for Alfred the Great, driven by different beliefs about how best to bring a historical film about an ancient English king before its potential audience(s) in 1969, as long-standing assumptions about audience preferences were being rapidly overturned and the Hollywood studio system was entering what appeared to be a state of terminal crisis. Alfred the Great proved a ‘difficult film to sell’, with its difficulties illuminating the challenges of doing film promotion at this watershed moment, within a genre whose marketing scripts proved difficult to update, and undertaken by an industry increasingly insecure about who it was speaking to and how best to do it.

The activities of several heroes, who dedicated their lives to the Armenian national liberation struggle in the twentieth century, remain unknown or have not been thoroughly studied for various reasons. Among those individuals who dedicated themselves entirely to the national struggle for survival was Levon “Pasha” Shaghoian. It is noteworthy that in the course of history, there have often been individual leaders who either played a fateful role in the survival and development of their nation or, on the contrary, were the cause of their own people’s demise and its subsequent disappearance from the pages of history. Although Levon Shaghoian was not a talkative person, he left us with extensive written records of his writing. Therefore, the notes, memoirs, and articles of his collaborators served as the basis for reflecting on his activities in the Fatherland. The primary sources for this article are archival materials from the National Archives of Armenia, the personal archive of Levon Shaghoian, and the Brief History of the Iraqi-Armenian Diocese. The official central archives of the ARF in Boston, as well as the memoirs of participants in the region's self-defense activities, have also been considered.

This article examines the early stages of the development of the first settlements of the Meshcheryaks (service Tatars, natives of the Meshchersky region) in the Ufa district in the 17th century. Beginning in the 1640s, a permanent network of settlements belonging to the Tatar service corporation began to form in the Ufa district. In the second half of the 17th century, the Ufa service Tatars faced a number of external challenges. Despite these unfavorable conditions, they were generally able not only to preserve their settlement structure but also to continue its development. The primary sources used in this study were materials from the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts and the National Archives of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The study allowed us to reconstruct the topology and toponymic development of the first settlements of service Tatars founded in the 17th century in Ufa district. The novelty of the study lies in its presentation of a model for the formation of toponyms for service Tatars settlements in Ufa district, the reconstruction of the early stages of the settlement network of service Ufa Meshcheryaks, and the description of the migration processes of service Tatars within the county in the 17th century. For citation: Mukhamadeev D.R. Topology and toponymy of the first settlements of the service Tatars (Meshcheryaks) in the Ufa district in the 17th century. From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2025, vol.15, no.3, pp.21–41. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2025-15-3.21-41 (In Russian)

Importance. The events of 80 years ago, which took place in the occupied territory of Soviet Belarus in 1941–1944, still cause controversy among both domestic and foreign historians. The insufficient degree of study of certain issues related to the activities of the USSR state security agencies in the development of the partisan movement on the territory of Soviet Belarus in 1941–1944 gave rise to speculation and falsifications. The purpose of the study is to show the historical events taking place on the territory of Soviet Belarus in 1941–1944, as well as the activities of the militarypolitical leadership of the country and the state security agencies of the USSR in organizing the partisan movement in the republic.Materials and Methods. The research is based on archival documents of the Russian State Archives of Socio-Political History and the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus. Both general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis were used, as well as synchronistic, historicalsystemic, typological, historical-comparative.Results and Discussion. The partisan movement that unfolded in the occupied territory of Belarus during the Great Patriotic War became a nationwide struggle for the freedom and independence of the Soviet Union. Invaluable assistance to the Red Army in the fight against the invaders was provided by the partisans of Belarus, who systematically carried out sabotage in the rear of the enemy troops. Not only the military-political leadership of the country, but also the state security agencies of the USSR took an active part in the organization and deployment of the national struggle in the occupied territory of Belarus.Conclusion. The joint activities of the military-political leadership of the country and the state security agencies of the USSR played a great role in the organization of the partisan movement in the temporarily occupied territory of Soviet Belarus in 1941–1944, which provided significant assistance to the Red Army in the fight against the Nazi invaders.

Abstract Between 1951–55, the US Bureau of Reclamation conducted research in Lebanon to plan a hydroelectric and irrigation scheme using Lebanon's largest river, the Litani. Their research would later form the basis of the Litani project, Lebanon's largest development scheme until the 1990s. In the shadow of that project, communities in the Litani River basin worked to enroll these US technical assistance researchers and their technologies into fulfilling their urgent needs for potable water. The article argues that these enrollments comprised ‘vernacular development’, a highly contingent, bottom-up strategy that the intended subjects of development deployed in their encounters with agents of international development. Vernacular development was a mode of interaction that interrupted and subverted the technological and temporal framework animating midcentury international development. That framework promised elaborate works in the future, which almost never materialized. Through vernacular development strategies, Litani communities identified their own material needs and goals and experimented with strategies to enroll international researchers into attaining them. They derived these strategies from their experience with successive imperial and corporate planning missions that had come and gone in the decades prior to the postwar development era. Exploring hitherto unexamined agrarian sources in the US National Archives, this article contributes to the historiography of international development and the postcolonial Middle East.

Introduction & BackgroundOver the past decade, the United Kingdom (UK) has experienced a substantial decline in public transport services. Civil organisations and the media have reported significant issues with bus reliability, such as cancellations, delays, and long waiting times due to low service frequency. These problems are often quantified through traditional methods, such as surveys, which can be costly and provide data only at intervals. In contrast, automatically collected data, such as that generated by real-time bus GPS tracking systems, offers an opportunity to gain deeper insights thanks to its more frequent and widespread coverage. Objectives & ApproachGiven the recognised need to support and enhance public transport in the UK, maximising the use of such digital footprint data could provide evidence for informed decision-making. However, archiving and understanding its quality for analytical purposes, as well as developing methods to harness its full potential, remain limited. Relevance to Digital FootprintsThis study explores a large-scale longitudinal record archive constructed from real-time bus location data for a representative day each week between October 2023 and April 2025 across all regions of England and Wales. The original data is sourced from the Bus Open Data Service, funded by the Department for Transport (DfT). The archive tracks over 25,000 buses, constituting the vast majority of the fleet in the area of study, and the archive amounts to an estimate of 1 billion records. The aim is to explore the spatial-temporal depth of the dataset and assess its quality. The methods draw on geographical information system (GIS) and large-scale processing tools and techniques to develop representative speed measures and kilometres operated per inhabitant at various geographic scales for various times of the day nationally. This processing harness ‘duckdb’ local database system in combination with spatial ‘Uber H3’ indexing, which streamlines the process. The method also compares the observed number of services at each hour of the day with the planned services as a base line for a small area in Manchester over the total period of study. Conclusions & ImplicationsThe results prove value of GPS transport data as an input for empirical research for the public good, such as addressing questions related to employment, health, and education outcomes from a quasi-experimental perspective. Challenges included the processing and storage of large data volumes and the need to align bus trajectories with the road network from GPS points. These findings are relevant for both the field of transport planning and policy. The findings build on prior transport planning research by refining and expanding methods to generate value from digital footprint data originally produced for operational purposes, applying it to address challenges in transport studies. In terms of policy, the insights from this study could pave the way for organisations to adopt cost-effective tools, aiding in the evaluation of interventions under the proposed public-ownership model envisioned by the central UK government.

ABSTRACT Following the revelation in 2011 that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office was sitting on the migrated archives of dozens of colonial governments, almost 20,000 files were transferred from secret storage at Hanslope Park to The National Archives for public inspection. However, 88,000 Hong Kong colonial government records remain at Hanslope Park, some ostensibly protected by a 50-year retention order that will last until 2047. This paper combines data received under the Freedom of Information Act, including files obtained from inside Hanslope Park, with archive material, interviews and former officials’ written accounts to explore the past, present and future of the Hong Kong colonial government records. This paper is the first account of how outgoing officials handled Hong Kong files at the end of the British administration, showing that Operation Legacy played no role in the Hong Kong case and explaining why this was so. This paper explains the current status and extent of this collection and considers possible routes for its release. By contrasting the Hong Kong case with that of other colonies, this paper adds to the growing literature on how outgoing colonial officials handled records towards the end of the British Empire.

In 1923 the newly established Irish Free State swiftly passed the Censorship of Films Act. The act was considered an essential measure for confronting the perceived moral threat that cinema posed to the young, fragile Catholic state. James Montgomery was appointed Ireland’s first film censor in that same year, a post he held until 1940. Montgomery took his job seriously and banned or censored hundreds of films, calling himself a “moral sieve.” Records of Montgomery’s decisions, including his detailed (and often witty) rationales for cutting or rejecting films, were unavailable to scholars until 1998, when the Irish government lifted its embargo on the records. Kevin Rockett first studied these documents in his pioneering Irish Film Censorship (2004). In the present study, I build on Rockett’s work and focus on a recurring but unexplored element in Montgomery’s writings during his first decade as censor: music. Although Montgomery screened films in silence until 1930, internal records show that he often thought about music when he assessed films: he worried about music’s ability to deliver salacious content or magnify a scene’s immoral message; he routinely banned musical comedies and cut scenes that referenced jazz; he even flagged passionate scenes that he feared might draw “the most sensuous of music” in theaters and therefore push audiences into immoral acts. This article uses archival documents in the National Archives of Ireland to trace Montgomery’s thoughts about music and analyze their impact on his decisions, offering new insights into Ireland’s first film censor, as well as shedding new light on music’s place in the censorship debates of the silent and early sound eras.

The study of historical relations between Kazakhstan and Karakalpakstan is important for their further strengthening and development. In this context, the article is devoted to the study of these relationships in the 20-30s of the last century based on the use of archival data. The purpose of the work is to describe the most important socio-political processes that took place mainly after the national-state demarcation of 1924, when Karakalpakstan became part of the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as an autonomous region. The considered connections during this period were manifested through the cooperation of official and party management structures, the interaction of the population during significant social processes such as migration and unrest, the work of public and political figures. The work describes the assistance provided to Karakalpakstan in the implementation of personnel policy, shows the features of the political "purges" and the consequences of the "Little October", which were equally experienced by our peoples, the participation of Kazakhs and Karakalpaks in the unrest of that period, as well as the mass resettlement of Kazakh "nomads" to Karakalpakstan during the famine. The role of public figures such as T. Safiev, who contributed to the development of the press, literature and education in Karakalpakstan, is considered. The article uses materials from the National Archive of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Central State Archive of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, periodical press data, comparative historical, problem-chronological and socio-cultural methods. As a result, the importance of the historical ties between Kazakhstan and Karakalpakstan in various fields at this time is shown as a significant factor in the regional history of Central Asia.

Purpose: This study aims to understand the functions and roles of public health nursing, which played a key role in public health center activities during the formative years of the organizations in Korea. It does so by analyzing the structure and content of Manual of Public Health Nursing, the first of its kind published in Korea, as well as its authors’ records—particularly the U.S. nurse advisors. Methods: Manual of public health nursing was investigated from the cover to the appendix with other related records from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Results: The manual was published in response to the expansion of health centers and the increasing need for standardized practice for public health nurses. It includes theoretical and practical guidelines on maternal and child health, communicable disease control, school health, health education, etc. as well as the qualifications of public health nurses. The manual was influenced by U.S. nursing education and international public health manuals. Conclusion: The manual played a critical role in shaping early public health nursing practices in Korea by providing essential knowledge and standardizing public health services. It reflected Korea’s evolving public health system, heavily influenced by U.S. aid and technical assistance. Despite its significance, challenges such as a shortage of trained public health nurses and an underdeveloped administrative structure remained unresolved.

This study examines Professor Bethwell Allan Ogot's contributions to African historiography between 1964 and 2013. It fills a pressing historical gap in African historiography: namely, the scanty attention given to the impact of Ogot, both academically and more broadly in the intellectual life and culture of post-colonial Africa. In the study, the intention is to trace Ogot's career, analyse his contributions to African historiography, and understand how he established African-centred history accounts within Kenya and the rest of the world. This study is grounded in the interpretive research paradigm and employs historical methods of data collection, analysis, and presentation. Primary sources include research materials from the Kenya National Archives, records of institutions, and interviews with scholars and coworkers who knew Ogot well. The secondary data are utilized in scholarly books, articles, and historical records. The study design combines purposive and snowball sampling techniques to target key respondents. The theoretical approach will connect critical policy historiography to development theory, examining the intersection of Ogot's intellectual interventions with national policy in education and historiography. The results indicate that the pro-Africanized historiography advocated by Ogot, his role in university management, or his mentorship were influential concepts that transformed African historical studies. His contributions answered the question of how scholars could support the goals of national development through their scholarly work, which explains why he will continue to be remembered as a scholar and builder of nations. The study concludes with an emphasis on the significance of African intellectuals in the post-colonial transformation of history, highlighting the need to investigate their achievements worldwide in terms of educational and historiographical growth.

The study looks at the contribution made by Professor Bethwell Allan Ogot towards the development of higher education in Kenya between 1964 and 2013. It fills a wide gap in the historiography of post-colonial development in postwar Kenyan academia, especially in its significance to the academic career of major participant Ogot, whose contribution to university education, the advancement of Africanist scholarship, and the restructuring of institutional arrangements in Kenya are addressed. The study aimed at knowing the role of Ogot in policy formations, governance, curriculum reconstruction, and intellectual hegemony within a transition period in Kenyan history of education. The research paradigm upon which the research has been founded was interpretive research and incorporated the historical approach of data collection and analysis. This study adopted a qualitative research design. Primary and secondary data were utilized. The main sources of primary data were face-to-face interviews and archival facts available in different institutions such as the Kenya National Archives, the University of Nairobi, and Maseno University. Secondary sources entailed scholarly books, articles, and institutional reports. The respondents were sought purposively and through snowballing methods. Theoretical guidance was supplied by critical policy historiography and development theory that placed Ogot within the context of bigger national and ideological movements. The findings indicate that Ogot was instrumental in the restructuring of the university management of affairs, the indigenization of academic curricula, the training of the academic, and the statements about the relevance of the African knowledge systems. His leadership was very influential to the education sector in Kenya, and his input to this sector has become part and parcel of academic policy and intellectual self-determination. To Kenya, Professor Ogot made a revolutionary contribution to the field of higher education, especially on innovative curriculum development, leadership, and mentoring. His position on African-centered education and education reform has influenced the education sector in Kenya. In order to sustain his legacy, strengthening the use of African-centered curricula in all disciplines, an increased decentralization of education by universities to underserved areas, and institutionalization of mentorship programs are advised. Moreover, international academic relationships that are encouraged will improve Kenyan scholarship and expand the intellectual vistas to remain relevant in the field of African studies and development.

Abstract This article considers the making of an archive of environmental activism through the life histories of 100 campaigners involved in environmental protest, projects and policy-making in the UK since the early 1970s. It explores the challenge of representing the diversity of the environmental movement during this period, the value of oral history in illuminating the experience of campaigning and the career trajectories of activists, and the wider significance of the National Life Stories model of oral history. Such national archives can provide vital resources for intergenerational conversation, new thinking and new forms of action designed to make a better world.

Abstract This article presents a case study of the 1959 UK–USSR film weeks to investigate the political, cultural and industrial motivations shaping Cold War cultural exchange, focusing on the role of the British Council’s Soviet Relations Committee (SRC). Originating from a 1955 Soviet proposal for reciprocal film weeks, the project faced over four years of delays and aborted attempts due to a division of opinion among British state and non-state actors. The SRC sought to bridge the conflicting policy motivations between the British Council, the Foreign Office and the British film industry towards the film weeks, but the contradictory priorities and interests of the groups led to an ambiguous approach. The article reconstructs the negotiations, organisation and delivery of the film weeks from the British perspective, drawing on archival sources including the British Council Records at The National Archives to reveal new perspectives on the divergent policy motivations towards the use of films and film weeks in cultural exchange. In doing so, the article contributes to wider research into the role of the SRC and film weeks in the cultural Cold War.