British Online Archives: Homepage

Unique Primary Source Collections

British Online Archives (BOA) is one of the UK’s leading academic publishers and online repositories.

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Hosting over six million records covering over 500 years of history, BOA's extensive digital archive offers unique insights into global events, trends, and themes.

Primary Sources

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Illustration shows a restaurant scene with men and women dancing in the background. Shows upper class people in fashionable 1920s fashion.
Culture and Society
Politics and Social Movements
Slavery and Abolition
Prince of Wales' welcome reception in India in 1906. Illustration shows elephant and people marching next to it.
Colonialism and Empire
Two pamphlet covers on Britain's Economy. The left side has The National Budget 1950/51 pamphlet cover. The right side has The Pound and Our Future pamphlet cover with a large illustration of the £ sign.
Economics
Philosophy and Religion
World Map Showing UN Nations
International Relations
Illustration published in The Illustrated War News on 24 March 1915 depicting the trenches during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle
War, Security, and Intelligence
Primary Sources

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  • A composite image of several pages from editions of the West Africa magazine. A title reading West Africa A Weekly Newspaper appears in the top left.

    Licensed to access West Africa Magazine, 1917–2003

    Contents 87 Volumes, 4338 Documents (171,935 Pages)
    Graphic Communications Group Ltd. logo
    An illustration of a witches' sabbath. In the center of the image a demon sits on a chair. Several human figures surround the devil, dancing. On the left, a group sit at a table, eating a dismembered baby. On the right, a figure holds a baby over a cauldron.

    Licensed to access Witchcraft and Magic in England, c. 1400–1920

    Contents 4 Volumes, 511 Documents (57,705 Pages)
    The National Archives (UK) logo
    British Library logo
    University College London logo
    The Folklore Society logo
    A map of Greater Germany, 1943, overlayed with text reading Confidential Treatment, by the German Government of American and British Prisoners of War, Europe, 1939-1945.

    Licensed to access Germany, 1920–1969: British Foreign Office Confidential Print

    Contents 1 Volumes, 95 Documents (56,717 Pages)
    The National Archives (UK) logo
    An illustration of the Peterloo Massacre (1819). A group of people stand on a platform holding banners on the left. Beneath them officers on horseback wield swords, and several figures lie dead and injured on the floor. A large crowd features on the right.

    Licensed to access Radicalism and Popular Protest in Georgian Britain, c. 1714–1832

    Contents 2 Volumes, 2306 Documents (100,722 Pages)
    The National Archives (UK) logo
    Working Class Movement Library (UK) logo
  • A map of Greater Germany, 1943, overlayed with text reading Confidential Treatment, by the German Government of American and British Prisoners of War, Europe, 1939-1945.

    Licensed to access Germany, 1920–1969: British Foreign Office Confidential Print

    Contents 1 Volumes, 95 Documents (56,717 Pages)
    The National Archives (UK) logo
    A composite image of several pages from editions of the West Africa magazine. A title reading West Africa A Weekly Newspaper appears in the top left.

    Licensed to access West Africa Magazine, 1917–2003

    Contents 87 Volumes, 4338 Documents (171,935 Pages)
    Graphic Communications Group Ltd. logo
    An illustration of a witches' sabbath. In the center of the image a demon sits on a chair. Several human figures surround the devil, dancing. On the left, a group sit at a table, eating a dismembered baby. On the right, a figure holds a baby over a cauldron.

    Licensed to access Witchcraft and Magic in England, c. 1400–1920

    Contents 4 Volumes, 511 Documents (57,705 Pages)
    The National Archives (UK) logo
    British Library logo
    University College London logo
    The Folklore Society logo
    A photograph of the first session of the general assembly of the United Nations Organisation, 10 January 1946. Clement Atlee stands at a podium, addressing a room of people sat at long tables. A table of three men are sat behind him, on a stage.

    Licensed to access The Laws of War: Justice, Rights, and Ethics in Military Contexts

    Contents 1 Volumes, 580 Documents (100,575 Pages)
    The National Archives (UK) logo
  • Coming soon

    Licensed to access The Strand Magazine, 1891–1930

    Consolidated Archives Holding Ltd (CAHL) logo
    Coming soon

    Licensed to access Josephine Butler, Women’s Rights, and Social Reform in Britain, c. 1820–1930

    London School of Economics and Political Science logo
    Coming soon

    Licensed to access Spain and Portugal, 1837–1974: British Foreign Office Confidential Print

    The National Archives (UK) logo
    Coming soon

    Licensed to access South-East Asia, c. 1844–1975: British Foreign Office Confidential Print

    The National Archives (UK) logo
Media

Latest Posts

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A page of typed text titled Tuesday, July 18, 1775.
Document of the Week

Document of the Week: Proceedings of the Continental Congress, 18 July 1775

Dr Catherine Bateson
Published 27th July, 2026 3 min read
An illustration of a man holding open a fridge to a blindfolded woman with two children titled The surprise of her life - and the best!
Document of the Week

Document of the Week: "The surprise of her life – and the best!" (1955)

Nishah Malik
Published 20th July, 2026 4 min read
Two page spread from Chyromantia at Natura Planetarum, featuring an annotated illustration of a palm on the right page.
Document of the Week

Document of the Week: Treatise on Palmistry, Dating from the Fifteenth Century

Dr Mary Wills
Published 13th July, 2026 4 min read
A photograph of Annie Jiagge.
Document of the Week

Document of the Week: “The Woman Magistrate” (1954)

Chloe Haney
Published 6th July, 2026 3 min read
Beige background with red and black lettering. The left hand side is a letter to the Ministry of Information, stamped with a red SECRET stamp. On the left there is a secret confidential stamp and a letter head.

BOA Purchasing Scheme 2026

At BOA, we take great pride in our innovative digital platform and the extensive range of unique primary source collections that it hosts. We are also committed to ensuring that our resources remain accessible and affordable. 

We have therefore instituted our annual Purchasing Scheme. Until 31 July, we are offering a 20% discount on 20 of our most popular primary source collections!

The scheme allows for further discounts—the more collections that are purchased, the greater the potential discount that we can offer! Every collection on the scheme is available as a one-off perpetual purchase. This year, the scheme runs until 31 July.

View Purchasing Scheme 
A shelving unit with piles of archival documents stacked neatly, tied with a white ribbon and placed in rows on the shelves.

Our Curation Process

We take pride in a distinctive curation process that delivers outstanding primary source collections for research and teaching.

Just as importantly, this process yields substantial benefits for the archives, libraries, and heritage institutions that we work with.

From the initial idea, through to consulting the physical documents, as well as digitising, organising, and tagging them to the highest standards, compiling a new collection is always a fascinating process.

Read More About Our Processes 

Licensing Options

Institutional Licenses

If you are a librarian, or an academic, who would like your university to either trial or purchase any of our collections, then please get in touch.

Enquiries & Trials  Licensing Information 

Single User Licenses

If you are a student or researcher who would like to access one or more collections for a short period, then please explore our collections.

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About us

British Online Archives (BOA) is one of the UK’s leading academic publishers and online repositories. 

Hosting over six million records, carefully sourced from private and public archives, such as The National Archives (UK) and British Library, BOA’s specially curated primary source collections cover over 500 years of world history. They boast extensive documentation from across the globe, providing invaluable source material for students and researchers working within a wide range of scholarly disciplines, including history, politics, sociology, and international relations. Our unique digital holdings offer insights into global historical events and trends, typically through a British lens. They serve to broaden our understanding of history, and help us to make sense of contemporary social, cultural, economic, and political landscapes.

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