Early Modern (1450 CE - 1800 CE)
Thouret, "Report on the Basis of Political Eligibility" (29 September 1789)
Jacques–Guillaume Thouret (1746–94), a lawyer from Rouen, spoke for the Constitutional Committee of the National Assembly that included, among others, Sieyès and Rabaut Saint–Etienne. His report formed the basis for the subsequent legislation on qualifications for voting and officeholding.
Decree of the National Assembly Abolishing the Feudal System, 11 August 1789
The abolition of the feudal system, which took place during the famous night session of 4–5 August 1789, was precipitated by the reading of a report on the misery and disturbances in the provinces.
Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery: Slave Coffle
Born in present-day Ghana, young Ottobah Cugoano was kidnapped and sold into slavery at the young age of 13. Cugoano worked in the sugar fields of a Grenadan plantation until 1773.
Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery: Middle Passage
Born in present-day Ghana, young Ottobah Cugoano was kidnapped and sold into slavery at the young age of 13. Cugoano worked in the sugar fields of a Grenadan plantation until 1773.
The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record
The images document the history of enslavement in West and West Central Africa, the English and French Caribbean, Brazil, and the United States.
Dona Marina, Cortes’ Translator: Nonfiction, Florentine Codex (Nahuatl)
This chapter from the Florentine Codex, a bilingual encyclopedia of central Mexican life and history, was created by the Franciscan friar, Bernardino de Sahagún and indigenous advisors, painters and scribes.
Dona Marina, Cortes’ Translator: Nonfiction, Florentine Codex (Spanish)
This chapter from the Florentine Codex, a bilingual encyclopedia of central Mexican life and history was created by the Franciscan friar, Bernardino de Sahagún and indigenous advisors, painters and scribes.
John Evelyn's Diary
The English lawyer John Evelyn (1620-1706) kept a diary for nearly 50 years and in it recorded his grief at the death of four of his children.
Infanticide Trial Transcript from the Old Bailey of Elizabeth Taylor of Clerkenwell
Infanticide or the killing of a baby was punishable by hanging in early modern England. Unlike married women accused of infanticide, the mere fact that single women had tried to conceal the death of their babies was considered proof of murder under the Infanticide Act of 1624.
Dona Marina, Cortes’ Translator: Personal Account, Bernal Díaz del Castillo
Perhaps the most famous 16th-century portrayal of doña Marina, this description is also the most extensive from the period. Díaz del Castillo claims she was beautiful and intelligent, she could speak Nahuatl and Maya.