LEC (1) Sources for Writing History Updated Fall 2024 PDF

History and Sources for Writing a History of Qatar  Sources for studying the history of Qatar Historical study involves identifying the sources from which historians obtain their documents and information, which serve as the fundamental material for their research....

History and Sources for Writing a History of Qatar  Sources for studying the history of Qatar Historical study involves identifying the sources from which historians obtain their documents and information, which serve as the fundamental material for their research. These sources can be found in various institutions such as document centers, manuscripts, archives, and libraries. The historian then looks for closely related references to help understand the topic and begin writing the research. It is important to differentiate between the concepts of "source" and "reference". A source comprises primary and direct information about a specific topic, such as archaeological remains, manuscripts, documents, letters, memoirs, diaries, speeches, statements, and books describing incidents witnessed by the author or those close to the period of occurrence. On the other hand, a reference relies on scientific material from sources and deals with them through analysis, criticism, transmission, commentary, or summary. References are specifically from the writings of historians and are distant from them in time. SOURCES FOR HISTORY What are sources? - Remnants and relics of the past. - Historians prefer to work with written sources (unlike anthropologists, who like to work with oral sources). Written records are the bread and butter of history. Historians like state/government records - Other written records: Historians often consult the press. However, when written records are not available or not reliable, historians turn to other sources, such as: - Oral sources (e.g.. an eyewitness recalling what she saw) - Tangible sources (e.g.. buildings or tools) - Art: music, literature/poetry, paintings/visual art This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY. History: Primary & Secondary Sources This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY.  What is a Primary Source? Primary sources include documents or artifacts created by a witness to or participant in an event. They can be firsthand testimony or evidence created during the time period that you are studying. Primary sources may include diaries, letters, interviews, oral histories, photographs, newspaper articles, government documents, and music. The collection and analysis of primary sources is central to historical research. Note about primary sources: While there are many digital primary resources available, it is very important to remember that the majority of primary sources have not yet been digitized. There are various sources available for studying the history of Qatar. The most significant of these are: Documents: These include official and unofficial papers, manuscripts, and writings from governmental, civil, and social institutions. These documents can be used to write Qatar's history and are categorized as unpublished or published. Some are in Arabic, while others are in languages such as English, Ottoman, Portuguese, and more. Certain documents have been translated into Arabic, like the Saldana Report, titled "Qatari Affairs 1873-1904 AD," which summarizes important political correspondence related to Qatar between British political residents in the Gulf, the Foreign and Indian Affairs Ministries in London, and the British Government of India in Bombay. Another significant document is the book "The Gulf Guide" by "Lorimer," which includes historical and geographical sections. What is a Secondary Source? Secondary sources: Secondary sources: These are books, articles, periodic journals, newspapers, or any written materials that analyze a scholarly question. Primary sources are often used as evidence in these productions. Types of Secondary Sources: This category includes contemporary books and articles about a topic, folklore books, and periodicals publications that are issued periodically (daily, weekly, bi- monthly, monthly, or annually), such as newspapers, magazines, annuals, supplements, encyclopedias, etc. They may include lists of sources, i.e., bibliographies, that may lead you to other primary or secondary sources. This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA. WHO CREATES THE SOURCES? ◦ Governments/leaders ◦ Careful and often reliable records of “us” (what they do) and “them” (those they interact with) ◦ Records of kings/queens, sheikhs, emirs ◦ Records of branches of the government ◦ Sometimes ordinary people interact with the government, e.g., court records, birth records, police records. ◦ Merchants/businesses: records of what they trade and who they trade with This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND. Unpublished sources of Qatari History  ◦ 1) Documents ◦ A) Non-published in Arabic ◦ Emir’s Council (Dewan Amiri) Documents ◦ Decrees, protocols, Amiri Correspondences ◦ Records of Sheikh Jassim bin Muhammed Al-Thani (1878-1913) ◦ Records of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim al-Thani (1913- 1949) ◦ Records of the Pre-GCC Nine-member Gulf Union This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND. (1968-70) ◦ The Dawaween (Ministries of the State) ◦ Ministry of Foreign Affairs ◦ Ministries Council and Shoura Council ◦ Registries, including the judicial system and its courts ◦ Archives, including the Ministry of Education and Finance (1960) ◦ Records: customs & ports, engineering & water, workforce This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND.  Unpublished sources of Qatari History-2 Documents A) Non-published in English Bombay government records: E. India-British Company, 1620 (British gov’t took over company in 1813) Pre 1820 (since 17th c.): record of social, economic, political local conditions in the Gulf Area, including the Qatar coasts. 1820-1880: record of British activities in the Gulf , including slave, arms and pearl trades Linking the Gulf with British policy in the East. The National Archives of India, established in 1891 Record of British communication with the Qatari peninsula Record of the first British sea survey of Qatar coastal areas Records of foreign and political departments. Reports covering Gulf conditions from 1763-1950 Reports of the relationship between Sheikh Jassim bin Muhammad al-Thani and the British and Ottoman officials Reports of British perspectives on Ottoman claims over Qatar Unpublished Sources of Qatari History 3 1) Documents A) Non-published in English Public British Archives Eastern Affairs: British foreign correspondence – the Gulf and Qatar Reports of John Wilson, British representative in Qatar Reports regarding the oil industry In Ottoman Turkish, 1869-1914 Record of Ottoman-British conflict in the Gulf Report of Ottoman activities in al-Wakra, al-Zubara, and al-Aded B) In Portuguese Reports regarding Qatar Published documents 1) Books, booklets, newspapers, bulletins The Arab gulf Documents, 1968-1971 A documentary collection Minutes of the nine-party union project (al-Tasaey union) On Britain’s decision to withdraw from Gulf. Published decrees and legislations (by various state agencies) Establishing an official Qatari newspaper, 1961 Establishing al-Shoura Council, 1964 Establishing labor laws Speeches of Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, 1971-1981 2. Explorers and discoverers’ accounts Ahmed bin Majid (1421-1500) Knowledge of the seas Pedro Texeira (d. 1641) The Travels of Pedro Texeira, 1568-1605 Description of Qatar coasts and ports: Pearl hunting countries W.G. Palgrave A year’s journey Through Central And Eastern Arabia, 1826-1888 Travel for a year from Syria through Najd and then to Bahrain and Oman Bertram Thomas A Camel Journey Across the Rub’ al-Khali desert A Study of the Qatari environment: description of Doha, sandy dunes and water wells. 3. Periodicals. Newspapers: Gulf Times, 1978, Al-Raya, 1979, New Gulf Magazine, 1983, Gulf Newspaper in Dec. 1975-1985, Al-Sharq, 1987 Magazines Encyclopedia references Journals 4. Oral history Folklore: songs, stories, poems, proverbs People’s stories 5. Contemporary books 6. private collections 7. material sources