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Iberia 1400-1700: English Language Resources: Bibliographies and Guides to Research

Contains reference sources about the history of Spain and Portugal and their empires from 1400-1700. Last updated 06-08-2023

Bibliographies and Guides to Research

Bibliographies and guides to research provide suggestions for things to read on various topics and on how to do research successfully.  Sometimes they are in the form of lists, with or without annotations.  Sometimes they take the form of bibliographic essays in which the reading suggestions are embedded within a narrative.  You will also find further reading references in dictionary and encyclopedia articles and in periodical indexes.

Latin American History Guide  is a research guide by MSU Libraries' Janette Nunez, MSU Libraries' subject librarian for Latin American and Caribbean studies.  If your topic pertains to Latin America you will want to take advantage of her suggestions.  The guide you are reading here on Iberia does not attempt to include all the possibly relevant items mentioned in her guide.

Peninsular Spanish Literature: a Guide to Selected Resources will be helpful if your topic is literary.

American Historical Association’s Guide to Historical Literature Reference and Main D 20 .A55 v. 1-2

Contains nearly 27,000 annotated, numbered citations (primarily to English language works) divided into 48 sections. Arrangement is by broad subject and country groups. Citations refer chiefly to works published between 1961 and 1992. Very short annotations. Points to classic works.  See volume 1, section 29 "Spain and Portugal," on pp. 917-940.  Notice that between the introductory overview essay and the beginning of the listings of books to read that there is an outline which shows the arrangement of the citations.  Secctions 36 and 37 in volume two, on "Native Peoples of the Americas" and "Latin America to 1800," pages 1129-1198 will be of interest also.

HLAS Online: Handbook of Latin American Studies, [Humanities volumes] Main Z 1601 .H23

Online index to journal articles, books, book chapters, conference papers, and electronic resources relating to Latin America. Disciplines covered include anthropology, art, economics, geography, government and politics, history, international relations, literature, music, philosophy, political economy, and sociology. Freely available online through the Library of Congress. The print Handbook of Latin American studies indexes publications in the social sciences and humanities in alternate years and includes introductory essays discussing key developments in each discipline. The print version has the advantage of allowing one to browse through a year's work in a discipline.  Searchable in English, Spanish, or Portuguese.

Latin America, Spain and Portugal, a Selected and Annotated Bibliographical Guide to Books Published in the United States, 1954-1974.  Remote Storage Z 1601 .W687

Part VII contains about 100 pages of references, with short annotations, on Iberia.  The book also has chapters on all the other Latin and Caribbean countries.

Bibliographic Guide to Spanish Diplomatic History, 1460-1977 Remote Storage Z 2696 .C67

Arranged in chapters chronologically.  Unannotated.  Mixture of Spanish and English language materials.  Mixture of primary and secondary sources.  Both books and articles cited.  Within the chapters, separate sections cover Spain’s relations with other countries in general (and treaties) and with specific countries: Vatican, Portugal, France, England, Germanies, Asia, Africa and Near East, Low countries, Italy. Chapter 1 provides citations on archives and bibliographies.  Chapter two covers 1400-1700.  Succeeding chapters cover smaller chronological periods beginning with 1460. 

Portugal, the Pathfinder, Journeys from the Medieval Toward the Modern World 1300-ca. 1600.  Main DP 583 .P67 1995

An anthology of scholarly essays about Portuguese travels and discoveries.  PP 373-402 contains “Bibliographical Essay: a Treasury of Printed Source Materials Pertaining to the XV and XVI Centuries,” by the volume’s overall editor, George D. Winius.  This is a guide to primary source materials upon which the various chapters are based.  Mentions English language translations where available. 

Portugal Remote Storage DP 517 .U58 2000

Spain  Main DP 17 .Z99 S54 1994

Madrid Remote Storage DP 354 .M29 1996

Lisbon Main DP 757 .L56 1997

In the World Bibliographical Series, basic bibliographies on places, for English speakers.  These have annotated entries on works about the history, geography, economy, peoples, cultures, customs, religions, society

Research Tools for Latin American Historians, a Select, Annotated Bibliography Remote Storage Z 1601 .W47

Two Parts.  Part I deals provides annotations about forms of printed material: bibliographies, periodicals, pamphlets, newspapers, theses and dissertations, government documents, microforms, dictionaries, almanacs, biographical sources, statistical sources, etc.  Part I provides annotations on history of the various Latin and Caribbean countries.

Guide to Reference Main Z 1035 .G8 ed. 11

From the American Library Association, published in 1996.  Lists and describes reference works of all types in all subject fields, both online and in paper as of that time. See the sections in the table of contents for History of the Americas and History of Europe. Within History of the Americas there is a large section of recommended books on Latin America and the Caribbean. 

History Highway, a 21st Century Guide to Internet Resources Remote Storage D 16.117 .H55 2006

A guide to history web sites.  See pp. 151-162 for Latin and South American history.  There are not chapters on Spain and Portugal.

Reformation and Early Modern Europe, a Guide to Research Main BR 305. 3 .R42 2008

See the chapter on Spain, pp. 290-308, which  has a bibliography.  If your topic deals with religion, Part I will be of interest also.