Spanish History Collections

Find out more about the Spanish History Collections in the IHR Wohl Library. We collect historical sources and guides to finding and using sources. This page shows examples from the collections.

Introduction

The Spanish collection is one of the best collections of sources and reference works for Spanish history in Britain. The collection covers the history of Spain from the Visigothic period to modern times. There is an extensive amount of material relating to the medieval Kingdoms, especially Castille and Aragon, Habsburg Spain and the twentieth century. There is particular emphasis on material covering the Spanish Civil War, with a range of resources from historical texts to personal narratives.

One of the highlights of the collection is the large concentration of regional and local material. This includes many archives of particular regions, from various different sources, including government and church records. The diverse history of Spain is reflected in the regional materials, with works in Castilian, Catalan, Galician, Basque and Arabic. The material includes substantial sub-collections on Catalonia, Andalucía and Castile as well as works covering all other Spanish regions.

The collection reflects the diverse history of Spain, covering the history of the kingdoms of Medieval, Early Modern and Modern Spain. Religious history is represented as well, including information on Catholics and Jews in Spain, and Arabic language materials covering Islamic Spain.

Highlights from the Collections

Twentieth Century Spain

The library collects published primary sources on all aspects of 20th century Spain. Currently strengths include published memoirs, diaries and letters from the Spanish civil war as well as the political history of modern Spain. Below is a selection of titles currently in the collection.

20th century Spain to 1936

The Spanish Civil War

Spain during the Franco Dictatorship

Spain since 1975

Periodicals

Other Collections

Within the IHR Wohl Library

Browse collection guides to find material relevant to your particular area of interest. Other collections that may be relevant include:

Other libraries, archives, organisations

Further Help

Contact us if you would like help on finding or using our collections, or if you have any comments or suggestions about the content of this guide. We are happy to help.

You can also book a tour or training session.