Using minute books as a source for historical research : a case study of East India Company, 1772-1773 / author, Peter Maw (University of Leeds, UK).

Format:

Website/Database

Author/Creator:

Maw, Peter (Historian), author.

Contributor:

Adam Matthew Digital (Firm), contributor, commissioning body, digitiser.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Research.

Methodology.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Marlborough, Wiltshire : Adam Matthew Digital, 2021.

Summary:

Minutes are a valuable source for historians studying certain types of institutions in the past. They take the form of written records of meetings that describe discussions and action points to be taken forward. Minutes were kept to provide transparency and accountability around decision-making, often when an institution's activities were political in nature or involved shareholders. Minutes were recorded in specific contexts, for specific purposes, and the type of institutions that recorded minutes in the past was quite limited, with a strong emphasis on large businesses, political bodies, or religious/interest groups. This case study will explore the minutes of the East India Company in 1773. The case study reveals the benefits of paying close attention to the minutes of an individual company, body, or group. It will also indicate, however, that minutes can offer only limited detail on how decisions were made by, or the daily operations of, a large institution, highlighting the value of an approach that combines the study of minutes alongside other historical primary sources.

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on August 17, 2022).

Publisher Number:

10.47594/RMPS_0103

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.