A unique view of diplomacy in the 20th century

Documents on British Policy Overseas offers researchers the opportunity to see beneath the surface of the major events of the 20th century. Users can access contemporary accounts and follow the detailed exchanges that shaped British foreign policy, from the origins of World War I and beyond.

This historical collection gathers together tens of thousands of UK Government documents relating to Britain’s international relations, including foreign policy instructions, letters and memos, business reports, and more. These primary source materials have been selected by the official historians of Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and, in many cases, have been declassified at their request for inclusion in this series.

With Documents on British Policy Overseas, researchers gain a more complete understanding of the tensions, motivations, politics and relationships that shaped Europe and the world throughout the 20th century.

This easily searchable database is the online version of three print content sets:

• British Documents on the Origins of War (1898–1914) includes documents related to the Anglo-German tensions and the growing unrest in the Balkans, leading to World War I.
• Documents on British Foreign Policy (1918–1939) addresses post-war settlement, German re-armament, and growing tensions in Europe, Africa, and the Far East.
• Documents on British Policy Overseas (1946–present) covers topics such as atomic energy, the Korean conflict, and the Cold War.

Documents on British Policy Overseas is updated regularly with newly selected materials on additional topics, and supports other ProQuest government resources, including the 20th century House of Commons Parliamentary Papers and Digital National Security Archive. Diplomatic historians, international relations scholars, British studies specialists, war researchers, and educators in many disciplines will find this collection an indispensable resource.

Features:

• Search the full text of all the documents included in the original FCO print series.
• Query metadata significant to diplomatic history such as author, recipient and place of origin.
• Browse by collection or chronologically.