Research Guides: HIST 301: The Historians Craft (Dressler, Fall 2023): Problem with Primary Sources

Reading an early 17th-century text

One of the many interesting items in the W&M special collections is An historical and geographical description of Formosa by the excellently-named George Psalmanazar (1679?-1763).

An historical and geographical description of Formosa, an island subject to the Emperor of Japan : giving an account of the religion, customs, manners, &c., of the inhabitants : together with a relation of what happen'd to the author in his travels; parti by Psalmanazar, George, Daniel Browne, George Strahan, William Davis, and Fran. (Francis) Coggan.
Call Number: Swem Special Collections Research Center, Rare Books ; DS895.F7 P8 1704
Publication Date: London : Printed for Dan. Brown, at the Black Swan without Temple-Bar; G. Strahan, and W. Davis, in Cornhill; and Fran. Coggan, in the Inner-Temple-Lane

Activity

Below is an excerpt from An historical and geographical description of Formosa in the database The Making of the Modern World.

An historical and geographical description of Formosa (1704)

In your groups, *skim* the pdf and consider the following questions:

Most basically, what is the author describing?
What are some difficulties you're experience in reading the text?
What are interesting details you notice?
What are some questions the details raise?
What additional context information might you need if you choose to use this as a primary source?
- What are some search terms you might try in a database?

HIST 301: The Historians Craft (Dressler, Fall 2023)

Reading an early 17th-century text

Activity

Context