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For example, the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) records in the Algemeen Rijksarchief at Den Haag in The Netherlands are very extensive and include both primary and secondary sources (Meilink-Roelofsz et al., 1992).The primary sources are the letters, papers, books, and documents, all handwritten, which were made at the time and have been bound together into Letter Books or Committee Minute Books, etc., or exist as loose papers. With documentary sources originating in the 17th century or an earlier period, there is the immediate problem of reading the handwriting. The handwriting, particularly in English, can be very difficult to read. Copperplate writing came into use toward the end of the 17th century. A useful introduction and guide to handwriting is Hector (1966). Adding to the complicationare the changes that the language has undergone over the years. This may not be a problem in interpreting one’s native language, but reading a foreign language can become a real difficulty, because the spelling of words has changed. Latin was often used in England in the 16th century for official records, creating more problems for those of us who lack the benefit of a classical education.Notwithstanding the benefits, working for long periods in the archives carries its own problems. It is expensive to live in another town or in a foreign country and work in the archives. It is therefore a good idea to go to the archives and conduct a survey of what is required and then order microfilms of the material. In this way the documents can be read using a microfilm reader at home at a later date and the research is not limited by the opening and closing hours of the archives and libraries.The secondary sources are where the primary sources have been compiled as, for example, in Calendar of State Papers (Sainsbury, 1870), the general letters of the VOC (Coolhaas, 1960–1968). In most cases the author, or editor, has read through the primary, handwritten manuscript sources, has selected the sections that are considered to be the most interesting (discarding the rest), and published them in a printed form. The result is easy to read and is very useful because it usually has extensive indices.Thus the secondary sources are often the easiest way to get to the primary source material. Inevitably, however, information is left out of these compilations, so for any serious study it is essential to refer to the primary source. It may well be that the compiler considered wrecks to be of no real importance, and therefore left them out of the edition. After all, something has to be discarded.It is possible to employ archivists to do the research.There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach. It is often cheaper and quicker to employ someone who knows the archives intimately and knows how to read andtranslate the documents. However, the disadvantages are that researchers generally follow instructions to the letter and often miss important items because they do not have firsthand experience of the subject. Additionally,the investigator does not get to know the background information which will give a broader understanding of the subject. For example, if information is requested on the loss of a certain vessel, that is what will be given, but it may be that there was some peculiarity about the event that to the researcher may seem irrelevant, but to the investigator it may be crucial. By doing the work, other information may be learned that is related or is more significant.This is an important factor to remember, because the archivist will not be familiar with the investigator’s particular interest. Possibly, one could get the researcher to do the initial research to locate the main references and then this could be followed by a period of firsthand study.
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