Charles Howard Carter diplomatic history collection

Collection

Identifier: MS-0339

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection of historian, Charles Howard Carter, consists of research files, writings, bibliographic references to his microfilm collection, and a large selection of photocopied documents also from the micofilm collection. The material was most likely collected during the period 1960-1990, and supported Carter's research for his many scholarly articles and monographs. The papers do not represent Carter's teaching career or his personal life. The collection has been artificially arranged into three series - Series 1: Research; Series 2: Writings; Series 3: Photocopies of Microfilm. The largest part of the collection is filed in Series 1, and it is the research for Professor Carter's special interest in the diplomatic relations of European nations during the reign of James I, King of England (1556-1625). Most of the items in this series recall events, 1613-1619, and establish Carter's meticulous investigations for his proposed work on James I and the Spanish ambassador, Diego Sarmiento de Acuna, Count of Gondomar (1567- 1626). Carter's subject headings have been retained where possible, and in the files are Carter's notes and photocopies of documents. The documents are written in Spanish, English, and a few in Portuguese. Also in Series 1 is a small amount of material that forms a modified bibliography to the Carter collection of microfilm. (The microfilm is cataloged separately as the Charles H. Carter Collection in Diplomatic History, Microfilm). The bibliography covers only a small segment of the microfilm collection and lists a manuscript number, repository, and a single sentence description of the contents of the document. In Series 2: Writings are examples of Carter's published writings, 1963-1984. Included are typescripts and offprints of journal articles and galley sheets from his major monographs. The writings are mostly concerned with Anglo-Spanish relations in the early 17th century and further demonstrate Professor Carter's specialization in this period. In Series 3 are photocopies of documents from the Charles H. Carter Collection in Diplomatic History, Microfilm. Documents include manuscripts from the British Museum and papers from Simancas. It should be noted that not all of the documents are copied, and it may be expedient to refer only to the microfilm collection

Dates

Creation: 1960-1990

Creator

Carter, Charles Howard (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is housed off-site and requires 48-hours' notice for retrieval. Contact Special Collections for more information.

This collection is open for use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical Note

Charles Howard Carter was born in Baker, Oregon on April 3, 1927. He was Professor of History at Tulane University and a noted specialist on Spanish and European diplomacy in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Carter studied at Columbia University where he was a student of Garrett Mattingly. From Columbia, Carter received the B.S. degree in 1957, followed by the M.A. in 1958, and the Ph.D. in 1961. Carter taught at Long Island University and the University of Oregon before beginning a teaching and writing career at Tulane University, 1963-1990. At Tulane, he served as chairman of the History Department, 1975-1978, and he was a member of several historical societies including the American Historical Society and the English Historical Society.

Carter contributed many articles to historical journals, but he is best known for two monographs; The Secret Diplomacy of the Habsburgs (1964) and The Western European Powers, 1500-1700 (1971). Both volumes are valuable guides to the politics and diplomacy of the period, but the second title also serves as a manual for discovering the various types of sources, collections, and repositories that can be useful in the study of early modern diplomatic history.

In 1971, Carter began a project to acquire a microfilm collection of European documents to be used for his own research as well as that of other seventeenth-century scholars. The collection when completed would describe and authenticate the diplomatic and domestic history of the period (1590-1635) and the scope of international relations affecting Spain, England, France, and the Spanish Netherlands. Correspondence between the courts, dispatches of the ambassadors, and minutes of state meetings were copied and filmed to eventually total nearly 480 reels of microfilm. The manuscripts selected by Professor Carter to be filmed were from the collections of the British Library and Public Record Office in London, Brussels' Archives Generales du Royaume, the Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris), and the Biblioteca Nacional and the Archivo General de Simancas in Spain.

Professor Carter's final written project was to be an analysis of the relationship between James I and the Spanish ambassador, Diego Sarmiento de Acuna, Count of Gondomar based on the diplomatic correspondence and related documents exchanged between the two courts.

Charles Howard Carter died March 24, 1990 before the completion of his work on James I and Gondomar.

Extent

40.05 Cubic Feet (8 record center cartons, 1 letter size document box, 30 flat boxes (25 x 21 x 3 inches), 1 flat boxes (11 x 9 x 3 inches), 3 flat boxes (21 x 17 x 3 inches), 1 custom box (14 x 10.5 x 4 inches))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Arrangement

The collection has been artificially arranged into three series - Series 1: Research; Series 2: Writings; Series 3: Photocopies of Microfilm.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The papers were the given to the University by Mrs. Geneviève Carter in 1992. The Accession Number is 91-92.25.

Related Materials

The microfilm collection assembled by Professor Carter from European libraries and repositories includes complete runs of historical and diplomatic documents exchanged, 1510-1654, between the courts and councils of Spain, France, England, and the Spanish Netherlands. The collection is titled The Charles H. Carter Collection in Diplomatic History, Microfilm and has been cataloged separately and is available in the Audio-Visual Department, Milton S. Eisenhower Library. A catalog with the same title is available in Special Collections and provides a listing of the sequence of microfilm.

The Charles H. Carter Collection in Diplomatic History. [microform] A-V Dept. (Film No. 3043, 3044, 3045, 3056)

Listing of Microfilm in the Charles H. Carter Collection in Diplomatic History. Baltimore, Md.: Milton S. Eisenhower Library, Johns Hopkins University, 1992. (Spec. Coll. Reference Quarto JX 1635 .L5 1992) (Audio-Visual Dept. Quarto JX 1635 .L5 1992)