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The Royal Commonwealth Society collections include material relating to French studies and the former French colonies in particular. Items include newspaper articles, illustrated books and maps.

How to search for material relating to French studies

Only 25% of RCS published material is currently catalogued on iDiscover.  After first searching iDiscover, it is therefore necessary to consult the card catalogue held in the Rare books reading room and to order items there. You will have to check the holdings for every item referenced in the card catalogue, especially for older material, because a significant amount was destroyed during the World War II bombings.

The RCS's interests in the colonial world were most diverse and the card catalogue's subject classification reflects this. It is subdivided by geographical region and includes a wide range of material on the former French colonies and areas under French influence. This is organised by drawer number:

112 Indo-China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Annam, Tonkin, Cochin-China
153-154 Mauritius, Seychelles, Belgian possessions in Africa and Seychelles
156 French West Africa
157 Algeria, Lake Chad, Morocco, Sahara, Tangier
158 Tunisia, Cameroon
159 Dahomey, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, French Sudan, Mauritania, Niger Colony, Senegal, Togoland
160 Brazzaville, Madagascar, Comoro Islands, Reunion, French Somaliland
163 Photographs of the former French colonies.
164 Maps of Indo-China, Belgian Congo, French Equatorial Africa, Cameroon and Canada.
218-20 Quebec
222-223 Manitoba
229-230 French West Indies, French Guinea, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Haiti
276 South Pacific
278 French Pacific

For archive material including photography, consult ArchiveSearch. Restrict your search to "Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Collections".

Some of the Royal Commonwealth Society Collections are digitised on Cambridge Digital Library. You can use the Advanced Search to narrow your results by Collection : "Royal Commonwealth Society", and by entering Keywords ("France" or the names of past French colonies: "Mauritius").