Oriental and India Office Collections
Encyclopedia
The Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections previously called the Oriental and India Office Collections (OIOC) form a significant part of the holdings of the British Library
in London
, England.
Library and Records, relating to the entire history of British
involvement in India
and other parts of the eastern world, as well as materials in the languages of Asia
and of north and north-east Africa
. It was located at Orbit House, 197 Blackfriars Road, London. Also, until 1998, The Department of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed Books was located at 14, Store Street, off Tottenham Court Road, London. Orbit House was demolished in 2004.
The collections also include transcriptions of baptism, marriage, and burial records of Christian
s of Europe
an descent, sent to Britain from India during the period of British rule, which are a vital resource in researching the genealogy
of Anglo-Indian
s or domiciled Europeans who lived there.
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England.
India Office collection
The collections include the documents from the India OfficeIndia Office
The India Office was a British government department created in 1858 to oversee the colonial administration of India, i.e. the modern-day nations of Bangladesh, Burma, India, and Pakistan, as well as territories in South-east and Central Asia, the Middle East, and parts of the east coast of Africa...
Library and Records, relating to the entire history of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
involvement in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and other parts of the eastern world, as well as materials in the languages of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and of north and north-east Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It was located at Orbit House, 197 Blackfriars Road, London. Also, until 1998, The Department of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed Books was located at 14, Store Street, off Tottenham Court Road, London. Orbit House was demolished in 2004.
The collections also include transcriptions of baptism, marriage, and burial records of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an descent, sent to Britain from India during the period of British rule, which are a vital resource in researching the genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
of Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...
s or domiciled Europeans who lived there.