Napoleon Bonaparte was quoted as saying that “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets”. Napoleon had more reason to fear public opinion and sharp pointy bits than most of us, but what is true for us all is the power of newspapers to inform and reflect the society we live in or sprouted from.
Cultural trends, political currents and social problems are reflected in past newspapers and give immediacy to historical events. They also contain important genealogical information for those who seek out their own origins. British Library Newspapers consists of two major collections from the British Library that are a fantastic example of this: 17th and 18th Century Burney Collection and 19th Century British Library Newspapers.
The two collections combined contain nearly three million pages that can be searched separately or together depending upon your needs. You can access this resource from home or within libraries using your customer number and PIN. Within these pages you will find the voices of the populace that Napoleon so feared … and with good reason!