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==Starting out your 'British India' research==
The FIBIS online ''Beginners' Guide '' will continue to be expanded in the future. It is recommended that you read through all of this information before contacting FIBIS for personal research services (Members) or research advice (non-Members). You may also find Peter Bailey's Slideshow slideshow [http://www.fibis.org/BL.pps "Your First Visit to the IOR"] helpful. (The slideshow takes about a minute to download with broadband). The slideshow is also available on [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CSjQMdsMZZQ YouTube ]
*[[Church records]]
The main focus of FIBIS activities is the ‘sub-continent’ of India but we are also interested in all areas and activities of the British in South Asia including the following between the founding of the [[East India Company]] in 1599 to ‘Indian Independence’ in 1947:
[[Afghanistan]], [[Aden]], [[Andaman Islands]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Benkulen|Bencoolen]](Bencoolen) (Sumatra), [[Burma]] (Myanmar), [[Ceylon]] (Sri Lanka), [[China]], [[Macao]] & [[Hong Kong]], [[Indonesia]] (Borneo, Labuan etc.), [[Malaysia]], [[Mauritius]], [[Persia]], [[Singapore]], Straits Settlements.
Also included are the activities of the East India Company in [[Home Establishment | London]] and [[St. Helena]].
Knowing which Presidency a town or city was in, is important when consulting many of the [[India Office Records]] held at the [[British Library]].
Also note that administrative boundaries changed from time to time and it is important to check 'border' districts in the adjoining area. The above map is adapted from Plate 21 of the (1931) revised atlas of the ''[[Imperial Gazetteer of India]]''. Such small scale maps cannot show every enclave of territory, and this map is not to be taken as an authority for boundaries. For more detail see the provincial maps in the ''Imperial Gazetteer '' atlas, and large scale published ''Survey of India '' topographical maps.
==Main sources for information==
*[[Mailing lists]]
*[[British Library]] – India Office Records (IOR) Asian & African Studies Reading Room – [[APAC]] (Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections)*[[The National Archives]] (TNA) – formerly The the Public Records Office (PRO)
*[[General Register Office]] (GRO)
*[[National Army Museum]] (NAM)
*[[National Maritime Museum]] (NMM)
