Historical Treaties

Published in 1965 by the Harvard Law School Library, this is one of the best starting places for finding historical treaties. This single volume is a chronological list of 3859 multilateral treaties and other agreements from 1596 through 1963. The text contains citations to the full text of the agreement within a variety of primary sources. Particularly useful subject and regional indexes are also included separately.

This large volume lists basic information – including citations to sources containing the full text – about multilateral treaties that were signed between 1648 and 1995. It is arranged in chronological order, making it a fantastic resource if you happen to know when the treaty was signed, or if you're researching treaties within a particular date range. It provides citations to many of the sets we own at the Diamond Law Library.

This five volume set attempts to index all treaties signed worldwide from 1900-1980. The treaties are summarized in chronological order. Each summary contains good, basic information, including parties, dates of signing/ratification, and citations to the United Nations Treaty Series or the League of Nations Treaty Series, if therein. Volumes 4 and 5 index treaties by party and keyword, respectively. Unfortunately, the World Treaty Index has not been supplemented since the 2nd edition was published in 1983.

This three volume set was published to serve as a complete consolidated index to the United Kingdom Treaty Series, and it is indispensable for finding basic information about both bilateral and multilateral British treaties. Volume One contains three separate indexes: multilateral treaties by subject, bilateral treaties by country, and bilateral treaties by subject. Each entry in Volume One indicates a date of signature. Once the date is ascertained, consult Volumes Two and Three, which contain treaties from 1101 to 1968 in chronological order, for basic information about the treaty, including the source(s) containing the full text. A fourth volume covering the period 1969-1988 supplements this set. This is the best substitute for the lack of a source indicating the status of British treaties.

Published by Hein, this 13 volume, comprehensive tool covers treaties from 1776 to present, whether ratified or not. Most volumes are revised through 1995, but there is a consolidated, bound supplement. You can access the set by treaty number, subject, country, title, and date. The first five volumes contain the "master guide," organized by treaty number. For each treaty in this section, you will learn if there are parallel citations, when and where it was signed, when it entered into force, and subsequent activity. It does not tell you whether the treaty is currently in force (see Treaties in Force). The other indexes only provide enough information to lead you back to the Master Guide.

Published by the U.S. State Department in 1919 in preparation of the Paris Peace Conference, this list contains references not to individual treaties but to the location and titles of various treaty collections. This work was largely superseded by the Manual of Collections of Treaties published by Harvard University Press several years later.

Contains a list of general ancient and modern treaty collections, collections by states and a valuable list of collections by subject. The appendix contains an essay from the book's editor, Dennis Peter Meyers, about the publication of treaties which is an interesting historical sketch of treaty publications from the earliest times down to the beginning of the League of Nations Treaty Series.

This single volume is a chronological list of basic information about treaties signed between 1814 and 1918. It includes references to sources containing the full text of the agreements in English and in other languages, where available. The entry list is admittedly incomplete as to both treaties and sources, but it includes very helpful information for 3318 treaties (and 98 selected treaties signed between 1353 and 1814) it does include. Though published by the U.S. Government Printing Office, this source contains references to both and non-U.S. bi-lateral and multilateral treaties. A thorough country index is also included. If you happen to be searching for the text of a treaty that falls within this date range, this is a particularly useful resource.

Covers the period from 800-1731 in eight volumes. The set contains the texts of treaties in their original languages.

Contains treaties signed between 1494 – 1874 in sixteen volumes. Three supplementary volumes and two finding aid volumes (one chronological and one alphabetical) make this a particularly important set for finding historical treaties.

This major set published in three series includes the texts of both bilateral and multilateral treaties, conventions and other inter-state agreement involving at least one European nation. Most treaties are published in their original language, along with a French translation. The earliest text in the series is dated 1494; note that the series' chronological coverage overlaps somewhat.

Covers the period between 1713 to 1906 in 23 volumes. The texts are in French; general indexes are included in volume 16.

Covers the period from 1373 to 1968. Includes treaties, statements, and various diplomatic exchanges from 1812 to 1968. Each volume has an index, but there are periodic multi-year indexes as well.

A collection of commercial treaties and related materials. The 31 volumes reprint documents that were created between 1354 to 1910. Indexes in volumes 22 and 31. Incorporated with BFSP (see above) beginning with volume 116 (1922).

This set replaces two earlier compilations by reprinting all pre-UST treaties. The first four volumes contain multilateral treaties in chronological order. Volumes 5-12 include bilateral treaties arranged by country. The index appears in volume 13.

The text of all treaties from 1776 through 1950 appear in this chronologically arranged set. Volumes 7 and 8 include all treaties from 1776-1845. From 1846 on, treaties were published in chronological order in the treaties section, which follows the statutes in each sessional volume. Executive agreements are included in volumes 47-64. Volume 64 part 3 includes a list of all treaties and agreements in volumes 1 - 64. The list is arranged by country and then by topic. Indian treaties were included through volume 16. With the inception of the United States Treaties Collection (UST) in 1950, Statutes at Large ceased publication of treaties.

This valuable resource contains a very brief synopsis of each treaty, along with a citation and information about the location of the full text within libraries and private collections. Each treaty entry also contains a facsimile of the treaty title page.

This is an historically significant, seven volume compilation of U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII). The work was first published in 1903-04 by the U.S. Government Printing Office. Enhanced by the editors' use of margin notations and a comprehensive index, the information contained in this set should be used as a starting place for any research project on this subject. Each volume contains an Index of treaties by subject and tribe.

Volume 7 contains treaties between the United States and the Indian Tribes from 1778-1845.