Date of Award

2008

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (Information Science)

School

School Of Computer And Information Science

Faculty

Computing, Health And Science

First Advisor

Dr. Karen Anderson

Abstract

This thesis takes up Terry Cook's idea that through their work, archivists are active shapers rather than passive keepers. In taking this idea further, this thesis discusses case studies comparing the custodial history of the records of four companies that were created in the seventeenth century. Consideration is given to how archival practitioners influenced the arrangement and description of the records of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), the English East India Company (EIC), the Royal African Company (RAC) and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) during critical periods of their custodial history.