Chapter 2 analyzes the regulation of colonial archives in Kenya as a method of racialized secret-keeping that involved cooperation between the Colonial Office in London and officials based in Kenya. It demonstrates that the regulation of its archives was one of several strategies of the colonial administration to control access to information and intelligence pertaining to the Emergency. The first half of this chapter examines the negotiations between the Colonial Office in London and the British colonial government in Nairobi over how best to deal with managing and securing secret records. The second half proceeds to analyze the only instance in which a “researcher” has ever been granted full and unconditional access to the secret records of the Emergency. In doing so, it argues that the British colonial government was interested not only in barring access to sensitive documents but also in enabling their use in highly controlled settings so that official documents could serve as evidence supporting sympathetic “research,” or propaganda, which vindicated the government at a time of growing critique.

This chapter explores the intricate world of Ottoman archives by focusing on the perceptions, challenges, and methodologies encountered by historians when engaging with these vast repositories. It delves into the comprehensiveness of administrative records maintained by the Ottoman Empire, highlighting the immense volume of documents produced and preserved. It underscores the balance between preservation and access, as well as the evolution of archival practices over time. The chapter delineates various approaches historians employ when utilizing archives by discussing different methodologies applied to archival research, including fact-centered narratives, clue-centered microhistory, data-centered quantitative analysis, concept-centered semantics, and code-centered interpretation. Historians’ use of archives is shaped by scholarly tradition, editorial practices, and the broader sociopolitical context. As such, historical engagement with archives necessarily develops within the wider complex relationship between scholarly inquiry and political agendas. By shedding light on the multifaceted nature of Ottoman archives and the diverse ways historians engage with them, this chapter offers insights into the challenges, opportunities, and ongoing debates within the field of Ottoman historical research.