Can't Find Primary Sources!!! On Trujillo and his Women

Hello!

I am completely unable to find ANY primary sources for my research on the role of women in the Era of Trujillo. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo was the dictator of the Dominican Republic for about 30 years and part of his monopoly/fiefdom was heavily influenced by his machismo... he had hundreds, perhaps thousands, of affairs; several regular mistresses; and 3 wives. Part of his monopolization of power included taking the daughters of people who wanted to move up, get a house, keep their lives, and so on.

However, there is very little primary source documentation. How should I go about finding primary sources for this topic? My university did not have anything in their online catalogs or print holdings, so I'm kind of on my own. Any ideas/help?!

Thanks so much for your time!

Greetings!

Finding primary sources can certainly be a challenge! If you didn't find any by searching directly, what about citations in secondary sources? A brief internet search showed me that there is a book which contains some primary sources: Foundations of Despotism: Peasants, the Trujillo Regime, and Modernity in Dominican History. By Richard Lee Turits. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003. I could not access the article which reviewed this book, but the brief reference to it did say it contains a lot of primary sources. That's where I'd start: with non-primary sources that cite primary ones. Failing that, I'd suggest asking your instructor, if s/he is at all approachable.

Best of luck!

Thanks,

Sarah, EssayForum.com