Why did the British preserve official documents?
The British had kept official records because they believed it would be easier to research and debate afterwards if they wrote and recorded everything. They kept official records of what they thought was right so that those documents could be used as proof for all future judgments. Museum archives and documents can be examined at any time in the future, whether for research or discussion. The items that have been saved demonstrate how far the country has progressed over time.
The notes and reports that have been compiled in the past can be viewed. Replicas of these works have recently been created and used. Documents were extremely helpful in gaining a better grasp of the social, economic, and historical background of the time.
For example, the India Office Records are a massive collection of items relating to the administration of India from 1600 to 1947, spanning the period of the Company and British authority in India, and include official publications and records, manuscripts, and pictures.
Official documents, according to the British, can be maintained in Archives and Museums and used for reference and debate at a later date. All essential letters and records, the British believed, should be properly kept. As a result, record rooms were connected to administrative organisations, and record-keeping institutions such as archives and museums were founded. For example, their approach to agreement and settlement, plans, and rules. We can learn about the population rate, such as birth and death rates, from these official statistics because the British started the census system.