Why did british preserve official document

answer:

the british believed that by preserving official documents, it would be easier for them or any other persons to know about the decisions taken in the past. one can study the notes and reports that were prepared in the past. their copies may be prepared and used in present time if needed so.

affirmative action refers to the policies that take gender, race, or ethnicity into account in order to promote equal opportunity.

employers subject to title vii are prohibited from taking race or sex into account in any employment decisions. aa is a penalty for having any job group substantially statistically "underutilized" in any race or either sex. the employer must take steps to eliminate the underutilization, then stop, ending its aa efforts

i believe it would influence their own way of understanding things. it shall be a foundation where they can draw or start an argument.   historians are also  scientists that  have their tools of analysis and expertise to unlock a variety of difficulties such as relationships of man, origin, politics, economy, and culture. based on facts and understanding on these areas, they may shade light to extract ideas and develop options to validate a hypothesis or debunk it.