What were the major developments in the history of thinking about empire
in Dutch history in the period 1500-2000? What visions of the purpose,
need, form, organization and nature of an overseas or colonial empire
have been formulated throughout the centuries? What moral, political,
and economic arguments have been put forth to justify an empire – or
reform or resist it? How and under what circumstances did these visions
and arguments change or remain the same?
This conference seeks to examine
these questions over the long term, from the early modern period to the
twenty-first century, and from an interdisciplinary
perspective, connecting history with international law, political
economy and political science. The main focus is the long-term
development of thinking about empire in Dutch history, but the
historical study of this topic evidently suggests global interactions
across various empires and disciplines. We explicitly aim to critically
engage with recent historiographical and theoretical developments
concerning the study of empire.
Organizers
Thursday, 29 September
08.30-09.00 Registration and coffee/tea
09.00-09.15 Welcome
09.15-10.15 ROUNDTABLE
Chair: Karwan Fatah-Black (Leiden University)
Tim Harper (University of Cambridge)
Andrew Fitzmaurice (University of Sydney)
Susan Legêne (VU Amsterdam)
10.15-10.30 break
10.30-12.45 CONSTITUTIONAL, INSTITUTIONAL, AND LEGAL DESIGN I
Chair: Janne Nijman (University of Amsterdam)
Arthur Weststeijn (KNIR) – Republican empire. Liberty and domination in the making of Dutch imperialism
Philip Stern (Duke University) – The Google of their times? The Dutch and English East India Companies and the politics of comparison, then and now
René Koekkoek (University of Amsterdam) – Revolution, civilization, and the colonial Charter of 1804
Alicia Schrikker (Leiden University) – The fringes of enlightenment: Dutch colonialism in Asia 1750-1850
12.45-13.45 break
13.45-15.45 CONSTITUTIONAL, INSTITUTIONAL, AND LEGAL DESIGN II
Chair: Janne Nijman (University of Amsterdam)
Sanne Ravensbergen (Leiden University) – The fainted Jaksa. Rule of law ideals and liberal lawyers in colonial Java (1819-1900)
Romain Bertrand (Sciences Po, Paris) – Javanese visions of the Dutch empire. Early twentieth century Priyayi contributions to the reform (and demise) of Dutch colonialism
Jennifer Foray (Purdue University) – Comparatively exceptional: The paradoxes of 20th century Dutch imperialism in theory and practice
15.45-16.00 break
16.00-17.30 POLITICAL ECONOMY I
Chair: tba
Matthias van Rossum (IISH, Amsterdam) – Slave trade and slavery in the Dutch Asian empire
Pernille Roge (University of Pittsburgh) – Dutch Caribbean free ports through a Danish and French imperial lens, ca. 1750-1800
Friday 30 September
09.00-11.00 POLITICAL ECONOMY II
Chair: Crystal Ennis (Leiden University)
Catia Antunes (Leiden University) – Historiographical entrenched views on the Dutch Empire: Selected visions, comfortable perceptions and the problems of comparisonKoen Stapelbroek (Erasmus University/University of Helsinki) – Carthage must be preserved: Global trade and commercial empire from a Dutch 18th century perspective
Thomas Lindblad (Leiden University) – The political economy of the late colonial state in Indonesia
11.00-11.15 break
11.15-12.45 PRODUCTION AND CULTURES OF KNOWLEDGE
Chair: Mariana Françozo (Leiden University)
Benjamin Schmidt (University of Washington) – Gulliver's scruples and visions of empire
Marieke Bloembergen (KITLV, Leiden) – Beyond a Dutch empire, beyond ‘Indonesia’. Networks of scholars, pilgrims and gurus, and moral geographies of Greater India, 1920s-1980s
12.45-13.45 break
13.45-15.15 IMPERIAL MEMORIES
Chair: Elizabeth Buettner (University of Amsterdam)
Sponsored by Leiden Global Interactions, Leiden University Institute for History, Leiden University Fund, Research School Political History
Organizers
René Koekkoek (University of Amsterdam), Anne-Isabelle Richard (Leiden
University), Arthur Weststeijn (Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome)
Program
Thursday, 29 September
08.30-09.00 Registration and coffee/tea
09.00-09.15 Welcome
09.15-10.15 ROUNDTABLE
Chair: Karwan Fatah-Black (Leiden University)
Tim Harper (University of Cambridge)
Andrew Fitzmaurice (University of Sydney)
Susan Legêne (VU Amsterdam)
10.15-10.30 break
10.30-12.45 CONSTITUTIONAL, INSTITUTIONAL, AND LEGAL DESIGN I
Chair: Janne Nijman (University of Amsterdam)
Arthur Weststeijn (KNIR) – Republican empire. Liberty and domination in the making of Dutch imperialism
Philip Stern (Duke University) – The Google of their times? The Dutch and English East India Companies and the politics of comparison, then and now
René Koekkoek (University of Amsterdam) – Revolution, civilization, and the colonial Charter of 1804
Alicia Schrikker (Leiden University) – The fringes of enlightenment: Dutch colonialism in Asia 1750-1850
12.45-13.45 break
13.45-15.45 CONSTITUTIONAL, INSTITUTIONAL, AND LEGAL DESIGN II
Chair: Janne Nijman (University of Amsterdam)
Sanne Ravensbergen (Leiden University) – The fainted Jaksa. Rule of law ideals and liberal lawyers in colonial Java (1819-1900)
Romain Bertrand (Sciences Po, Paris) – Javanese visions of the Dutch empire. Early twentieth century Priyayi contributions to the reform (and demise) of Dutch colonialism
Jennifer Foray (Purdue University) – Comparatively exceptional: The paradoxes of 20th century Dutch imperialism in theory and practice
15.45-16.00 break
16.00-17.30 POLITICAL ECONOMY I
Chair: tba
Matthias van Rossum (IISH, Amsterdam) – Slave trade and slavery in the Dutch Asian empire
Pernille Roge (University of Pittsburgh) – Dutch Caribbean free ports through a Danish and French imperial lens, ca. 1750-1800
Friday 30 September
09.00-11.00 POLITICAL ECONOMY II
Chair: Crystal Ennis (Leiden University)
Catia Antunes (Leiden University) – Historiographical entrenched views on the Dutch Empire: Selected visions, comfortable perceptions and the problems of comparisonKoen Stapelbroek (Erasmus University/University of Helsinki) – Carthage must be preserved: Global trade and commercial empire from a Dutch 18th century perspective
Thomas Lindblad (Leiden University) – The political economy of the late colonial state in Indonesia
11.00-11.15 break
11.15-12.45 PRODUCTION AND CULTURES OF KNOWLEDGE
Chair: Mariana Françozo (Leiden University)
Benjamin Schmidt (University of Washington) – Gulliver's scruples and visions of empire
Marieke Bloembergen (KITLV, Leiden) – Beyond a Dutch empire, beyond ‘Indonesia’. Networks of scholars, pilgrims and gurus, and moral geographies of Greater India, 1920s-1980s
12.45-13.45 break
13.45-15.15 IMPERIAL MEMORIES
Chair: Elizabeth Buettner (University of Amsterdam)
Remco Raben (Utrecht University) – The empire looks back? Thoughts about viewing, reviewing and obscuring empire
Paul Bijl (University of Amsterdam) – The giving side of Empire
15.15-15.45 CLOSING REMARKS
Tim Harper (University of Cambridge)
Andrew Fitzmaurice (University of Sydney)
Paul Bijl (University of Amsterdam) – The giving side of Empire
15.15-15.45 CLOSING REMARKS
Tim Harper (University of Cambridge)
Andrew Fitzmaurice (University of Sydney)
Venue
Museum voor Volkenkunde, Paviljoen
Steenstraat 1, Leiden
Registration is closed
More info
a.weststeijn@knir.it
Museum voor Volkenkunde, Paviljoen
Steenstraat 1, Leiden
Registration is closed
More info
a.weststeijn@knir.it
Sponsored by Leiden Global Interactions, Leiden University Institute for History, Leiden University Fund, Research School Political History
