Agenda
Book launch ‘Lives, Land, and Labour: A Social History of Eighteenth-Century Sri Lanka’ by Posthumus fellow Luc Bulten
On 15 April 2026, the Stichting Nederland-Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Research Network ‘Routes and Roots in Colonial and Global History’ of the N.W. Posthumus Institute will organise a book launch event for Lives, Land, and Labour. A Social History of Eighteenth-Century Sri Lanka (Leiden: Brill, 2026), authored by Posthumus fellow Luc Bulten. The launch will take place in the Belle van Zuylenzaal of Utrecht University Hall (Academiegebouw).
The book is based on the ‘Thombos”, a rather unique collection of eighteenth-century land and population registers detailing the lives lived, lands held, and labour provided by tens of thousands of people inhabiting the coastal regions of Sri Lanka that were colonised by the Dutch East India Company. Turning this archive inside out by highlighting both the indigenous and colonial roots of this administrative system, Luc Bulten presents a gateway into everyday social realities surrounding caste, conjugality, (forced) work, and land tenure. In doing so, he demonstrates how both European expansionism and local agency reciprocally affected the ways such social realities were shaped.
During the launch, Luc will discuss some of the main takeaways of his book, and will then be joined by a junior Posthumus fellow (Pouwel van Schooten, Leiden University) and a senior Posthumus fellow (tba) who will share their thoughts on the work. Afterwards there is room for a Q&A followed by drinks at the same venue.
Attendance is free of charge, but because of limited seating, prior registration is requested.
