Lecture by Professor Jan de Vries (UC Berkeley) on ‘Climate, economy and society in the Netherlands, 1579-1800’

The organisers of the Economic and Social History seminar series at Utrecht University cordially invite you to the lecture ‘Climate, economy and society in the Netherlands, 1579-1800’ by Jan de Vries, Ehrman Professor Emeritus at UC Berkeley. The lecture will be held on 15 October 2024, 4-6 pm, at Janskerkhof 2-3, room 0.21.

Jan de Vries has constructed a series of annual data on winter temperatures in Holland, starting in 1579. He will explain the creation of this data-set but, more importantly, what the data can tell us about the changes in the local climate during the Little Ice Age, and its impact on the Dutch economy and society at a time when the Dutch dominated world trade and managed to become arguably the richest people in the world.

Jan de Vries is professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is one of the most-cited economic historians of his generation and famous for his work on both Dutch and European economic history. His books include (with Ad van der Woude) The First Modern Economy: Success, Failure, and Perseverance of the Dutch Economy, 1500-1815 (1997), The Industrious Revolution: Consumer Behavior and the Household Economy, 1650 to the Present (2008), and The Price of Bread: Regulating the Market in the Dutch Republic (2019).

Attending is free of charge and no reservation is required. However: full is full, members of the ESH group at Utrecht University will have priority.