On 23 October 2025, Posthumus alumnus Alexander van der Meer successfully defended the thesis ‘Colonial Calvinism: Colonial Ideologies of Dutch Clergymen in Batavia, ca. 1700-1850’ at Leiden University. Supervisors were Dr Alicia Schrikker and Professor Jos Gommans (both Leiden University). Alexander’s dissertation examines the colonial ideology of Dutch Reformed ministers and missionaries in Batavia between…

On 23 October 2025, Posthumus alumnus Philip Post succesfully defended the thesis ‘Constructing Colonial Legitimacy in the Moluccas, 1750-1870’ at Leiden University. Supervisors were Dr Alicia Schrikker and Professor Jos Gommans (both Leiden University). Philip’s dissertation examines how Dutch colonial officials in Ambon and Ternate justified their authority between 1750 and 1870. At its core…

On 21 October 2025, Posthumus alumna Vicky Vanruysseveldt succesfully defended the thesis ‘Onderweg met amusement. Inkomensstrategieën en mobiliteit bij ambulante entertainers in Brabant (1750-1914)’ [transl. ‘On the road with entertainment. Income strategies and mobility among itinerant entertainers in Brabant (1750-1914)’ at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Supervisor was Professor Anne Winter (Vrije Universiteit Brussel). The N.W. Posthumus…

The Libris Geschiedenis Prijs 2025 has been awarded to Janna Coomans, Assistant Professor at Utrecht University, fellow of the N.W. Posthumus Institute and coordinator of our Research Network ‘Economy and Society of the Pre-industrial Low Countries in Comparative Perspective’ for her publication Dievenland – overleven in de Middeleeuwen [transl. Country of Thieves – surviving in…

~ because of scope in Dutch only ~ Historicus en Posthumus PhD Chris Vlam houdt op 30 november 2025 de lezing ‘Voor allen, door allen!’ over de opkomst van de kruisverenigingen in Noord-Holland en Utrecht tussen 1875 en 1945. Chris bespreekt in deze lezing de ontwikkeling van kruisverenigingen in Noord-Holland en Utrecht. Aan de hand…

The organisers of the 12th Tensions of Europe (ToE) Conference call for abstracts for this conference with as central theme ‘The meaning of the past in sustainable futures’. This conference will be held on 8-10 July 2026 at the campus of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and will be organised by the Eindhoven History Lab,…

The Professor Van Winter Fund calls for proposals for one PhD position, to be funded by thids fund. This funding aims to allow PhDs in History to obtain an independent PhD position based on an individual PhD project, developed by the PhD. The funding is awarded every 4-5 years and covers a project of up…

At the 2025 Conference of the European Society of Historical Demography, held in Bologna, 10-13 September 2025, Posthumus affiliates received an Honourable Mention in the competition for the Roger Schofield Award. The Roger Schofield Award has been established to recognise the best paper presented by a young demographer (under 35 years of age) at the…

~ because of scope only in Dutch ~ Op 20 november 2025 zal professor Danielle van den Heuvel, hoogleraar Vroegmoderne economische en sociale geschiedenis aan de Universiteit Utrecht en tevens voormalig bestuurslid van het N.W. Posthumus Instituut het ambt aanvaarden met het uitspreken van de rede Hoe de Was eens Was. Over de Rol van…

The Fondazione Istituto Internazionale di Storia Economica “F. Datini” and the European School for Training in Economic and Social Historical Research (ESTER) announce their 11th jointly organised Datini-ESTER Advanced Seminar for economic and social historians on 11-17 May 2026, in Prato (Italy). The topic of the 2026 seminar is ‘From craft guilds to unions’ and…