The Dutch Empire between Ideas and Practice, 1600–2000

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

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2. Introduction: Intellectual History in Imperial Practice

   • René Koekkoek, Anne-Isabelle Richard, Arthur Weststeijn

   Pages 1-15Open Access

3. Exceptionalism in Visions of Dutch Empire

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-17

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   2. Birthing Empire: The States General and the Chartering of the VOC and the WIC

      • Cátia Antunes

      Pages 19-36

   3. Empire of Riches: Visions of Dutch Commercial Imperialism, c. 1600–1750

      • Arthur Weststeijn

      Pages 37-65Open Access

   4. Hyper-Imperialism: The Dutch Vision of Empire and the Expansion of the European World

      • Benjamin Schmidt

      Pages 67-87

   5. Comparatively Exceptional: The Paradoxes of Twentieth-Century Dutch Imperialism and Decolonization

      • Jennifer L. Foray

      Pages 89-108

4. Visions of Dutch Empire in Practice

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 109-109

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   2. Institutional Memory in the Making of Dutch Colonial Culture in Asia (1700–1870)

      • Alicia F. Schrikker

      Pages 111-134

   3. Envisioning the Dutch Imperial Nation-State in the Age of Revolutions

      • René Koekkoek

      Pages 135-157Open Access

   4. Rule of Lawyers: Liberalism and Colonial Judges in Nineteenth-Century Java

      • Sanne Ravensbergen

      Pages 159-182Open Access

   5. The Glass House Revisited: Radio Broadcasting and the Blind Spots in the Late Colonial State in the Netherlands Indies, 1920s and 1930s

      • Vincent Kuitenbrouwer

      Pages 183-204

   6. Epilogue. Colonial Distances: Dutch Intellectual Images of Global Trade and Conquest in the Colonial and Postcolonial Age

      • Remco Raben

      Pages 205-232

5. Back Matter

   Pages 233-239

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This volume explores the intellectual history of the Dutch Empire from a long-term and global perspective, analysing how ideas and visions of empire took shape in imperial practice from the seventeenth century to the present day. Through a series of case studies, the volume critically unearths deep-rooted conceptions of Dutch imperial exceptionalism and shows how visions of imperial rule were developed in metropolitan and colonial contexts and practices. Topics include the founding of the Dutch chartered companies for colonial trade, the development of commercial and global visions of empire in Europe and Asia, the continuities and ruptures in imperial ideas and practices around 1800, and the practical making of empire in colonial court rooms and radio broadcasting. Demonstrating the relevance of a long-term approach to the Dutch Empire, the volume showcases how the intellectual history of empire can provide fresh light on postcolonial repercussions of empire and imperial rule.

Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 of this book are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.

• Intellectual history
• History of ideas
• Imperial ideology
• Exceptionalism
• Collective memory
• Colonial legacy
• Transnational and transimperial
• East and West
• Ideological resistance
• Perceptions of empire
• Longue duree
• Early modern history
• Modern history
• Contemporary public debate

“This is one of those examinations of a subject which was not thought to exist. Simply by being written, this book changes the field of study. Dutch imperialism and colonial rule was thought to be free of ideology, the work purely of “practical” men. In a very sophisticated way, this book shows how the Dutch thought Empire, not necessarily in abstract terms. This is a well-argued, well-written, well researched and convincing collection.” (Robert Ross, Professor Emeritus, Leiden University Institute for History, the Netherlands)

“The intellectual history of empire has boomed over the past twenty years, but, despite outstanding individual contributions, the Dutch empire has not received the same attention as the British or the Spanish in particular. Moreover, the myth of a relatively benign Dutch empire, established by the republic, has been difficult to dislodge. This volume does not simply bring the scholarship into line with the broader historiography of European empires.  It leapfrogs it by producing an intellectual history that focuses upon practices more than canonical authors, by exploring the ideas prevalent in colonial government, law and the courtroom, and articulated by imperial agents, while bringing those intermediate actors back into dialogue with a dethroned canon.  This brilliant volume is a model for all historians of empire and all intellectual historians.” (Andrew Fitzmaurice, Queen Mary University of London, UK)

• Department of History and Art History, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

  René Koekkoek

• Institute for History, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

  Anne-Isabelle Richard

• Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

  Arthur Weststeijn

René Koekkoek is Assistant Professor at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. 

Anne-Isabelle Richard is Assistant Professor at Leiden University, the Netherlands. 

Arthur Weststeijn is Assistant Professor at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. 

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