Early Modern History (1500-1800) covers a crucial period in European as well as global history – one of particular importance for the Netherlands which emerged in this period onto the global stage. Over the course of the early modern era visions of nature and society underwent dramatic change. This manifested itself in greater awareness of and appreciation for antiquity, for the empirical world, and for the individual (the Renaissance). The emergence of states was advanced by – among other things – the Reformation, warfare, and new concepts of legitimate authority and sovereignty. Regional markets integrated in the international market (Commercial Revolution). The study of the natural world developed a stronger empirical character and made more consistent use of experimental and mathematical methods. In consequence western Europeans increasingly privileged reason as a tool for understanding the broader world and for envisioning an ideal society (rationalism and the Enlightenment). Moreover, early modern European culture was shaped by a need for peaceful co-existence among groups holding different religious and political ideals, and developed a new appreciation for plural, even in a certain sense tolerant, societies. Fundamental principles of modern society, such as the idea of the rule of law (the ‘Rechtsstaat’), respect for minorities and the separation of church and state, developed in this period. The contexts in which such crucial phenomena emerged tell us much about how they are understood and practiced today.
The Early Modern History section is concerned with these important topics in its teaching and research programmes. Our members possess particular expertise in the fields of early modern state-formation and political culture, with a special focus on the relations between politics and the press, diplomacy and international legal history, gender studies, global cultural encounters, commercial and maritime history and the emancipation of minorities.
The section’s permanent staff participate in (among others) the Groningen Research Institute for the Study of Culture (ICOG), the Centre for Gender Studies, the Kossmann Institute, the N.W. Posthumus Institute, and the Nederlands Instituut in Saint Petersburg, in addition to collaboration with the Fryske Akademy (Frisian Academy, Leeuwarden) Tresoar (Frisian Historical and Literary Centre, Leeuwarden), the Danish National Archives (Copenhagen)and the universities of Bremen and Oldenburg.
In close co-operation with Tresoar, the Frisian Historical and Literary Centre, Leeuwarden, we realize an electronic database for the complete Sound Toll Registers. In 2008 the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) granted us over € 1.2 mln to carry out this project. The project, dubbed The Sound Toll Registers online
, is co-financed by the University of Groningen, Tresoar and several Frisian Cultural Funds. The total budget amounts almost € 1.7 mln. The database become available on www.soundtoll.nl from 2011.
In 2009 NWO granted us € 600.000 to finance a research program on the early modern Frisian shipmaster community in its regional and national economic context. This project, dubbed The ascent of the Frisians. The Dutch Commercial System and the market for maritime transport, 1550-1800, is carried out by two PhD students and a Postdoc.
Furthermore, PhD research is carried out about the image of Spain and the Spanish people in the Netherlands (1566-1609), private correspondence in the Year of Disaster 1672 (the Sailing Letters) and the Grand Pensionary Simon van Slingelandt (1664-1727).
What sort of career opportunities does the study of Early Modern History offer? Our alumni can be found in a variety of careers in politics, journalism, publishing, government, or the cultural and business sectors. Recent graduates also work in museums, libraries and archives. Naturally many alumni hold jobs in secondary (via the Educatieve Master) or higher education and research (via the Research Master or the Maatschappelijke Master).
Groningen
is a particularly attractive place to study Early Modern Dutch History since in this period the Dutch Republic transformed itself into a global power. The rich archives from this period offer exciting and valuable opportunities for exploring the place of the Dutch Republic in the international scene. Our programme provides specialised training in reading, appreciating and contextualising this era’s fascinating heritage. Historical research offers experience in organising and interpreting extensive bodies of material and in incorporating these into coherent texts – necessary and valuable skills in any career. Historians with an appreciation for more distant yet still relevant past can approach present challenges with greater perspective and analytical insight.
