Biography

Prior to my arrival at the University of Amsterdam in 2013, I taught early modern history at Oxford, Cambridge and Leiden. I held visiting fellowships at the universities of St Andrews (2006), Mainz (2007) and Leuven (2009).

From September 2014 I serve as Director of the Amsterdam School for Culture and History (ASCH).

Research

My research focuses on the history of the early modern Low Countries, including the Dutch Revolt and the Dutch Golden Age of the seventeenth century. I am particularly interested in political and religious culture and the history of migration. Please find more information under 'Research'.

My research has been generously supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (Rubicon, 2005; Veni, 2007), the British Academy, the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst and  Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds Vlaanderen.

Selected publications

- The Dutch Revolt and Catholic Exile in Reformation Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014)

- Together with Alexandra Bamji and Mary Laven (eds.), Research Companion to the Counter-Reformation (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013)

- Princely Power in the Dutch Republic: Patronage and William Frederick of Nassau (1613-64) (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008). Dutch edition: Creaturen van de macht. Patronage bij Willem Frederik van Nassau (1613-1664) (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2005).

Journal articles in The Historical Journal, Renaissance Quarterly, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Sixteenth Century Journal, History, and BMGN-Low Countries Historical Review.

The Dutch Revolt and Catholic Exile in Reformation Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014)

Research Companion to the Counter-Reformation (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013)

Princely Power in the Dutch Republic: Patronage and William Frederick of Nassau (1613-64) (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008). Dutch edition: Creaturen van de macht. Patronage bij Willem Frederik van Nassau (1613-1664) (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2005).

Bachelor/undergraduate teaching

in 2014-15 I teach, among other things, the first-year module ‘Early Modern History’ and the interdisciplinary graduate course 'New Perspectives on the Dutch Golden Age'. 

Graduate teaching / PhD supervision

From the start I have thoroughly enjoyed working with students who have often inspired me to broaden my range and think in different directions. I am keen to supervise students in the field of early modern Dutch history as well as in areas related to my research, including the Counter-Reformation, the history of migration and the global Dutch golden age.

Projects

My research focuses on the history of the early modern Low Countries, including the Dutch Revolt  and the Dutch Golden Age of the seventeenth century. I am particularly interested in political and religious culture and the history of migration.

My Princely Power in the Dutch Republic (2005/2008) examined patronage practices at the court of the stadholders (provincial governors) in the Dutch Republic. Primarily based on the extensive, yet little known diaries of William Frederick of Nassau (1613-1664) it assessed how clientage shaped political, religious and social identities in the early modern Netherlands. I have also done some work on funeral rites and public display at the courts of the Orange and Nassau dynasties.

The Dutch Revolt and Catholic Exile in Reformation Europe (2014) analyses the impact of flight, displacement and forced migration on Counter-Reformation culture. The Dutch Revolt of the sixteenth century sparked one of the largest refugee crises of Reformation Europe. This book explores the experience of flight, exile and eventual return of Catholic men and women during the war. By mapping the Catholic diaspora across Europe, it explains how exile worked as a catalyst of religious radicalisation and transformed the world views, networks and identities of the refugees. Like their Protestant counterparts, the displaced Catholic communities became the mobilising forces behind a militant International Catholicism. The Catholic exile experience thus facilitated the permanent separation of the northern and southern Netherlands. Drawing on diaries, letters and evidence from material culture, this book offers a penetrating picture of the lives of early modern refugees and their agency in the Counter-Reformation.

I am currently working on a project about (international) migration and its impact on 'Dutch' culture in the early modern period. It aims to map the different ways in which immigrants and emigrants shaped notions of Dutchness during the Golden Age and facilitated their spreading across the globe. This was also the topic of my inaugural lecture, Nieuw Amsterdam, delivered on 12th December 2014. It is available below and at:

http://webcolleges.uva.nl/Mediasite/Play/0fb925c3865d4ea585f6a93fe975895a1d

My research has been generously supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (Rubicon, 2005; Veni, 2007), the British Academy, the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst and  Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds Vlaanderen.

Recent publications

Books

- The Dutch Revolt and Catholic Exile in Reformation Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014)

- Together with Alexandra Bamji and Mary Laven (eds.), Research Companion to the Counter-Reformation (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013)

- Princely Power in the Dutch Republic: Patronage and William Frederick of Nassau (1613-64) (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008). Dutch edition: Creaturen van de macht. Patronage bij Willem Frederik van Nassau (1613-1664) (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2005).

Articles

- Nieuw Amsterdam. Oratie Universiteit van Amsterdam, 12-12-2014

- 'Less is More. Geschiedenis in het Rijksmuseum', BMGN-Low Countries Historical Review 129-1 (2014), pp. 146-155. [see PDF attachment below]

- ‘The Exile Experience’, in: Alexandra Bamji, Geert Janssen, Mary Laven (ed.), Research Companion to the Counter-Reformation (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013), pp. 73-90. [see PDF attachment below]

- ‘The Counter-Reformation of the Refugee: Exile and the Shaping of Catholic Militancy in the Dutch Revolt’, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 63 (2012), pp. 671-92. [see PDF attachment below]

- ‘Quo Vadis? Catholic Perceptions of Flight and the Revolt of the Low Countries, 1566-1609’, Renaissance Quarterly, 64 (2011), pp. 472-99. [see PDF attachment below]

- ‘The Dutchness of the Dutch Golden Age’, The Historical Journal, 53 (2010), pp. 805-17. [see PDF attachment below]

- ‘Political Ambiguity and Confessional Diversity in the Funeral Processions of Stadholders in the Dutch Republic’, Sixteenth Century Journal, 40 (2009), pp. 283-301. [see PDF attachment below]

- ‘Exiles and the Politics of Reintegration in the Dutch Revolt’, History, 94 (2009), pp. 37-53. [see PDF attachment below]

• Nieuw Amsterdam. Oratie UvA, 12-12-2014

• Front matter from 'The Dutch Revolt and Catholic Exile in Reformation Europe'

• Introduction, taken from 'The Dutch Revolt and Catholic Exile in Reformation Europe'

• 'Less is More. Geschiedenis in het Rijksmuseum', BMGN-Low Countries Historical Review 129-1 (2014), pp. 146-155.

• 'The Exile Experience’, in: Alexandra Bamji, Geert Janssen, Mary Laven (ed.), Research Companion to the Counter-Reformation (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013), pp. 73-90

• ‘The Counter-Reformation of the Refugee: Exile and the Shaping of Catholic Militancy in the Dutch Revolt’, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 63 (2012), pp. 671-92.

• ‘Quo Vadis? Catholic Perceptions of Flight and the Revolt of the Low Countries, 1566-1609’, Renaissance Quarterly, 64 (2011), pp. 472-99.

• ‘The Dutchness of the Dutch Golden Age’, The Historical Journal, 53 (2010), pp. 805-17.

• ‘Political Ambiguity and Confessional Diversity in the Funeral Processions of Stadholders in the Dutch Republic’, Sixteenth Century Journal, 40 (2009), pp. 283-301.

• ‘Exiles and the Politics of Reintegration in the Dutch Revolt’, History, 94 (2009), pp. 37-53.

Please find below some recent coverage of my research in (Dutch) media:

- 'Katholieken op de vlucht', Historisch Nieuwsblad (April, 2015)

- 'Migratie in de gouden eeuw', NTR Academie, Radio 5 (January 2015).

- 'Nieuw gezicht', De Volkskrant (December 2014)

- 'Soepele integratie Amsterdam Gouden Eeuw', Een Vandaag, Radio 1 (December 2014)

- 'Gouden eeuw was eeuw van migranten', Het Parool (December, 2014)

• 'Katholieken op de vlucht', Historisch Nieuwsblad

• 'Nieuw Gezicht', Volkskrant

• 'Gouden eeuw was eeuw van migranten', Parool

• Geen nevenwerkzaamheden