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On 22 September 2025, Posthumus alumnus Jurriaan Wink successfully defended the PhD thesis ‘Het thuisfront springt bij: Stad, gewest en vorst op de bres voor kooplieden uit Kampen, Utrecht en Zutphen in den vreemde (ca. 1440-1560)’ [transl. ‘Help from home: Urban, regional, and central authorities of Kampen, Utrecht, and Zutphen supporting merchants abroad (ca. 1440-1560)’]. Supervisors were Professor Bart Lambert (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Professor Louis Sicking (VU Amsterdam).

Trade in the late Middle Ages was risky business: travel was slow, information often incomplete, and danger never far away. Yet international trade continued to grow. Why did merchants and skippers keep following their trade routes despite the risks? Previous research has mainly approached trade as a relationship between merchants and the authorities at their destination. This thesis shifts the focus: to the practical, diplomatic and legal support merchants and skippers from Kampen, Utrecht and Zutphen received abroad from their home cities and rulers: their home front. It shows that research demonstrates that international trade was never just a matter between a merchant and their destination and the home front was a key factor in long-distance trade, alongside the efforts of merchants themselves and the provisions offered by foreign authorities.

The N.W. Posthumus Institute congratulates Jurriaan with the successful defence!

THESIS INFO

Recently we were informed that earlier this year, 21 March 2025, Posthumus alumnus Sander Berghmans successfully defended the thesis ‘Dukes and abbots: essays on the economics of estate management in the Southern Netherlands (ca. 1600-1820)’ at Ghent University. Supervisors were Professors Thys Lambrecht, Koen Schoors, and Erik Thoen (all Ghent University).

The historiography concerning the economy of rural societies in the Southern Netherlands—and that of Europe in general—has received significant attention from researchers in recent years. Earlier research on this theme primarily focused on major economic movements such as the evolution of food, labor, and land markets, as well as social phenomena like inequality. While such research is crucial for understanding early modern society, it often lacks deeper insight into the mechanisms behind these evolutions: What drove people in a certain position to make specific economic choices and thus contribute to broader economic processes? This dissertation specifically examines the management (which can be seen as an economic choice) of the estates of large landowners. In Sanders’ research, three key factors influencing management are considered: the organization of property, the socio-economic environment, and short-term economic fluctuations. This was done through case studies of three large landowners: the Dukes of Arenberg, the Abbey of the Dunes (Roosewalle), and Abbot De Loose of Ename. This dissertation demonstrates that management decisions could have a significant impact on the local population. However, these decisions were made in relation to the local population and could sometimes lead to a form of counterreaction. At the same time, the choices available to landowners were largely path-dependent. Furthermore, this dissertation shows that the direct exploitation of part of the land was more common than previously assumed. It appears that landowners consistently aimed for maximum personal revenue rather than the highest production, which would have been more beneficial for the population. Finally, this dissertation addresses the criticism that research on the principal-agent relationship is ahistorical, acontextual, and static by employing the historical method.

The N.W. Posthumus Institute congratulates Sander with this achievement!

On 18 September 2025, Posthumus alumnus Joris Kok succesfully defended the thesis ‘Social Mobility and Integration of Amsterdam Jews: The Ethnic Niche of the Diamond Industry, 1850-1940’ at Leiden University. Supervisors were Professor Leo Lucassen and Professor Karin Hofmeester (both IISH).

In his dissertation, Joris studies the remarkable social mobility and varied integration patterns of Jews in pre-war Amsterdam, with a particular focus on Jewish diamond workers, who formed the community’s occupational and cultural core. Drawing on uniquely detailed life-course data and a comparative perspective, it demonstrates that Jews, on average, advanced in occupational status and educational attainment faster than non-Jews, surpassing them by the early twentieth century. This upward trajectory was especially striking among diamond workers, whose high wages, strong labour organisation through the founding of the first modern union in the Netherlands, and commitment to education created novel opportunities for men and women alike. The study is the first to examine Dutch-Jewish workers’ social mobility across multiple life domains—work, marriage, residence, and education—within a comparative perspective that includes Gentile counterparts. It highlights, in particular, the exceptional intergenerational gains achieved by Jewish families connected to the diamond industry. Additionally, it demonstrates that upward social mobility and integration did not necessarily coincide and sometimes diverged: despite their increasing social status, Jewish diamond workers were considerably less likely to marry non-Jewish partners or disaffiliate religiously.

The N.W. Posthumus Institute congratulates Joris with this achievement!

STREAMING VIDEO

At the 85th Annual Meeting of the Economic History Association, held in Philadelphia, PA (USA) on 5-7 September 2025 the biannual Peter Lindert-Jeffrey Williamson Prize was awarded to Dr Maanik Nath, fellow of the N.W. Posthumus Institute and assistant professor in Economic History at Utrecht University for his publication Capital Shortage: Credit and Indian Economic Development, 1920–1960 (Cambridge University Press, 2023). The Peter Lindert-Jeffrey Williamson Prize is awarded every other year for an outstanding Book in Global, African, Asian, Australian, and/or South American Economic History.

In this book Maanik Nath researches the causes of persistent poverty in the population of India in colonial and postcolonial times. He finds that the pervasive high cost and shortage of capital affected the peasant’s ability to invest in land. The productivity of land, as a result, remained small and changed little. Bridging economic theory and historical evidence, Capital Shortage shows that climate, law, policy design, and interactions between these factors, perpetuated a stubborn cycle of low investment and widespread deprivation over several decades. These findings can be tested against credit and development in preceding and succeeding periods as well as positioned in comparative global context.

In 2024, Maanik already also received the First Monograph Prize in Economic and/or Social History, awarded by the Economic History Society, for the same publication.

The N.W. Posthumus Institute congratulates Maanik with this award!

BOOK INFO