Special visit: The Dutch Monarchy and Its Colonial History
Last month, a very special visitor was welcomed to Leiden University: His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, for the presentation of The Dutch Monarchy and Its Colonial History, 1600–2025. During the visit, the book’s editor, Gert Oostindie presented the research findings to the King and shared insights into this important research. We are pleased […]
Celebrating the diversity of academic publishing this University Press Week
For University Press Week, we are celebrating the extraordinary diversity of subjects, perspectives and research that university presses bring to readers. From the humanities and social sciences to environmental studies and political science, university press publishing makes space for ideas that deepen our understanding of the world. Our selection of five titles illustrates this breadth. […]
AILS Book Talk
The American Institute for Lankan Studies Colombo hosts a Zoom talk by Mikko Toivanen (University of Eastern Finland) on his book Empire, Tourism and Colonial Knowledge in Nineteenth Century Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka (Leiden University Press, 2025). Nira Wickramasinghe (Leiden University) will chair the session. When: 10 November 2026 Where: Online (Zoom) – register […]
The Dutch Monarchy and Its Colonial Past: Why History Matters
How deeply was the Dutch monarchy involved in colonialism? And what does that history mean for the Netherlands today? In The Dutch Monarchy and Its Colonial History, 1600–2025, historian Gert Oostindie explores the relationship between the House of Orange-Nassau and the Dutch colonial empire over four centuries. Drawing on an extensive scholarly research project, the […]
GIGA China Series: lecture
🌏 Who shapes global knowledge about China — and whose perspectives are missing? Join us on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, for the GIGA China Series lecture Global Knowledge Production about China, featuring hashtag#JulieYuWenChen, Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Helsinki Drawing on a global oral history project spanning Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and […]
Book Talk
How did European colonialism reshape societies across Asia and the Indian Ocean World through the enslavement and trade of human beings? On 10 November 2026, join the seminar exploring Colonial Encounters and Slavery in Early Modern Asia, the recent open-access volume published by Leiden University Press. Spanning regions from Siberia to Madagascar and Southeast Asia, […]
Open Access Week 2026
It’s Open Access Week 2026! At Leiden University Press, we believe scholarly knowledge should reach beyond the library shelves and paywalls. This year, we’re celebrating the open access books published by LUP so far in 2026 — bringing new research and perspectives to readers around the world. From history and religion to urban life, global […]
Exploring the Many Routes of History
From colonial medicine and the environmental impact of war to eighteenth-century reading culture and the Dutch monarchy’s colonial legacy, Leiden University Press explores the many ways history connects the past to the present. Every October, Maand van de Geschiedenis (Dutch History Month) invites us to look at the past from new perspectives. History is more […]