How did the Dutch Empire compare with other imperial enterprises? And how was it experienced by the indigenous peoples who became part of this colonial power? At the start of the seventeenth century, the Dutch Republic emerged as the centre of a global empire that stretched along the edges of continents and connected societies surrounding the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In the Dutch Empire, ideas of religious tolerance and scientific curiosity went hand in hand with severe political and economic exploitation of the local populations through violence, monopoly and slavery. This pioneering history of the early modern Dutch Empire, over two centuries, for the first time provides a comparative and indigenous perspective on Dutch overseas expansion. Apart from discussing the impact of the Empire on the economy and society at home in the Dutch Republic, it also offers a fascinating window into the contemporary societies of Asia, Africa and the Americas and, through their interactions, on processes of early modern globalisation.

The past half-century has produced a mass of information regarding slave resistance, ranging from individual acts of disobedience to massive uprisings. Many of these acts of rebellion have been studied extensively, yet the ultimate goals of the insurgents remain open for discussion. Recently, several historians have suggested that slaves achieved their own freedom by resisting slavery, which counters the predominant argument that abolitionist pressure groups, parliamentarians, and the governmental and anti-governmental armies of the various slaveholding empires were the prime movers behind emancipation. Marques, one of the leading historians of slavery and abolition, argues that, in most cases, it is impossible to establish a direct relation between slaves' uprisings and the emancipation laws that would be approved in the western countries. Following this presentation, his arguments are taken up by a dozen of the most outstanding historians in this field. In a concluding chapter, Marques responds briefly to their comments and evaluates the degree to which they challenge or enhance his view.

The past half-century has produced a mass of information regarding slave resistance, ranging from individual acts of disobedience to massive uprisings. Many of these acts of rebellion have been studied extensively, yet the ultimate goals of the insurgents remain open for discussion. Recently, several historians have suggested that slaves achieved their own freedom by resisting slavery, which counters the predominant argument that abolitionist pressure groups, parliamentarians, and the governmental and anti-governmental armies of the various slaveholding empires were the prime movers behind emancipation. Marques, one of the leading historians of slavery and abolition, argues that, in most cases, it is impossible to establish a direct relation between slaves' uprisings and the emancipation laws that would be approved in the western countries. Following this presentation, his arguments are taken up by a dozen of the most outstanding historians in this field. In a concluding chapter, Marques responds briefly to their comments and evaluates the degree to which they challenge or enhance his view.

Seymour Drescher is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. He served as the first Secretary for the European Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. (1984-85). Known for his studies on Alexis de Tocqueville and the history of slavery, his book, The Mighty Experiment (2002), was awarded the Frederick Douglass Prize. His most recent book, Abolition: A History of Slavery and Antislavery, is being published by Cambridge University Press.

Pieter C. Emmer was Professor of the history of the expansion of Europe and the related migration movements at University of Leiden. He was a visiting fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge, UK (1978-1979), at the Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin (2000-2001) and at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, Wassenaar, The Netherlands (2002-2003).

Joao Pedro Marques has been a researcher at the IICT (Lisbon) since 1987. He obtained a PhD in History from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, where he taught African History. He has published dozens of articles and several books on the subjects of slavery, abolition and other colonial issues, including The Sounds of Silence (Berghahn Books, 2006)."

How did the Dutch Empire compare with other imperial enterprises? And how was it experienced by the indigenous peoples who became part of this colonial power? At the start of the seventeenth century, the Dutch Republic emerged as the centre of a global empire that stretched along the edges of continents and connected societies surrounding the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In the Dutch Empire, ideas of religious tolerance and scientific curiosity went hand in hand with severe political and economic exploitation of the local populations through violence, monopoly and slavery. This pioneering history of the early modern Dutch Empire, over two centuries, for the first time provides a comparative and indigenous perspective on Dutch overseas expansion. Apart from discussing the impact of the Empire on the economy and society at home in the Dutch Republic, it also offers a fascinating window into the contemporary societies of Asia, Africa and the Americas and, through their interactions, on processes of early modern globalisation.

Although migration and integration have become important concepts today as a result of globalization, migration movements, integration, and multiculturalism have always been part of the history of Europe. Few people realize how many ethnic groups participated in migration within Europe or into Europe and this ignorance has grave consequences for the social and political status of immigrants. Newly available to an English-speaking audience, this encyclopaedia presents a systematic overview of the existing scholarship regarding migration within and into Europe. The first section contains survey studies of the various regions and countries in Europe covering the last centuries. The second section presents information on about 220 individual groups of migrants from the Sephardic Jews emigration from Spain and Portugal in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the present-day migration of old-age pensioners to the holiday villages in the sun. The first resource of its kind, The Encyclopaedia of Migration and Minorities in Europe is a comprehensive and authoritative research tool.

Dutch historiography has traditionally concentrated on colonial successes in Asia. However, the Dutch were also active in West Africa, Brazil, New Netherland (the present state of New York) and in the Caribbean. In Africa they took part in the gold and ivory trade and finally also in the slave trade, something not widely known outside academic circles. P.C. Emmer, one of the most prominent experts in this field, tells the story of Dutch involvement in the trade from the beginning of the 17th century-much later than the Spaniards and the Portuguese-and goes on to show how the trade shifted from Brazil to the Caribbean. He explains how the purchase of slaves was organized in Africa, records their dramatic transport across the Atlantic, and examines how the sales machinery worked. Drawing on his prolonged study of the Dutch Atlantic slave trade, he presents his subject clearly and soberly, although never forgetting the tragedy hidden behind the numbers - the dark side of the Dutch Golden Age -, which makes this study not only informative but also very readable.

Although migration and integration have become important concepts today as a result of globalization, migration movements, integration, and multiculturalism have always been part of the history of Europe. Few people realize how many ethnic groups participated in migration within Europe or into Europe and this ignorance has grave consequences for the social and political status of immigrants. Newly available to an English-speaking audience, this encyclopaedia presents a systematic overview of the existing scholarship regarding migration within and into Europe. The first section contains survey studies of the various regions and countries in Europe covering the last centuries. The second section presents information on about 220 individual groups of migrants from the Sephardic Jews emigration from Spain and Portugal in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the present-day migration of old-age pensioners to the holiday villages in the sun. The first resource of its kind, The Encyclopaedia of Migration and Minorities in Europe is a comprehensive and authoritative research tool.