Historian David de Boer has won the Dirk Jacob Veegens Prize for the trade edition of his PhD dissertation, "The Early Modern Dutch Press in an Age of Religious Persecution", published by Oxford University Press in 2023. The biennial prize, established by the Money and Securities Trade Foundation, awards research in the field of economic, political and social history of the Netherlands.
Foreign suffering
In his book, De Boer examines how newspapers and pamphlets brought foreign suffering into Dutch households, streets and pubs four centuries ago. These early media reports on the fate of distant strangers led to mass collections, protest letters and prayer days for refugees and victims of religious violence. As today, international compassion then also led to local and diplomatic tensions. By studying these historical expressions of international solidarity, De Boer seeks the roots of the humanitarian culture that both unites and divides societies. Want to know more about the research? Read the interview with De Boer on the KHMW website.
Dirk Jacob Veegens Prize
The prize is intended as an incentive award for researchers whose work has been published in the past two years and contributes to a deeper understanding of developments relevant to the contemporary Netherlands. The Dirk Jacob Veegens Prize is awarded by the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities after obtaining the advice of a Committee appointed by the Society for this purpose.