On the Eighteenth Century as a Category of Asian History: Van Leur in Retrospect

by Leonard Blussé (Editor), Femme S. Gaastra (Editor)

The starting point of this volume is the scathing attack, far-reaching in its consequences, launched in 1942 by J.C. van Leur on the views then current on the character and significance of the 18th century as a category in Asian history. His denial of European pre-eminence in Asian waters represented a direct attack on colonial historiography. The essays here derive from an international conference held 50 years later, to assess the impact of van Leur’s work. In part historiographic, in part drawing on new research, they aim to delimit the boundaries of European-Asian interaction, and to provide case studies of what this period actually meant for the history of South and East Aia.

328 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1998

About the author

Leonard Blussé (van Oud Alblas) is a Dutch historian concerned with the field of Asian-European relations. Blussé has a prolific written output in his field, having authored, co-authored or edited more than twenty books since 2000.

He was elected a member of Academia Europaea in 2010.