Personal profile
Personal information
Pepijn Brandon is Professor of Global Economic and Social History at the Vrije Universiteit. He also is Senior Researcher at the International Institute of Social History. His work focuses on the history of capitalism, war and economic development, and slavery.
Brandon obtained his MA in history in 2007 (cum laude) at the University of Amsterdam, and his PhD in history (cum laude) in 2013 at the same university. His dissertation, published in 2015 as War, Capital, and the Dutch State (1588-1795) (Leiden: Brill 2015; paperback edition Chicago: Haymarket Books 2017) won the D.J. Veegens Award of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities. He obtained an NWO Rubicon in 2013 and an NWO Veni in 2014. His current NWO Vidi project (awarded 2021) examines the dispossession of land in the Dutch Empire (16th-18th centuries). In 2019-2020, he headed a large scale research project commissioned by the City Government of Amsterdam into this city's historic role in slavery in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds, and in 2021-2022 he led a research project on the involvement in slavery of predecessors of Dutch bank ABN AMRO.
Brandon is on the editorial board of the International Review of Social History, the International Journal of Maritime History and BMGN/The Low Countries Historical Review. He has held fellowships at the Huntington Library, the University of Pittsburgh, Harvard University and Brown University (ongoing), and was visiting professor at Harvard University during the 2020 Spring semester.
http://www.brill.com/products/book/war-capital-and-dutch-state-1588-1795
https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1022-war-capital-and-the-dutch-state-1588-1795
https://socialhistory.org/en/staff/pepijn-brandon
Ancillary activities
- International Institute of Social History | Amsterdam | Medewerker | 2014-02-01 - present
- Stichting In Mijn Buurt | Amsterdam | Adviseur | 2019-09-01 - present
- Professor Van Winterfonds | Utrecht | Adviseur | 2024-06-01 - present
Ancillary activities are updated daily
Keywords
- DH Netherlands (The Low Countries)
- Capitalism
- War
- Slavery
- State formation
- Colonialism
- HC Economic History and Conditions
- Labour History
- History of Social Movements
- Global History
- HB Economic Theory
- Heterodox economics
- Classical political economy
- Marx and Marxism
- Financial history
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Research output
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Van de redactie – Redactioneel
Brandon, P., Sept 2025, In: BMGN - Low Countries Historical Review. 140, 3, p. 1-4 4 p.Translated title of the contribution :From the editors - Editorial Research output: Contribution to Journal › Editorial › Academic › peer-review
Open Access -
Historisch slachtofferschap in Gaza
Brandon, P., Jul 2025, In: Wijsgerig perspectief. 65, 3Research output: Contribution to Journal › Book/Film/Article/Exhibition review › Academic › peer-review
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Forum on Decolonisation and Violence in Indonesia
Brandon, P. (Editor) & Protschky, S. (Editor), Jun 2025, In: BMGN - Low countries historical review. 140, 2Research output: Contribution to Journal › Special issue (Editorship) › Academic › peer-review
Open Access -
Van de redactie - From the editors
Brandon, P., Mar 2025, In: BMGN - Low countries historical review. 140, 1, p. 1-3 3 p.Translated title of the contribution :From the editors Research output: Contribution to Journal › Editorial › Academic
Open Access -
Forum on Decolonisation and Violence in Indonesia: Examining the ODGOI Project (‘Onafhankelijkheid, Dekolonisatie, Geweld en Oorlog in Indonesië’/‘Independence, Decolonization, Violence and War in Indonesia, 1945-1950’)
Brandon, P. & Protschky, S., 2025, In: Bijdragen en mededelingen betreffende de geschiedenis der Nederlanden. 140, 2, p. 32-42 11 p.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open Access
Courses
Projects
- 1 Active
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Land Grabbing Empire: State Strategies for Large Scale Land Transfers in Dutch Expansion (16th-18th centuries)
Brandon, P. (Principal Investigator)
1/02/22 → 31/01/27
Project: Research
Activities
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After apologies: The troubled road towards recognition of slavery in the Dutch Empire
Brandon, P. (Invited speaker)
9 Apr 2024Activity: Lecture / Presentation › Academic
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Race, slavery, capitalism and colonialism III
Brandon, P. (Organiser) & Bogues, A. (Organiser)
12 Apr 2024 → 13 Apr 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Workshop › Academic
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International workshop on Race, Slavery, Colonialism and Capitalism
Brandon, P. (Organiser), Bogues, A. (Organiser) & Shepherd, V. (Organiser)
18 May 2023 → 20 May 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Workshop › Academic
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Maritime Solidarity: Past and Present
Brandon, P. (Organiser), Frykman, N. (Organiser), Rediker, M. (Organiser) & Sharma, N. (Organiser)
22 Sept 2023 → 23 Sept 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Conference › Academic
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Inequality and colonialism in the Anthropocene
Brandon, P. (Speaker)
17 Oct 2023Activity: Lecture / Presentation › Academic
Prizes / Grants
Press/Media
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Het koloniale verleden van de Oranjes: "Ze waren door en door verbonden"
7/01/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Hoeveel heeft Nederland verdiend aan de slavernij?
20/12/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Netherlands slavery: Saying sorry leaves nation divided
19/12/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Dutch prime minister apologizes for his country's involvement in slave trade
19/12/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Dutch PM apologises for Netherlands' role in slavery
19/12/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment