Acknowledgments
I am eternally grateful to my supervisor, Professor Catia Antunes, for her help, advice, drive, and support over the course of the project. Our team, and the lasting bond we have formed, must be credited to her, who put together a group – and created an environment – that inspired curiosity, thought and care. I am also grateful to my co-supervisor, Dr. William Pettigrew, for extending his help to me throughout, and bringing forth insightful and invaluable input on numerous drafts over the years.
I extend my sincerest gratitude to the team. Kaarle for his warm heart and support, Eli for her no-nonsense attitude and help, and to Edgar for his vast knowledge and good conversations. Thanks also to our extended team, to Kate, Erik, Joris, Bram and Hasan.
I am grateful to the University of Leiden and the people there, especially Jeannette, Sanne, Marion, Aniek, Damian and others, who helped make my time there so special.
My sincere appreciation to the many colleagues who have offered their advice and feedback on my work through the years, to Susana and Joao Paolo, to Toby Green, Francisco Bethencourt, Amelia Polonia, Maria Fusaro, Lisa Hellman, Allan Potofsky and many others. I have also had great support, good discussions, and much fun with Edmond, Aske and the rest of Will’s team in London, working together in the archives and the British Library. Thanks to Ivo Romein at Brill and to Wim Klooster for helping me improve the manuscript. I am also grateful to the archivists and librarians that assisted me in the research.
Lastly, I owe the finishing of this research to my friends and family. They provided unending support and an unwavering faith in my abilities when I lost sight of them myself. They also believed me every time I said I was almost finished.
A final thank you goes to my grandmother, Åse, for instilling in me an appreciation for the importance of history to our shared future, and to never accept “not knowing” as an excuse.
Tusen takk.