Marjolein 't Hart is Professor Emeritus of the History of State Formation in a Global Context at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and research fellow at Huygens Institute, both the Netherlands. She is the author of The Dutch Wars of Independence (2014).

Manon van der Heijden is Professor of Urban History at Leiden University, the Netherlands. She is the author of Women and Crime in Early Modern Holland (2016).

Karel Davids is Professor Emeritus of Economic and Social History at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He is the author of Global Ocean of Knowledge, 1660-1860 (Bloomsbury, 2020), Religion, Technology and the Great and Little Divergences (2013) and The Rise and Decline of Dutch Technological Leadership (2008).

Lex Heerma van Voss is Research Fellow at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, and Professor Emeritus of the History of Social Security at Utrecht University, both the Netherlands.

Leo Lucassen is Director of the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam and Professor of Global Labour and Migration History at Leiden University, both the Netherlands.

Jeroen Touwen is Associate Professor of Economic and Social History at Leiden University, the Netherlands.

List of Illustrations
List of Maps and Figures
Foreword
Introduction
Part I - Before the Great Divergence (c. 1000 - c. 1800)
1. Introduction
2. Growth and the Run-Up to the Great Divergence
3. The Struggle for Power: Socio-Political Developments
4. Community and the Individual: Socio-Cultural Developments
5. Conclusions
Part II - After the Great Divergence (c. 1800 - present day)
6. Introduction
7. Expansion, Stagnation and Globalisation: Economic Developments
8. State Formation, Democratisation and Social Care: Socio-Political Developments
9. New Opportunities, New Values and Norms: Socio-Cultural Developments
10. Conclusions
Recommended Reading
Index