Femme Simon Gaastra (born 23 July 1945 in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

, Netherlands) was a Dutch Professor of

maritime history Maritime history is the study of human interaction with and activity at sea. It covers a broad thematic element of history that often uses a global approach, although national and regional histories remain predominant. As an academic subject, it ...

at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

and a leading expert on the history of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

Early life and education

Gaastra attended the Rijks Lyceum in Heerenveen and began his studies in history at the

in 1965, receiving his doctorate in March 1972.

Academic career

In 1972–73, he began working as a researcher with the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Zuiver Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek on Dutch-Asiatic Shipping. In 1973–74, he taught history in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

, then in March 1974, the

appointed him as a university docent. In 2004, he succeeded

Jaap R. Bruijn Jacobus Ruurd "Jaap" Bruijn (born 13 March 1938 in The Hague - 2 November 2022 Oegstgeest), was one of the best known and respected Dutch maritime historians. He was professor of maritime history at the University of Leiden from 1979 until his reti ...

, as Professor of Maritime History. Gaastra retired from this post at the University of Leiden in June 2010 and was succeeded by Hendrik J. den Heijer, a specialist in the history of the Dutch West India Company.

Published works

* ''Kerk, cultuur en koloniën. Opstellen over Nederland rond 1900 aangeboden aan

Jan Bank Joannes Theodorus Maria "Jan" Bank (born 10 May 1940, Amsterdam) is a Dutch historian. He was one of the members of the independent committee assigned responsibility for the fourteenth and final volume of Loe de Jong's ''The Kingdom of the Net ...

bij zijn afscheid als hoogleraar Vaderlandse Geschiedenis aan de Universiteit van Leiden, 27 mei 2005'' edited by Bart Erik van der Boom; Femme Simon Gaastra; and Jan Theodoor Maria Bank. msterdam Balans, 2005. * ''Vragen over de koopvaardij: de 'Enquête omtrent den toestand van de Nederlandsche koopvaardijvloot' uit 1874 en de achteruitgang van de handelsvloot.'' Inaugurele rede Universiteit Leiden. Leiden, 2004. * ''The

: expansion and decline''. Zutphen: Walburg Pers, 2003. * ''Particuliere geldstromen binnen het VOC-bedrijf 1640-1795''. Leiden: Rijksmuseum Het Koninklijk Penningkabinet, 2002. * ''On the eighteenth century as a category of Asian history: Van Leur in retrospect'', edited by

Leonard Blussé Leonard Blussé (born 23 July 1946 in Rotterdam) 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 20 ...

and Femme Gaastra. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998. * ''Ships, sailors and spices: East India companies and their shipping in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries'', ed. by

and Femme S. Gaastra. Amsterdam: NEHA, 1993. * ''De archieven van de Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie = The archives of the Dutch East India Company: (1602–1795)'', M.A.P. Meilink-Roelofsz (inventaris); R. Raben en H. Spijkerman ed. 's-Gravenhage: Sdu Uitgeverij, 1992. * ''Dutch-Asiatic shipping in the 17th and 18th centuries'', by J.R. Bruijn, F.S. Gaastra and I. Schöffer; with assist. from A.C.J. Vermeulen. Three Volumes. Rijks geschiedkundige publicatiën, Grote serie, 165-167. The Hague: Nijhoff, 1979- 1987. * ''De geschiedenis van de VOC''. Haarlem: Fibula-Van Dishoeck, 1982; Antwerpen: Standaard, 1982. Zutphen: Walburg Pers, 1991, 2002. * ''Companies and trade: essays on overseas trading companies during the Ancien Régime'', by P. H. Boulle ...

t al. T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

ed. by

and Femme Gaastra. he Hague Leiden University Press, 1981. * ''Bewind en Belied bij de VOC: De financiële politik van de bewindhebbers, 1672-1702''. Zutphen: De Walburg Pers, 1968.

Sources

* Biographical statement in ''Bewind en Beleid'' * Catalogue of the Royal Library, The Hague {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaastra, Femme 1945 births Living people People from Leeuwarden Leiden University alumni Academic staff of Leiden University Dutch maritime historians 20th-century Dutch historians Historians of the Dutch East India Company