Desertion in the Early Modern World: A Comparative History provides a fresh look at history from below—in this case, runaways. The book focuses almost exclusively on the Dutch Republic and its overseas territories. In addition to an introduction by the editors, there are two overview essays (by Alessandro Stanziani and Marcel van der Linden, respectively) that frame the issue of desertion more generally and six case studies. The individual chapters cover desertion of European and non-European workers in Germany and the Dutch Republic, the Dutch Atlantic (especially Suriname), Eurasia, South Asia, and the Cape. Obviously, the editors and contributors do not consider desertion a moral problem or an issue of deviancy but rather treat it as an expression of agency on the part of exploited and disenfranchised early modern workers.
The editors explain that the volume arose out of a simple wish to bring together people usually studied in isolation:...
