The Biografisch Portaal van Nederland (Dutch Biography Portal, Huygens ING) forms a central access point for biographic information. It brings together a range of published information about more and less familiar figures in Dutch history, from the earliest years to the present day. Biographic dictionaries such as these have played (and play) an important role in the canonisation and marginalisation of certain people and groups.

NL-Lab researches how biographic lexica have functioned as a canonising medium for the Dutch conception of history. Why were certain individuals included or not included? How were lives ‘weighed up’ in the lemmas? How do life descriptions migrate from one lexicon to another? Particular attention is paid to the life stories of people who played a role in the history of the Netherlands and its colonies.

Related projects:

•  Writing the Netherlands.