As a place of production, knowledge, and creativity, Leiden attracted people from near and far in the premodern era (c. 1200-1800). The result was a diverse population in a rapidly growing city. The contributions to this volume, written by specialists, trace key moments and developments in Leiden's history. The authors show how different groups of city dwellers experienced and shaped socio-economic and cultural events and processes. Through its thematic focus and engagement with current debates in urban history, this volume reveals how the inhabitants of a premodern European city produced and negotiated political, socio-economic, and spatial inequalities.

Contributors are: Chrystel Brandenburgh, Roos van Oosten, Edwin Orsel, Ed van der Vlist, Janna Coomans, Wout Saelens, Arie van Steensel, Maarten Prak, Jori Zijlmans, Henk Looijesteijn, Evelien Walhout, Jaco Zuijderduijn, Ariadne Schmidt, Manon van de Heijden, Elizabeth den Hartog, Christine Kooi, Alisa van de Haar, Johannes Müller, and Ronald Sluijter.