Guido van Meersbergen

Guido van Meersbergen is an Associate Professor in Early Modern Global History at the University of Warwick, where he also directs the Global History and Culture Centre (GHCC). He is based in the Faculty of Arts, Department of History, and is actively engaged in research, teaching, and academic leadership.

• Associate Professor, University of Warwick (2023–present)
• Assistant Professor, University of Warwick (2019–2023)
• Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow, University of Warwick (2016–2019)
• Max Weber Fellow, European University Institute, Florence (2015–2016)

His research focuses on early modern global interactions, particularly the diplomatic, commercial, and cultural activities of the Dutch and English East India Companies in South Asia, especially within the Mughal Empire. He examines themes of ethnography, cross-cultural encounters, gift exchange, and corporate information management. His work contributes to decolonial critiques of travel and diplomatic history.

His recent publications include the monograph Ethnography and Encounter (Brill, 2022) and co-edited volumes such as Trading Companies and Travel Knowledge (Routledge, 2022). His 15 most recent articles reflect a strong focus on diplomatic practices, ethnographic writing, and the global circulation of knowledge in the early modern period, with recurring themes in Anglo-Mughal relations, VOC and EIC strategies, and the material culture of diplomacy.

• Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow
• Max Weber Fellow, European University Institute
• Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS)
• Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA)

He supervises PhD students on topics in global history, including Nitya Gundu, Andrew Steels, Luchen Pan, Alfisha Sabri, and Anna Bruins. He is Principal Investigator on the AHRC Research Networking Grant 'Towards a Global Diplomatic History, c. 1400–1900' and co-editor of the Journal of Global History. He is also a key coordinator of an international project on Sir William Norris’ embassy to Mughal India, resulting in a Hakluyt Society publication. He leads the Global Diplomacy Network with Birgit Tremml-Werner and Lisa Hellman, fostering trans-regional research in diplomatic history.