Ruben Land (1999) is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Applied Data Science, following his master’s in History, driven by an interest in the intersection of qualitative data and quantitative methods. Additionally, he developed during his master’s studies an interest in the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC). His history master’s thesis explores the competing visions of the first governors-general of the VOC regarding the expansion in the Banda archipelago, culminating in the infamous bloody conquest of the island group by Jan Pieterszoon Coen in 1621. Ruben pays special attention to the role that treaties played in the interaction between the VOC and local elites.
While pursuing his master’s in History, Ruben also interned at the GLOBALISE project, where he worked on the dataset containing locations mentioned in the Received Letters and Papers collection of the VOC archive. Currently, he is employed at the same project as a student assistant.
