This research examines the role of gambling and casinos in the development of seaside resorts (1878-1930). Despite its economic and social significance, tourism remains underexplored in historical research. The project focusses on Ostend, a booming well-connected European resort town that used gambling to spur its development before becoming increasingly contested, prohibited (1902) and permitted again (1920s). This context allows to uncover both how gambling established itself as a key sector of the coastal tourist industry and how seaside resorts functioned as hubs for elite mobility with global ramifications within a specific local context. This project adopts an actor-centred approach, analyzing (1) the transnational networks of casino-Kursaal concession holders and (2) the construction of Ostend's gambling climate by various stakeholders within changing legal contexts. The study integrates transnational (Sûreté Publique files, foreign archives), national (parliamentary debates, court case files), and local (travel guides, newspapers, city council records) sources, enabling a global microhistorical perspective. By combining quantitative analysis with qualitative methods, this project reconstructs the processes that made gambling central to Ostend's tourist industry. Understanding the historical processes shaping seaside resorts provides broader insights into global trends that persist today.
","AbstractOtherLang":"Dit onderzoek bestudeert de rol van gokken en casino's in de ontwikkeling van badplaatsen (1878-1930). Ondanks het economische en sociale belang ervan, blijft toerisme onderbelicht in historisch onderzoek. Het project richt zich op Oostende, een bloeiende, goed verbonden Europese badplaats die gokken gebruikte om haar ontwikkeling te stimuleren, voordat het steeds meer omstreden werd, verboden (1902) en vervolgens weer toegestaan (jaren 1920). Deze context biedt de mogelijkheid om te ontdekken hoe gokken zich vestigde als een belangrijke sector van de kusttoerisme-industrie en hoe badplaatsen functioneerden als knooppunten voor elitemobiliteit met wereldwijde gevolgen binnen een specifieke lokale context. Dit project hanteert een actorgerichte benadering en analyseert (1) de transnationale netwerken van casino-Kursaal-concessiehouders en (2) de constructie van het gokklimaat in Oostende door verschillende belanghebbenden binnen veranderende juridische contexten. De studie integreert transnationale (archieven van de Sûreté Publique, buitenlandse archieven), nationale (parlementaire debatten, rechtszaakdossiers) en lokale (reisgidsen, kranten, stadsarchieven) bronnen, waardoor een mondiaal microhistorisch perspectief mogelijk wordt. Door kwantitatieve analyse te combineren met kwalitatieve methoden, reconstrueert dit project de processen die gokken tot een centrale rol in de toeristische sector van Oostende hebben gemaakt. Inzicht in de historische processen die badplaatsen hebben gevormd, biedt bredere inzichten in mondiale trends die tot op de dag van vandaag voortduren.
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