Do we need a long-term intellectual history of the Dutch empire? And if so, what should it be about? With these questions in mind, René Koekkoek, Anne-Isabelle Richard, and Arthur Weststeijn, organised the conference ‘Visions of Empire in Dutch History’, at Leiden University, 29 and 30 September 2016. In the present postcolonial Netherlands, critical reflection on colonial heritage is gaining momentum and new questions are being raised about the impact of colonial mentalities on Dutch national culture. But how to define and research these mentalities? Emphasising the merely pragmatic and mercantile character of Dutch empire-building, earlier generations of historians tended to write off this question. This approach seems no longer satisfactory. While ideologies of empire may never have been clearly articulated in the Netherlands, those involved in the Dutch overseas enterprise would have held visions of what the ‘Dutch empire’ was and should be. The editors of bmgn – Low Countries Historical Review have asked the organisers and contributors to the roundtable held on the first day of the conference to put their reflections in writing. This introduction is part of the forum 'Visions of Dutch Empire'.