Sino-European Luxury Trade and the Making of the Early Modern World

Zoom Webinar

In the 16th to 18th centuries, luxury trade between China, Europe, and Latin America boomed,  driven above all by the exchange of silver from Spanish ruled Peru and Mexico for Chinese silk, porcelain, and later tea, plus Southeast Asian pepper and spices.   This trade changed consumer tastes in lasting and important ways; generated arbitrage profits (especially on silver) that drove dramatic commercial expansion in both the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific worlds; caused monetary disruptions that helped topple kingdoms; and sustained the ocean traffic that also spread religious, scientific, and other ideas, plus plants, animals, and diseases to places that had not previously known them.

How did East-West trade remake the world between 1500 and 1800?  What commodities were the most popular where, and why? What Asian goods were status symbols for European elites, and what did Asian sellers of these goods get in return? What were the political and cultural implications of these commercial transformations?

Our panel of experts will bring you an in-depth look at the history of luxury and talk about the luxury trade across the globe.

October 6, 2022
9:30 pm              Japan | South Korea
8:30 pm              Hong Kong | Beijing | Singapore
6:00 pm              Delhi
2:30 pm              Paris
1:30 pm               London
7:30 am              Chicago

Speakers

Fernando Arteaga
Senior Fellow in the Economics Department
University of Pennsylvania

Kenneth Pomeranz
Faculty Director
The University of Chicago Yuen Campus in Hong Kong

About Director’s Pick

From current news, STEM, to arts and history, The University of Chicago Hong Kong Campus Faculty Director and Executive Director share a broad range of interests. The Director’s Pick series catalogs an array of webinars covering various topics that our directors wish to share with our audience. Read More