An Object of Seduction: The Early Modern Trans-Pacific Silk Trade

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An Object of Seduction: The Early Modern Trans-Pacific Silk Trade

Xiaolin Duan

3-4 sessions

This module looks into the 16^th-18^th century Asia-Pacific silk trade, with a particular focus on southeast China, Manila in Philippine, and New Spain (colonial Mexico). It traces the production, consumption, and regulation of Chinese silk textiles as they circulated through the social worlds and trade networks. Taking a comparative perspective, this module focuses on the similarities and interconnectedness between Ming dynasty China and colonial Mexico to understand how the fashion of wearing silk textiles contributed to the formation of the global market and affected the traditional empires.