History Talks: Italian and European Trade along the Silk Road in the Past and Now

Speaker: Salvatore Ciriacono (Padova University)

History Talks are organized by İstanbul Bilgi University Department of History.

The principal aim of the contribution is looking at the presence of the European and especially of the Italian merchants inside the Asian markets along the different directions that the Asian trade was shaped during the 17th and 18th century. A period during which the Italians were slowly disappearing in front of other merchants, better organized and protected by the Trade Companies. It is true that Tuscany and Genoa tried to establish similar organization but certainly these regional states didn’t have the same success of Companies as the VOC, the Portuguese, the Spanish, the English, the French and also the Sweden and the Danes. At the centre of this research there is a comparison between the fortune of the ancient Silk Road and the New Maritime Road that by the most recent historiography is considered have been much more profitable than the ancient Silk Road and the central axis of the rapports between the East Asia and the West. Nevertheless it is for sure that other trade directions still did remain vital and increased their importance along the 17th and the 18th century. And more nuances have to be introduced if we are considering the presence of so multiple actors and political-economic instances inside central Asia.

The language is English; there will be no translation.

Date: May 8, 2018
Time: 13.00-15.00
Place: santralistanbul Campus, E2-303