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This book analyzes the exchange relations between the colonies of the Iberian Empires, starting from two cities ports, Buenos Aires and Macau in the period 1580-1700. Agents, who were not professional traders such as the members of the Society of Jesus, and the circulation and consumption of Asian goods in the local populations of Buenos Aires and Macau, were analyzed. Both cases of study will show us how these non-state agents- the Jesuits- build their own networks and exchange channels to Chinese goods distribution (i.e silk, porcelain, musk, amber and others) between Asia and Latin American. This book intends to break with the local scheme of Jesuit studies in order to combine the local scale with analysis of inter-regional processes on a continental scale, from a comparative perspective.
List of contents
Introduction.- The Society of Jesus in a Global Perspective.- Macau, the "Gateway" to China: Exchanges, Routes and (Dis)Connections in the Jesuit's Hands.- Buenos Aires, the Latin American "False Door". Contraband and Exchanges in the Río de la Plata basin.- The long way to Paraguay. Routes, Asian Goods and Consumption in the Jesuit Missions.- Conclusions.
About the author
Pedro Omar Svriz-Wucherer is PhD in History and Humanities Studies by Universidad Pablo de Olavide,Seville, Spain. His PhD dissertation was on the Guarani militias from Jesuit Reductions of Paraguay between 17th and 18th centuries. He is mainly preoccupied on how monarchies and Jesuits institutions and economic, social and cultural variables combined to defense the Spanish empire's frontier.
Report
"The book under review results from a meticulous investigation of international archives in Buenos Aires, Macau, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Paris, Lisbon, Asunción, Madrid, and Seville. It serves as a compelling example of the new direction in global history ... . the book remains an essential contribution to the fields of global history, the Iberian empires, and the Society of Jesus." (Alexandre Coello de la Rosa, Journal of Jesuit Studies, Vol. 11 (1), 2024)
