The international conference, “Mastery of Materialities: Resources and Technology in Post-Imjin
War East Asia (1598-1650)” was held under the auspices of the Aftermath European Research Council Project, with additional support from the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, the Japan Foundation Madrid, and the CERAO Research Center at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, 4-5 of September 2024, organized by Dr Joshua Batts and Dr Barend Noordam.
The conference examined knowledge production, technological development, and resource management in post-Imjin East Asia, which was defined as the period between the Imjin War of 1592-1598 and the Manchu conquest of the Ming empire, roughly 1598-1650. The conference drew scholars working on mining, silver, timber, weapons, ceramics, medical ingredients and other forms of material resources, as well as those working on the East Asian history of bonded labour and the movement of human capital to explore how technological priorities and resource management evolved in East Asia during this period. The conference also included scholars working on the history of Iberian Asia who shed light on the role of Portuguese and Spanish interlocutors in the circulation of materials, objects, expertise, and bodies, using Iberian sources as a point of reference and comparison for developments in East Asia.
The program and collected abstracts may be viewed here.
