Adam Clulow (University of Texas at Austin)

Part of the CEAS Lecture Series, this event features University of Texas at Austin's, Adam Clulow. During the early modern period, the deerskin trade stretched across East/Southeast Asia, binding hunters/merchants/consumers together in sprawling networks. Propelled by a voracious demand for soft/pliable leather, hundreds of thousands of skins were shipped out each year from Ayutthaya (Siam), Cambodia and Taiwan to Japan. The scale of the trade meant that it became a driver for change and conflict along each stage of the wider commodity chain. The relentless demand for deerskins prompted environmental devastation as hunting grounds were depleted or completely hunted out. In ports across the region, the deerskin trade became a site of ferocious competition between Asian and European merchants for control over this important commodity. Read more by clicking on the associated link.