Dr. Joshua Batts delivered a talk at the SCARCE Colloquium at the University of Vienna on January 23, 2025, titled “No Silver Lining Here: Mining and Mistrust in Japanese-Spanish Correspondence, 1598-1609.”
The presentation explored Tokugawa Japan’s engagement with the Spanish Philippines during the early 17th century, highlighting both the economic opportunities and diplomatic tensions surrounding trade, mining technology, and silver exchange. Examining three aspects of Japanese outreach—the “Old Road” connecting southwestern Japan to the Philippines; the “New Road” proposing trade between eastern Japan and Spanish America; and the “Silver Rut,” a reference to silver’s role as both a catalyst and impediment to Tokugawa effort to expand commercial ties—the presentation analyzed the struggle to bridge the gap between the world’s two leading silver producers during Japan’s “Spanish decade” at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The event, held in a hybrid format, was part of Dr. Batts’ broader research on Japan’s foreign encounters and resource management.