Monday's latest Blackwell Talk featured assistant professor of history, Dr. William Holliday, who spoke on the silk industry in Valencia, Spain. The discussion was part of Holliday's ongoing research in which he discusses the age of the silk industry in the city and its commercial ties to the Americas during the 1700s. To complete some of his research, Holliday was awarded a Longwood faculty research grant this past summer.
The grant helped him visit the Biblioteca Valenciana and Archivo Genderal de Indias (Valencia Library and General Archive of the Indies) while in Valencia, Spain. "This is a work in progress," Holliday noted before beginning his lecture. "I'm still working out the meaning of what I'm finding."
Much of his research is based around archives or correspondence of the time and receipts relating to the industry.
Holliday specializes in the history of colonial Latin America as well as in the region's environmental history. The research focuses on the commodities and the commodity change over time. Most specifically, Holliday focuses on silk, hence the title of his presentation, "Merchant's Trade: Silk and Valencia's Commercial Ties to the Americas in the 18th Century."
While in Valencia, he stumbled upon the colonial period La Lonja de la Seda (silk exchange) while visiting the city. "I thought, ‘Wow, this building is amazing,'" Holliday said upon seeing the exchange. He had no idea at the time about the importance of silk to Valencia but would soon realize its impact after beginning his research.
He found that silk textile production dated back to the Islamic Spain period, which was before the Columbian voyages. The industry went through a few transformations, in part thanks to the establishment of silk guilds in the late 15th century. A rivalry developed between two silk guilds of the time before the silk industry boomed. In fact, in 1716, about 512 silk masters existed. By the turn of the century, nearly 1,900 existed. This was a period of massive growth in the 18th century silk industry.
About 7,800 people were directly employed by the 1760s and an additional 25,000 were indirectly employed by the industry. Those numbers equated to about one-third of Valencia's population being involved in the silk industry somehow.
One of the lasting questions Holliday had was if anyone in the Americas were taking advantage of the silk industry and its trade potentials. He found there was, in fact, a demand for silk in America.
The production of silk is thanks to the Bombyx mori, more commonly known as the silkworm. The worm builds a cocoon, and the threads from the cocoon are unraveled to harbor the silk. There were plans to establish a large silk market in Hispaniola and even in the Carolinas through sericulture. However, those plans faded. Instead, the silk market bloomed in Mexico. Even back in Valencia, silk made its way to America after a few stops during the boom of the 18th century.
The receipts, a staple of Holliday's primary sources, showed to be very detailed. Usually, they showed the quantity and types of silk purchased. He explained this gave unique insights into the world of silk and Spanish commerce.
The silk industry began to decline in the 19th century due to outdated methods being used to produce the material, a change in popular fashion, and an overall idea of inefficiency. Some of the failure was warned with correspondences Holliday shared between Diego Loustau and the silk guilds in Valencia.
As part of the ongoing research, Holliday said there are still many questions he is discovering throughout the project. Further, he is stumbling upon interesting facts from the period as he attempts to learn more about the fashion during the 18th century and the depth of the commercial importance of the silk industry.
The next Blackwell Talk will take place Monday, Oct. 3 in the Prince Edward Room of Blackwell Hall and will feature Adjunct Music Faculty Chris Kjorness who will discuss "The influence of the Sears and Roebuck Catalog on the development of Delta Blues." The program will begin at noon.
