“The Epic Contest for the Spice Trade”, an online talk by historian Roger Crowley, co-organized by Yale Center Beijing and RASBJ

Posted: October 5th, 2025 | No Comments »

“The Story of the Epic 16th-Century’s Contest for the Spice Trade”, an online talk by British historian Roger Crowley co-hosted by the Yale Center Beijing and RASBJ. Free for RASBJ members

8-9 PM Beijing Time, Thursday 9th October on Zoom. Attendees will be emailed login details fo the talk in a reminder 24 hours before the event.

British historian Roger Crowley will present an online talk on his book, Spice: The 16th-Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World” (Yale University Press, 2024). Drawing on vivid eyewitness accounts of adventures, shipwrecks, and sieges that formed the first colonial encounters, he will show how this struggle shaped the modern world and remade the global economy for centuries to follow. This event is co-hosted by the Yale Center Beijing and the RASBJ.

Roger Crowley is a British historian and a graduate of Cambridge University. He is the author of six bestselling books on maritime and global history — including1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West, Empires of the Sea, and City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas— which have been translated into many languages.

HOW MUCH: For RASBJ members, registration is free as a membership benefit. If you’re a non-member (or a lapsed member) but wish to become an RASBJ member in order to join the event, please sign up at https://rasbj.org/membership or scan the QR code on the poster below.

Members of the Yale community in Beijing should sign up directly via YCB

HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: RASBJ members should click “Register” or “I will attend” and follow the instructions. After successful registration you’ll receive a confirmation email. If you seem not to have received it, please check your spam folder. Successful registrants will be emailed the login link and other details 24 hours before the event. Please check your spam folder to ensure you see all RASBJ emails.

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