2024 #4, Ignacio Suay-Matallana (Universidade de Valência), "Experts at Borders: Chemistry and Taxes at customs laboratories"

Abstract

Experts at Borders: Chemistry and Taxes at customs laboratories

Customs laboratories are situated at the intersection of science, politics, and the economy, reflecting distinct national scientific traditions and serving as platforms for negotiations among various interests. These laboratories emerged in response to growing concerns over food adulteration, hygiene, and fraud prevention during the 19^th and early 20^thcenturies, fueled by advancements in transportation and trade. While municipal laboratories focused on food and drink quality assurance, customs laboratories were dedicated to regulating international trade, analyzing products, determining quality and value, and enforcing tariffs. Despite their significance, customs laboratories have received limited scholarly attention. Challenges in researching them include their operation within governmental bureaucracies, the scarcity of primary sources, and the dispersion of archival materials. This talk examines case studies to explore the evolution and significance of customs laboratories in the field of chemistry during this period, highlighting the development of chemical experts, their activities, material culture, challenges, and connections with society and local institutions.

about the speaker

Ignacio Suay-Matallana is a senior lecturer in history of science at the University of Valencia, and member of the Interuniversity Institute Lopez Piñero. He was a postdoctoral member of CIUHCT at Universidade Nova de Lisboa and of the Science History Institute in Philadelphia. His PhD focused on the study of experts in chemical analysis in 19th and 20th century Spain, considering issues such as scientific travels and biographies, textbooks, spaces of chemistry, and scientific controversies. His research interests focus on the history of customs laboratories in the United States, Portugal, and Spain, as well as the evolution of the teaching of chemistry in the 19th and 20th centuries. Between 2015 and 2022, he was secretary of the EuChemS Working Party on the History of Chemistry, and he is currently the Director of the Master's program in History of Science and Scientific Communication at the UV.

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