Bartolomé Yun Casalilla - Biography#

Bartolomé Yun (Córdoba, Spain) is currently Full Professor of Early Modern History at the University Pablo de Olavide of Seville, Spain (since 2000). He has been full professor of Early Modern European History in the Department of History and Civilization (EUI, Florence) since Sept 2003 until August 2013. He was professor of Economic History at the University of Valladolid, Spain, and has been a visiting fellow in institutions in Britain, France, Italy, Belgium and the US.

Yun’s academic career began with a book on famines and social conflicts in Andalusia. Subsequently, his doctoral thesis examined the impact of economic, social and institutional changes on economic development, proposing an alternative model within the framework of the Brenner debate. According to John H. Elliott (L’Avenç, 1987), this work is an excellent example of how to use a regional case study to illuminate questions relevant to the history of Europe. Yun’s last monograph, Marte contra Minerva (Crítica) revises the economic history of Spain and the Spanish Empire from an institutional and social perspective, using a comparative approach with other European countries. Together with other colleagues, B. Yun has pioneered the renewal of Spanish historiography in different fields, as well as of the presentation of that historiography outside of Spain, as seen in the the book he co-edited with I.A. A. Thompson, The Castilian Crisis… (Cambridge University Press). Yun’s current research includes: the study of political economies by taking the history of the Spanish Empire as a reference and considering it in a comparative perspective; the history of consumption and the reception in Europe of American goods; and the history of European aristocracies from an international perspective. Partly as an outcome of this research, Yun has edited books with leading publishers including, most recently, The Rise of Fiscal States. A Global History (Cambridge University Press, 2012) with P. O’Brien.

Yun has an excellent record in fund raising. He belongs to different national and international committees and panels, including institutions such as the ERC, and has reported for universities and journals around the world.

In Seville, he created the doctorate “Europa, el mundo Mediterráneo y su difusion Atlántica”, which promotes research on the Atlantic dimensions of European societies and receives students from all Europe and Latin America. The doctorate, today also a Master’s programme, was included in the Marie Curie doctoral network “Building on the past…” directed by S. Wolf and composed of ten leading European institutions. Professor Yun has long expertise in thesis advising (21 theses defended) and post-doctoral training. Many of his students have obtained important positions in Europe, Latin America and Asia.

As head of the HEC department at the EUI from 2009-2012, Yun worked to reinforce its research and teaching by promoting a comparative and trans-national approach to the history of Europe and Europe in the World. Yun has taught subjects such as “Comparative and Trans-national History”, “Elites and the making of Europe”, and “Writing the History of Europe”. He co-founded (with G.H. Haupt) the Summer School in Trans-national and Comparative History and promoted the Europe and the World Forum.