The Dutch in Japan Essay -- History

The Red Haired Barbarians The Dutch in JapanThe success of Dutch merchants in Japan illustrates the uniqueness of the DutchRepublic amongst the 17th century European countries. Not only would the Dutch cometo dominate trade in Asia, in Japan they would demonstrate a practicality that wouldenable them to be the singular Western force present in a country that would severelyisolate itself from whatsoever foreign intrusion. The V.O.C. could indeed be a ruthless cartel insecuring trade from its competition and in dealing with indigenous populations aroundthe world, as in the case of slavery where human beings were reduced to merecommodities to be bought and sold. Yet, the relationship between early Dutch traders, theV.O.C., and the Japanese people delineates an entrepreneurial and cultural installation thatwas beyond that of their European contemporaries and competitors in the 17th century.It was the Portuguese, rather than the Dutch, were the first Europeans to begin arelationship wit h the people of Japan. The Portuguese arrived in 1543 when Japan was awar torn country divided by different warlords. Along with trade, the Portuguese broughtJesuit missionaries who successfully proselytized Christianity if not to a large-scale,which would nonetheless be epochal to future Japanese rulers. During their time inJapan, the Portuguese would see the rise of the three great shogunal unifiers. The first ofthese was Oda Nobunaga, who actually supported Christian efforts in arrangement to counter2the militant Buddhist domains that resisted his rule. The second unifier, ToyotomiHideyoshi was much less tolerant of the Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries, andsubsequently vacillated between policies of tolerance and b... ...to agreatly different culture. That the idea of tolerance was not prevalent for17th centuryEuropeans is demonstrated by the Portuguese experience in Japan, yet somehow theDutch managed a cultural acumen that was remarkable for this time period.Works CitedDut ch and Japanese Relations. Consulat-General van het Koninkrijk der Nederlandenhttp//www.oranda-cg.or.jp/english/relations.html, Retrieved 23 July 2007.Sayle, Murray. Japan Goes Dutch. capital of the United Kingdom Review of Books. Vol. 23 No. 7 (5 April2001). Retrieved 22 July 2007.Totman, Conrad. Tokugawa Ieyasu Shogun A Biography, Tokyo Heian InternationalIncorporated. 1983.Yonemura, Ann. Yokohama Prints from Nineteenth Century Japan. Arthur M.Sackler Gallery. Smithsonian Institution. Washington, D.C. artelino.com/.Articles/dutch.Nagasaki. Retrieved 23 July 2007. NIAS_User Page 8 10/3/07.