Jan Hendrik Donker Curtius was Dutch East India Company factor (opperhoofd) at the Dutch base on Dejima in the mid-1850s. He served as interpreter, mediator, and in several other capacities in negotiations which resulted in the conclusions of treaties or conventions signed between the Tokugawa shogunate and the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom in 1854-1855;[1] he also played a primary role in the negotiation and conclusion of the Dutch-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Amity in 1856.[1] Meanwhile, in 1855, he was named Dutch consul (rijikan).[2]
In 1854-1855, Curtius also arranged for the Dutch warship Soembing (later renamed Kankô-maru) to be gifted to the shogunate, and for Dutch naval officers to provide training in the operation of the warship to shogunate retainers.[3]
On 1858/7/10, he signed a Dutch-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce with officials of the Tokugawa shogunate,[4] amidst the shogunate signing treaties with the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom all within a short period.
