1849

Kaei 2 (嘉永二年)

Timeline of 1849

• 1849/3/13 The shogunate dismisses lord of Takamatsu han Matsudaira Yoritane, lord of Moriyama han Matsudaira Yorinobu, and lord of Hitachi Fuchu han Matsudaira Yoritsugu from their positions as guardians overseeing the administration of Mito han.
• 1849/int.4/1 A British yacht called the Nancy Dawson and commanded by a Captain Shedden, puts in at Naha.
• 1849/6 or 7 (August) A letter is drafted from the government of Queen Victoria and sent to the government of the Ryûkyû Kingdom suggesting that Ryûkyû regard missionary Bernard Bettelheim more highly.
• 1849/10 or 11 (December) The Ryûkyû Kingdom responds to England's letter, expressing that they are unable to enter into trade relations with foreign countries (especially as they are poor in resources and have nothing to trade); as Japanese regulations regarding interactions with foreign parties are quite strict, they also ask that the missionary Bettelheim be removed. The British decline to do so.

Other Events of 1849

• Bernard Bettelheim completes the first English-Ryukyuan dictionary.
• The shogunate orders the strengthening of coastal defenses, in the wake of the Opium War and anticipating the threat of Western powers seeking to "open" the country.
• The annual contract system in Edo kabuki, by which a new company was formed each year, is dissolved.
• Kondô Shûsuke adopts the man who will later become Shinsengumi commander Kondô Isami.
• A British ship called the Mariner arrives at Edo Bay and lands some number of people who conduct illegal surveys and then depart.
• Matsumae Takahiro succeeds Matsumae Masahiro as head of the Matsumae clan.
• Reconstruction begins on Matsumae castle; it will be completed in 1854.
• Shogunal heir Tokugawa Iesachi marries Ichijô Hideko.
• The completed Tokugawa jikki, begun in 1801, is formally presented to Shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi.
• The Uraga bugyô has a Western-style ship constructed and names it the Sôshunmaru.
• The USS Preble which called at Naha the previous year arrives in Nagasaki, and picks up Ranald MacDonald and thirteen deserters from the whaling ship Lagoda.

Births and Deaths

• 1849/4/18 Ukiyo-e artist Hokusai dies.
• Kabuki actor Onoe Kikugorô III dies.
• Shinsengumi member Nakamura Gorô is born.
• Nogi Maresuke is born (d. 1912).
• Saionji Kinmochi is born (d. 1940).

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