Changes

Beginning in the 15th century, and continuing well into the 16th, the kingdom expanded its control over other islands in the Ryûkyû chain, both to the north and to the south. King [[Sho Toku|Shô Toku]] personally led an invasion force to [[Kikai-jima]] in [[1466]], and forces from the kingdom were dispatched to [[Kumejima]] in [[1506]]. Meanwhile, in 1500, [[Oyake Akahachi]], the dominant power on [[Ishigaki Island]], rose up in rebellion against the Shuri government, refusing to pay taxes or [[tribute]] to Shuri, and also making efforts to extend his own power over other nearby islands; Shuri's successful suppression of this rebellion, with the aid of [[Nakasone Toyomiya]] of [[Hateruma Island]] and other local elites, was followed immediately by Shuri appointing local "chiefs" or "heads" (''kashira''), many of them already elites native to the [[Miyako Islands|Miyako]] or [[Yaeyama Islands]], as official administrators recognized by, and in service to, the kingdom. A system of high priestesses, called ''[[oamu]]'', were also dispatched to the various southern islands. Meanwhile, the kingdom made efforts to expand to the north, where it encountered considerably greater resistance. Battles between the kingdom's forces and local resistance on [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] and other parts of the [[Amami Islands]] continued well into the 1550s and 1560s. Ryukyuan forces also clashed with samurai forces from southern Kyushu, who were pushing southward. The Shimazu clan attacked Amami Ôshima in 1571, the same year as the island finally formally submitted to Shuri's authority, as part of an ultimately abortive attempt to conquer the entire kingdom. The furthest north Ryukyuan forces ever managed to attain territory was on [[Gajashima]], one of the [[Tokara Islands]] to the north of Amami. These expansionist efforts were aimed chiefly at consolidating power, and securing access to trade and resources. The kingdom made local elites dependent on Shuri for their legitimacy and authority, and required a certain amount of tax or tribute payments, along with certain other forms of service, but otherwise gave the Miyakos and Yaeyamas, as well as the Amami Islands, considerable leeway in managing their own affairs and maintaining their own cultures.<ref>Smits, "Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism"; Smits, "Rethinking Ryukyu," ''International Journal of Okinawan Studies'' 6:1 (2015), 7.</ref>

Beginning in the 15th century, and continuing well into the 16th, the kingdom expanded its control over other islands in the Ryûkyû chain, both to the north and to the south. King [[Sho Toku|Shô Toku]] personally led an invasion force to [[Kikai-jima]] in [[1466]], and forces from the kingdom were dispatched to [[Kumejima]] in [[1506]]. Meanwhile, in 1500, [[Oyake Akahachi]], the dominant power on [[Ishigaki Island]], rose up in rebellion against the Shuri government, refusing to pay taxes or [[tribute]] to Shuri, and also making efforts to extend his own power over other nearby islands; Shuri's successful suppression of this rebellion, with the aid of [[Nakasone Toyomiya]] of [[Hateruma Island]] and other local elites, was followed immediately by Shuri appointing local "chiefs" or "heads" (''kashira''), many of them already elites native to the [[Miyako Islands|Miyako]] or [[Yaeyama Islands]], as official administrators recognized by, and in service to, the kingdom. A system of high priestesses, called ''[[oamu]]'', were also dispatched to the various southern islands. Meanwhile, the kingdom made efforts to expand to the north, where it encountered considerably greater resistance. Battles between the kingdom's forces and local resistance on [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] and other parts of the [[Amami Islands]] continued well into the 1550s and 1560s. Ryukyuan forces also clashed with samurai forces from southern Kyushu, who were pushing southward. The Shimazu clan attacked Amami Ôshima in 1571, the same year as the island finally formally submitted to Shuri's authority, as part of an ultimately abortive attempt to conquer the entire kingdom. The furthest north Ryukyuan forces ever managed to attain territory was on [[Gajashima]], one of the [[Tokara Islands]] to the north of Amami. These expansionist efforts were aimed chiefly at consolidating power, and securing access to trade and resources. The kingdom made local elites dependent on Shuri for their legitimacy and authority, and required a certain amount of tax or tribute payments, along with certain other forms of service, but otherwise gave the Miyakos and Yaeyamas, as well as the Amami Islands, considerable leeway in managing their own affairs and maintaining their own cultures.<ref>Smits, "Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism"; Smits, "Rethinking Ryukyu," ''International Journal of Okinawan Studies'' 6:1 (2015), 7.</ref>

The kingdom's booming trade faced challenges throughout the late 15th and 16th centuries, however. The [[Onin War|Ônin War]] influenced Ryukyuan trade to shift to [[Hakata]], [[Bonotsu|Bônotsu]], and other ports in Kyushu, inadvertently providing greater opportunities for the Shimazu to exercise influence; merchants based in Hakata and [[Tsushima]] posing as envoys of the Ryukyuan court interfered with Ryûkyû's genuine efforts to engage in relations with Korea; and the arrival of Europeans and other developments in Southeast Asian shipping caused a decline in Ryûkyû's share of trade in that region as well.<ref>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', 134.</ref> By the 1570s, trade declined all the more sharply, as the seas came to be dominated by other powers. Spanish and Portuguese galleons arrived around the mid-16th century, followed by the agents of the [[British East India Company|English]] and [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] [[East India Company|East India Companies]] at the beginning of the 17th. Meanwhile, Ming China lifted its bans on Chinese trade with, and in, Southeast Asia, in [[1567]], and Japan under [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] began to engage in licensed trade under the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system after around [[1582]]. The dispatch of Ryukyuan trading ships to Siam in [[1570]] was to be the last act of direct Ryukyuan involvement in maritime trade in Southeast Asia.<ref>''Ryûkyû ôchô no bi'' 琉球王朝の美. Hikone Castle Museum 彦根城博物館. Hikone, 1993. p75.</ref>

The kingdom's booming trade faced challenges throughout the late 15th and 16th centuries, however. The [[Onin War|Ônin War]] influenced Ryukyuan trade to shift to [[Hakata]], [[Bonotsu|Bônotsu]], and other ports in Kyushu, inadvertently providing greater opportunities for the Shimazu to exercise influence; merchants based in Hakata and [[Tsushima]] posing as envoys of the Ryukyuan court interfered with Ryûkyû's genuine efforts to engage in relations with Korea; and the arrival of Europeans and other developments in Southeast Asian shipping caused a decline in Ryûkyû's share of trade in that region as well.<ref>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 134.</ref> By the 1570s, trade declined all the more sharply, as the seas came to be dominated by other powers. Spanish and Portuguese galleons arrived around the mid-16th century, followed by the agents of the [[British East India Company|English]] and [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] [[East India Company|East India Companies]] at the beginning of the 17th. Meanwhile, Ming China lifted its bans on Chinese trade with, and in, Southeast Asia, in [[1567]], and Japan under [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] began to engage in licensed trade under the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system after around [[1582]]. The dispatch of Ryukyuan trading ships to Siam in [[1570]] was to be the last act of direct Ryukyuan involvement in maritime trade in Southeast Asia.<ref>''Ryûkyû ôchô no bi'' 琉球王朝の美. Hikone Castle Museum 彦根城博物館. Hikone, 1993. p75.</ref>

The total population of the kingdom at this time stood around 100,000.<ref>McNally, 99.</ref>

The total population of the kingdom at this time stood around 100,000.<ref>McNally, 99.</ref>