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The Dutch originally established their presence in Japan with a [[factory]] in [[Hirado]] in [[1609]]. (The [[English East India Company]] established their Hirado factory in [[1615]], and closed it in [[1623]], leaving the Japan trade at that time.) The Dutch factory was moved to Dejima in [[1641]].
The Dutch originally established their presence in Japan with a [[factory]] in [[Hirado]] in [[1609]]. (The [[English East India Company]] established their Hirado factory in [[1615]], and closed it in [[1623]], leaving the Japan trade at that time.) The Dutch factory was moved to Dejima in [[1641]].
Under the leadership of [[Jan Pieterzoon Coen]], who has been quoted as saying that trade cannot be conducted without war, nor war without trade, the VOC took Jakarta in [[1619]], burning down much of the town, driving out the local population, and building a fortress from which it would base its operations in Southeast Asia. Two years later, they took the Banda Islands, known for their nutmeg, similarly driving out, enslaving, and/or murdering the local inhabitants. After securing a monopoly on nutmeg, the VOC pushed on to seize control of the trade in cloves, and destroyed every last cloves tree on a number of islands, leaving only a few islands as the only sources of cloves in the region, thus driving prices up dramatically, to the benefit of the Company, which controlled the islands. By 1670, the Company had taken Melaka as well, and dominated the spice trade in the Dutch East Indies.<ref name=tignor/>
Tensions between the VOC and the English East India Company (EIC) sometimes escalated into actual violence. One of the more major incidents was the [[Amboyna massacre]], which took place in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) in [[1623]]. Agents of the Dutch East India Company executed a number of men in the service of the EIC, accusing them of being involved in corporate espionage. Though the English maintained no presence in Japan from 1623 until the 1850s, tensions, and violence, between the VOC and EIC continued. In [[1808]], in the so-called [[Phaeton Incident]], several British ships entered Nagasaki harbor looking for Dutch ships to harass; none were in port at the time.
Tensions between the VOC and the English East India Company (EIC) sometimes escalated into actual violence. One of the more major incidents was the [[Amboyna massacre]], which took place in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) in [[1623]]. Agents of the Dutch East India Company executed a number of men in the service of the EIC, accusing them of being involved in corporate espionage. Though the English maintained no presence in Japan from 1623 until the 1850s, tensions, and violence, between the VOC and EIC continued. In [[1808]], in the so-called [[Phaeton Incident]], several British ships entered Nagasaki harbor looking for Dutch ships to harass; none were in port at the time.
The Dutch presence in Nagasaki was of great importance for Tokugawa Japan not only economically (in terms of the importation of goods), but also in terms of the inflow of information. ''[[Rangaku]]'', or "Dutch studies", was a major development in the Edo period, with a number of scholars eagerly studying Dutch books and other materials (and, on very rare occasions, meeting with Dutchmen personally) and introducing to Japan new technologies, scientific information (especially in the fields of medicine and botany), world maps, and painting techniques. It was through the Dutch that Japan obtained telescopes and microscopes, among other technologies, and it was through the Dutch that Japan was kept up to date on world events.
The Dutch presence in Nagasaki was of great importance for Tokugawa Japan not only economically (in terms of the importation of goods), but also in terms of the inflow of information. ''[[Rangaku]]'', or "Dutch studies", was a major development in the Edo period, with a number of scholars eagerly studying Dutch books and other materials (and, on very rare occasions, meeting with Dutchmen personally) and introducing to Japan new technologies, scientific information (especially in the fields of medicine and botany), world maps, and painting techniques. It was through the Dutch that Japan obtained telescopes and microscopes, among other technologies, and it was through the Dutch that Japan was kept up to date on world events.
Representatives of the Company journeyed to [[Edo]] to pay their respects to the [[Shogun]] once every few years. Originally, from [[1633]] until [[1789]], they made this journey every year; from [[1790]] onwards, the journey was made only once every five years. This change in the frequency of the missions coincided with similar efforts to reduce the costs of receiving [[Korean embassies to Edo]]; from 1790 onwards, the VOC was to send three men, not four, and to bring only half as much gifts for the shogun and for other officials.<ref>Hellyer, 106.</ref>
Representatives of the Company journeyed to [[Edo]] to pay their respects to the [[Shogun]] once every few years. Originally, from [[1633]] until [[1789]], they made this journey every year; from [[1790]] onwards, the journey was made only once every five years. This change in the frequency of the missions coincided with similar efforts to reduce the costs of receiving [[Korean embassies to Edo]]; from 1790 onwards, the VOC was to send three men, not four, and to bring only half as much gifts for the shogun and for other officials.<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 106.</ref>
As their visit was considered one strongly associated with trade purposes, and indeed as the shogunate extending the courtesy or privilege of allowing them to visit Edo, the VOC representatives were not received as "guests" in the same sort of formal ceremonial receptions (''chisô''<!--馳走-->) that [[Korean embassies to Edo|Korean]] and [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo|Ryukyuan]] envoys were.<ref>[[Kurushima Hiroshi]], presentation at "[http://www.hawaii.edu/asiaref/japan/event2013/Index.htm#symposium Interpreting Parades and Processions of Edo Japan]" symposium, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 11 Feb 2013.</ref>; the Dutch, for their part, are said to have seen the affair as simply a matter of protocol which they needed to perform in order to be permitted to maintain their special relationship and trade access.<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 45.</ref>
As their visit was considered one strongly associated with trade purposes, and indeed as the shogunate extending the courtesy or privilege of allowing them to visit Edo, the VOC representatives were not received as "guests" in the same sort of formal ceremonial receptions (''chisô''<!--馳走-->) that [[Korean embassies to Edo|Korean]] and [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo|Ryukyuan]] envoys were.<ref>[[Kurushima Hiroshi]], presentation at "[http://www.hawaii.edu/asiaref/japan/event2013/Index.htm#symposium Interpreting Parades and Processions of Edo Japan]" symposium, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 11 Feb 2013.</ref>; the Dutch, for their part, are said to have seen the affair as simply a matter of protocol which they needed to perform in order to be permitted to maintain their special relationship and trade access.<ref>Hellyer, 45.</ref>
When they did receive an audience with the shogun, they were permitted to approach no further than the outer veranda outside the ''Ôhiroma'', rather than being formally received within the audience hall. On at least one occasion, [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi]] arranged a series of informal audiences with the VOC representatives, assigning officials to lead the Dutch deeper into the palace, where their exotic appearances could be witnessed by the women of the palace, and others (all hidden behind blinds or screens), as a source of humor. The Dutch were also recieved in an unofficial audience at that time at the mansion of the [[Yanagisawa clan]], where Tsunayoshi himself observed from behind a blind, completely unseen himself.<ref>Anne Walthall, "Hiding the shoguns: Secrecy and the nature of political authority in Tokugawa Japan," in Bernard Scheid and Mark Teeuwen (eds.) ''The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion'', Routledge (2006), 341-342. </ref> On occasion, the VOC representatives presented the Shogun with exotic animals, such as [[elephants]] or [[camels]], which stirred up great popular interest, but these animals rarely lasted very long.
When they did receive an audience with the shogun, they were permitted to approach no further than the outer veranda outside the ''Ôhiroma'', rather than being formally received within the audience hall. On at least one occasion, [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi]] arranged a series of informal audiences with the VOC representatives, assigning officials to lead the Dutch deeper into the palace, where their exotic appearances could be witnessed by the women of the palace, and others (all hidden behind blinds or screens), as a source of humor. The Dutch were also recieved in an unofficial audience at that time at the mansion of the [[Yanagisawa clan]], where Tsunayoshi himself observed from behind a blind, completely unseen himself.<ref>Anne Walthall, "Hiding the shoguns: Secrecy and the nature of political authority in Tokugawa Japan," in Bernard Scheid and Mark Teeuwen (eds.) ''The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion'', Routledge (2006), 341-342. </ref> On occasion, the VOC representatives presented the Shogun with exotic animals, such as [[elephants]] or [[camels]], which stirred up great popular interest, but these animals rarely lasted very long.