Basil Hall

• Born: 1788
• Died: 1844

Basil Hall was a British officer and diplomatic official who served as a member of an 1816 mission to China led by Lord Amherst. He later traveled to Korea, Ryûkyû and elsewhere, producing an account of his journeys, Voyage of discovery to the west coast of Corea and the great Loo-Choo Island, which remains a prominent and oft-cited source today.

Born in Edinburgh in 1788, Hall joined the British Royal Navy in 1802. In 1812, he was assigned to the East Indies, and in 1816 was named captain of the HMS Lyra, which accompanied the HMS Alceste in carrying Lord Amherst's formal diplomatic mission to China later that year.

Though Hall accompanied Lord Amherst to China, he did not join him in traveling to the secondary imperial palace at Rehe (aka Chengde), where Amherst was to meet with the Jiaqing Emperor. As Amherst and his men found the ritual of kowtowing to the emperor terribly offensive, they made excuses of illness and were encouraged to leave the country, with no further gifts or banquets; this was to be the last British mission to China of that sort.

In the meantime, however, Hall conducted a survey of the East China Sea region. This survey included visits to the Kingdom of Ryûkyû and to Joseon Dynasty Korea, during which Hall and his compatriots recorded much about local customs, architecture, geography, language, and so forth. Nakijin Chôei was appointed by the Ryûkyû royal court to oversee efforts to handle the foreign visitors. Hall and his men sojourned in Ryûkyû from September 15 to October 27, 1816 (8/24 to 9/7 on the Japanese/Ryukyuan calendar).

Upon his return to Europe, Hall is said to have met with Napoleon, then in exile on the island of St. Helena. Hall's description of Ryûkyû to Napoleon, as an utterly peaceful society entirely lacking in arms or armies, played a key role in perpetuating, if not initiating, this myth and stereotype of a pacifist Ryûkyû. In truth, King Shô Shin, back in the 16th century, confiscated weapons in order to consolidate power and prevent rebellion against him, and the Shimazu clan of Satsuma han did similarly following their invasion of Ryûkyû in 1609; but in neither of these cases was the kingdom fully rid of weapons, nor was it ever done for a pacifistic purpose.

Hall's accounts of his voyages were published in 1818. He retired from the Navy in 1825, and enjoyed a long retirement, dying in 1844.

References

• Gallery labels, exhibition "Basil Hall rairyû 200 shûnen kinen, Uranda ga yatte kita!," バジル・ホール来琉200周年記念 ウランダーがやってきた！, Naha City Museum of History, October 2016.