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==The Incident==
==The Incident==
The ''Phaeton'' was the first British man-of-war to enter Nagasaki harbor. It was captained by Fleetwood Pellew, with a Lt. C.B. Stockdale as second-in-command. The frigate was armed with 48 cannon.
The ''Phaeton'' was the first British man-of-war to enter Nagasaki harbor. It was captained by Fleetwood Pellew, with a Lt. C.B. Stockdale as second-in-command. The frigate was 141 feet long, armed with 48 cannon, and crewed by roughly 250 men.
Historian [[Noell Wilson]] identifies two major weaknesses in the organization of Nagasaki's defense. Firstly, the manner in which Saga and Fukuoka han shared responsibility for the defense of Nagasaki was ambiguous and inefficient. Second, the Nagasaki ''bugyô'', a shogunate official, nominally had command of the defense of the harbor, and of the Saga and Fukuoka troops assigned there, but had no troops of his own, and had rather limited powers within Saga or Fukuoka domains themselves, outside of the city or harbor of Nagasaki itself.
Historian [[Noell Wilson]] identifies two major weaknesses in the organization of Nagasaki's defense. Firstly, the manner in which Saga and Fukuoka han shared responsibility for the defense of Nagasaki was ambiguous and inefficient. Second, the Nagasaki ''bugyô'', a shogunate official, nominally had command of the defense of the harbor, and of the Saga and Fukuoka troops assigned there, but had no troops of his own, and had rather limited powers within Saga or Fukuoka domains themselves, outside of the city or harbor of Nagasaki itself.
While the defense of other "gateways" to Japan at this time was entrusted entirely to individual domains (namely, the [[So clan|Sô clan]] of [[Tsushima han]] and the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma han]], respectively, in guarding against foreign incursions in/via Tsushima and the Ryukyus), an arrangement much like that at Nagasaki was employed in [[Ezo]] in the 19th century, where the [[Tsugaru clan]] and [[Nanbu clan]] shared responsibility, and in [[Edo]].
While the defense of other "gateways" to Japan at this time was entrusted entirely to individual domains (namely, the [[So clan|Sô clan]] of [[Tsushima han]] and the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma han]], respectively, in guarding against foreign incursions in/via Tsushima and the Ryukyus), an arrangement much like that at Nagasaki was employed in [[Ezo]] in the 19th century, where the [[Tsugaru clan]] and [[Nanbu clan]] shared responsibility, and in [[Edo]].
White sails were spotted on 8/15, and assumed to be Dutch, even though the Dutch, who normally arrived in the 6th or 7th month, almost never came to Nagasaki this late in the season. It was for that same reason - the fact that no European ships were expected so late in the season - that only 50-60 samurai from Saga han were on duty, even though policy demanded 1,000 be present throughout the summer trading season (6th-9th months). The Dutch had already come for the season, and so most of the troops had returned to Saga already.
The [[Dutch East India Company]] at this time used a wide variety of ships - including those from other countries - so, when the British warship ''Phaeton'' raised a Dutch flag, nothing was perceived as being unusual at first. The ship was permitted to approach, and to enter the harbor. It anchored at a spot called Kôsaki, and Japanese inspectors went to greet the captain and to inspect the ship. They found that it was much more heavily armed than a typical merchant vessel, with 38 eighteen-pound cannon, eight 32-pound carronades (a type of cannon), and two more carronades of unknown caliber. By contrast, the largest cannon the Japanese had nearby was only a 12-pounder. If a battle were to break out, the Japanese would be not only severely out-gunned, but outnumbered, even here in their own home port, the 250 British crew outnumbering the Saga samurai roughly five-to-one.
The Japanese were presumably still sorting out the foreigners' identities and intentions, and what to do with them, when the ''Phaeton'' lowered a boat with fourteen or fifteen sailors. The sailors then proceeded to seize the Dutchmen who had accompanied the Japanese inspectors (in order to help them properly greet foreign visitors), leading them back to the ''Phaeton'' at gunpoint. They demanded water and provisions, threatening to kill Gerrit Schimel, the Dutch secretary they'd abducted, and to burn the Japanese and Chinese ships in the harbor if these demands were not met.
Nagasaki ''bugyô'' Matsudaira Yasuhira considered a number of ways to destroy the ''Phaeton'', but abandoned them all for lack of manpower, lack of sufficient force, or just general infeasibility. The Japanese cannon emplacements were seriously inferior to even this solitary British warship, both in number of cannon, and in their size and age (read: level of technology). Yet, even these were far from fully manned. Many emplacements did not have enough men to move or maneuver the guns, and many posts lacked commanders.
In the end, the ''bugyô'' provided the British water, two cows, four sheep, and other food & provisions. The British released their captives and left the following morning. Matsudaira committed suicide that night, and a few hours later 8,000 troops arrived from Fukuoka han to serve as reinforcements and to attack the ''Phaeton'', which was now gone.
==References==
==References==