Changes

The people of Ishigaki were left to feed and care for these hundreds of castaways, a task which proved a heavy burden for the small island. Two weeks later, the USS ''Saratoga'', HMS ''Riley'', and HMS ''Contest'' appeared on the horizon. They pulled into port, and American and British troops seized as many of the coolies as they could find, though many escaped and fled elsewhere on the island. The warships departed with only 70 captives.

The people of Ishigaki were left to feed and care for these hundreds of castaways, a task which proved a heavy burden for the small island. Two weeks later, the USS ''Saratoga'', HMS ''Riley'', and HMS ''Contest'' appeared on the horizon. They pulled into port, and American and British troops seized as many of the coolies as they could find, though many escaped and fled elsewhere on the island. The warships departed with only 70 captives.

[[Shuri]] (i.e. the royal government of Ryûkyû) had been informed about the incident, as had Chinese officials in Fujian province. The incident is of significance because of Shuri's considerable concern about Western intervention in the islands' affairs. It was feared that American or British troops might return, land on Miyako, and severely disrupt local goings-on in their efforts to find the mutineers.

[[Shuri]] (i.e. the royal government of Ryûkyû) had been informed about the incident, as had Chinese officials in Fujian province. The incident is of significance because of Shuri's considerable concern about Western intervention in the islands' affairs. It was feared that American or British troops might return, land on Ishigaki, and severely disrupt local goings-on in their efforts to find the mutineers.

The incident came to a resolution when two ships departed Ishigaki on [[1853]]/6/1 carrying 280 of the escaped Chinese.

The incident came to a resolution when two ships departed Ishigaki on [[1853]]/6/1 carrying 280 of the escaped Chinese.