Changes

When pressured by the Ryukyuan authorities, Bettelheim threatened on numerous occasions to contact the British authorities, but the Brits as well, for the most part, wanted to have nothing to do with him. On one occasion, a British admiral accused him of posing as a British official (e.g. in his interactions with the Ryukyuan authorities, and perhaps with visiting Western crews) and threatened to file that his citizenship be revoked. The Loochoo Mission in Hong Kong & China did a fair job of hiding his troublemaking from the Mission's home office in London; however, officials in Satsuma and Beijing were well aware of such matters. Beijing claimed that his activities in the Ryukyus were in violation of the [[Treaty of Nanking]], which specified only five Chinese ports that would be open to missionary activity. Apparently, they interpreted Naha to be a Chinese port, or at least interpreted Ryûkyû to be Chinese territory beyond the boundaries of where foreign missionaries were permitted to travel. Of the various Western ships arriving in Okinawa around this time, many, to the contrary, believed Okinawa to be part of Japan, and traveled there as part of efforts to see Japanese ports opened to commerce for their nation.

When pressured by the Ryukyuan authorities, Bettelheim threatened on numerous occasions to contact the British authorities, but the Brits as well, for the most part, wanted to have nothing to do with him. On one occasion, a British admiral accused him of posing as a British official (e.g. in his interactions with the Ryukyuan authorities, and perhaps with visiting Western crews) and threatened to file that his citizenship be revoked. The Loochoo Mission in Hong Kong & China did a fair job of hiding his troublemaking from the Mission's home office in London; however, officials in Satsuma and Beijing were well aware of such matters. Beijing claimed that his activities in the Ryukyus were in violation of the [[Treaty of Nanking]], which specified only five Chinese ports that would be open to missionary activity. Apparently, they interpreted Naha to be a Chinese port, or at least interpreted Ryûkyû to be Chinese territory beyond the boundaries of where foreign missionaries were permitted to travel. Of the various Western ships arriving in Okinawa around this time, many, to the contrary, believed Okinawa to be part of Japan, and traveled there as part of efforts to see Japanese ports opened to commerce for their nation.

As a result, Bettelheim's activities began to become more of a concern for the Mission and for British authorities, eventually reaching the level of being discussed by the Cabinet in London; if the difficulties with Bettelheim somehow sparked a larger international incident, it could potentially have had a serious impact upon British diplomatic relations and political intentions in the region. An example of the many interactions Bettelheim had with Western ships took place on [[1849]]/2/14 (March 8), when the [[HMS ''Mariner'']], under the command of a Captain Matheson, pulled into port in Naha. The visitors were invited to a formal banquet by the chief magistrate of Naha, in preparation for an official meeting with the royal regent; yet, somehow Bettelheim convinced the Captain and his men to leave the banquet hall in order to have dinner at Bettelheim's house (i.e. at Gokoku-ji). The Naha officials were unable to stop them, and so had the entire banquet moved to Gokoku-ji. The regent stepped aboard the ''Mariner'' the following day to meet with Captain Matheson, and petitioned him to remove Bettelheim; the missionary translated the petition and interpreted for the meeting despite being the subject of discussion in this manner. The Captain agreed to take him, but Bettelheim refused to leave; in the end, Bettelheim remained ashore, while the ''Mariner'' returned to England with petitions from the Ryukyuans for Bettelheim's removal, and from Bettelheim petitioning that Royal Navy ships be sent to punish the Ryukyuan authorities for their treatment of him.

As a result, Bettelheim's activities began to become more of a concern for the Mission and for British authorities, eventually reaching the level of being discussed by the Cabinet in London; if the difficulties with Bettelheim somehow sparked a larger international incident, it could potentially have had a serious impact upon British diplomatic relations and political intentions in the region. An example of the many interactions Bettelheim had with Western ships took place on [[1849]]/2/14 (March 8), when the [[Mariner|HMS ''Mariner'']], under the command of a Captain Matheson, pulled into port in Naha. The visitors were invited to a formal banquet by the chief magistrate of Naha, in preparation for an official meeting with the royal regent; yet, somehow Bettelheim convinced the Captain and his men to leave the banquet hall in order to have dinner at Bettelheim's house (i.e. at Gokoku-ji). The Naha officials were unable to stop them, and so had the entire banquet moved to Gokoku-ji. The regent stepped aboard the ''Mariner'' the following day to meet with Captain Matheson, and petitioned him to remove Bettelheim; the missionary translated the petition and interpreted for the meeting despite being the subject of discussion in this manner. The Captain agreed to take him, but Bettelheim refused to leave; in the end, Bettelheim remained ashore, while the ''Mariner'' returned to England with petitions from the Ryukyuans for Bettelheim's removal, and from Bettelheim petitioning that Royal Navy ships be sent to punish the Ryukyuan authorities for their treatment of him.

Bettelheim's manipulations eventually led, indirectly, to [[Queen Victoria]]'s government sending a letter to Shuri in 1849, requesting that the Ryukyuan government regard Bettelheim more highly. The Ryukyuan response emphasized the kingdom's inability to engage in interactions with foreign parties, due both to the lack of worthwhile trade goods in Ryûkyû, and to strict Japanese regulations; the kingdom requested that Bettelheim and other missionaries be removed. This never came about, though London did decide to keep an eye on Bettelheim, to make sure he was keeping out of trouble, and being treated well. One such British ship which came to extend the Crown's protection over its subject was the [[HMS Reynard|HMS ''Reynard'']], which stayed in Naha for a week in [[1850]]/9; the royal regent banqueted Captain Cracroft and Bishop Smith of Victoria (Hong Kong), and received similar hospitality aboard Cracroft's ship.

Bettelheim's manipulations eventually led, indirectly, to [[Queen Victoria]]'s government sending a letter to Shuri in 1849, requesting that the Ryukyuan government regard Bettelheim more highly. The Ryukyuan response emphasized the kingdom's inability to engage in interactions with foreign parties, due both to the lack of worthwhile trade goods in Ryûkyû, and to strict Japanese regulations; the kingdom requested that Bettelheim and other missionaries be removed. This never came about, though London did decide to keep an eye on Bettelheim, to make sure he was keeping out of trouble, and being treated well. One such British ship which came to extend the Crown's protection over its subject was the [[HMS Reynard|HMS ''Reynard'']], which stayed in Naha for a week in [[1850]]/9; the royal regent banqueted Captain Cracroft and Bishop Smith of Victoria (Hong Kong), and received similar hospitality aboard Cracroft's ship.