Changes

The kingdom's booming trade declined around the 1570s, as the seas came to be dominated by other powers. Spanish and Portuguese galleons arrived around the mid-16th century, followed by the agents of the [[British East India Company|English]] and [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] [[East India Company|East India Companies]] at the beginning of the 17th. Meanwhile, Ming China lifted its bans on Chinese trade with, and in, Southeast Asia, in [[1567]], and Japan under [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] began to engage in licensed trade under the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system after around [[1582]]. The dispatch of Ryukyuan trading ships to Siam in [[1570]] was to be the last act of direct Ryukyuan involvement in maritime trade in Southeast Asia.<ref>''Ryûkyû ôchô no bi'' 琉球王朝の美. Hikone Castle Museum 彦根城博物館. Hikone, 1993. p75.</ref>

The kingdom's booming trade declined around the 1570s, as the seas came to be dominated by other powers. Spanish and Portuguese galleons arrived around the mid-16th century, followed by the agents of the [[British East India Company|English]] and [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] [[East India Company|East India Companies]] at the beginning of the 17th. Meanwhile, Ming China lifted its bans on Chinese trade with, and in, Southeast Asia, in [[1567]], and Japan under [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] began to engage in licensed trade under the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system after around [[1582]]. The dispatch of Ryukyuan trading ships to Siam in [[1570]] was to be the last act of direct Ryukyuan involvement in maritime trade in Southeast Asia.<ref>''Ryûkyû ôchô no bi'' 琉球王朝の美. Hikone Castle Museum 彦根城博物館. Hikone, 1993. p75.</ref>

===Invasion and Vassalage===

===Invasion and Vassalage===