| Abstract |
In June 1613, the Clove, a merchant ship dispatched by the English East India Company, arrived in Japan, its mission to open up a trading post, or “factory,” that would allow England to trade with Japan. Just ten years later, however, the factory was abruptly shut down. The English, who had arrived in Japan later than other European nations, were now also the first to leave. While previous scholars who have studied the issue have concluded that the factory was closed due primarily to its poor economic performance, this paper argues that we cannot focus on economic causes alone. The factory was not merely a trading post: it was also an important diplomatic, social, and military center. Its closure had to do with the strained relations between the factory and the East India Company headquarters back in London. Relations between the factory and the Bantam Presidency in Java were also far from ideal. In addition, the factory was not on amicable terms with its Japanese hosts, or with other foreign powers in Japan. After the English left Japan, they turned their attention to China. More than two hundred years would elapse before Anglo-Japan relations were restored. |
