Leiden University Student Repository

Hopman, Tijs (2023)

Behind the Curtains of Neutrality: The reorientation of Dutch foreign policy towards Tokugawa Japan during the Bakumatsu Period (1853-1868)

Master thesis | Asian Studies (60 EC) (MA)

This thesis focuses on Dutch foreign policy towards Japan during the tumultuous Bakumatsu Period (1853-1868) and situates said foreign policy within the broader context of Dutch neutrality and imperialism of the nineteenth century. The study concludes that even though the Dutch government viewed the Netherlands as a small power in Europe, it was a large imperial power in Asia, and as such it had to pursue active foreign policy in East/Southeast Asia to protect Dutch interests in light of encroaching Western imperialism in the region. Contrary to previous studies, this thesis argues that Dutch neutrality did not imply passivity, but instead proved to be a unique form of Dutch foreign policy amidst larger imperial powers and Japan, in which the ingenuity, character and actions of Dutch actors in Japan was crucial.

Imperialism

neutrality

Dutch-Japanese relations

diplomacy

East Asia

nineteenth century

Bakumatsu Period

Author

Hopman, Tijs

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

History, Arts and Culture of Asia

Supervisors

Wits, C.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en