Between 1639 and 1854 was the Netherlands the only European country allowed to trade with Japan. After 1854, when Commodore Perry uses gunboat diplomacy to open diplomatic contact with Japan, the...Show moreBetween 1639 and 1854 was the Netherlands the only European country allowed to trade with Japan. After 1854, when Commodore Perry uses gunboat diplomacy to open diplomatic contact with Japan, the unique position of the Netherlands had changed drastically. Nonetheless, the Dutch government was not eager to give up its monopoly on Japan that easily. As a result, after Japan opened, the Dutch government can be observed undertaking many projects in Japan to convince the Japanese that unique relations with the Dutch were still in the Japanese interest. Especially in Nagasaki, where the Dutch had a trading post for since the 17th century, the Dutch undertook many projects and this started to shape the city going forward. This thesis examines how Dutch influence shaped three prominent sectors in Nagasaki throughout the nineteenth century; the rising military & industrial sectors and the declining trade sector in Nagasaki. The developments in these sectors are framed within wider Japanese history of that era and also the decline of Dutch influence in the nineteenth century. The conclusion of this thesis is that the Dutch still fulfilled a prominent position within Japanese, and then especially Nagasaki, after the years of the opening in 1854. The Dutch worked hard to introduce Japan with new military and industrial knowledge, while simulataneously aiming to include within a new trade network. The Dutch supplied new materials, worked as teacher and also worked as intermediaries with other Western nations. Eventually the Dutch could not keep up with other Western nations and by the 1870s most Dutch experts had disappeared from Japan. Nonetheless, by this time their influence had played a major role in Nagasaki. The basis had been laid for the rise of many factories in the city, the city had become a centre for military knowledge and trade had dwindled from the city. Byt the time the last of the Dutch experts left, Nagasaki had been set on a course to become a military-industrial complex, which would play an important part in the next century.Show less
The political conflict between Dutch Orangists and Patriots in the Netherlands during the late 18th and early 19th century brought about the production of a huge amount of politically charged...Show moreThe political conflict between Dutch Orangists and Patriots in the Netherlands during the late 18th and early 19th century brought about the production of a huge amount of politically charged objects. Many of these items have survived from history and are nowadays kept in museums and private collections. However, the exact provenance that can provide information of the social context these objects used to be part of generally lacks. The central question of this thesis is: To what extent can Dutch Patriots and Orangists be socially distinguished by their consumer behaviour regarding ceramics and glassware apart from the use of politically charged objects when consulting historical and archaeological data from the late 18th and early 19th century? Through the study of both historical and archaeological sources an attempt has been made to fathom the material culture of politically engaged individuals in the Netherlands in the period around 1800.Show less
