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7 - International Economy and Japan at the Dawn of the Early Modern Era

from PART II - Economy, Environment, and Technology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2024

By
Adam Clulow
Edited by
David L. Howell
David L. Howell
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
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Summary

In the early modern period, Japan emerged as a key node in global trading networks. While a vast range of goods were traded, Japan’s position was underpinned by the silk-for-silver exchange that acted as a powerful magnet for foreign merchants. This chapter aims to situate Japan within global trade by exploring the underlying commercial dynamic that drove engagement and the crowded commercial landscape that emerged as a result. The focus is, first, on successive challengers including the Portuguese, shuinsen merchants, the Dutch, the English, and the Chinese and, second, on Tokugawa attempts to channel trade through sanctioned pathways while cutting links with any group that might inject volatility into a precariously balanced system. The chapter concludes by examining the Zheng maritime organization, which emerged to challenge the Dutch East India Company for control over trade routes in East and Southeast Asia.

Keywords

maritime tradesilverglobalizationdiasporaDutch East India CompanyVOCHiradoNagasakishuinsenAyutthayaTaiwanZheng Zhilong
Type
Chapter
Information
The New Cambridge History of Japan , pp. 229 - 266
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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