H
usage; and as the government of-Japan Is pflicb .stronger and more vigilant than that
~ of China, no such abuses Can be ventured' on «t &Tmgasaki as those which exist at
Trade of the
Dutch w itk
Japan».
Canton. '■ / « ' / . r l , «v.
ti#The commercial intercourse of the Dutch a t Japan was established by an imperial
edict in their favor from the Emperor Gmging:Soma, in the year 1611.
The fitst Dutch factory was established at Firarfdo, h u t in. the year. 16.41 it was
removed'to Nangasakü 'The nümb'&/öfi]the Dutch ships,’ and the kind of merchandize
which they imported, were then left entirely to the discretion of the (partje^,; .the
merchandize'was disposed'ofoto tbe-best advantage,-and the returns, -poiisj.stejcj^1 such
articles.as?were expected to yield the greatest profit. .They,wgrejsqhjgg^quJjjtq
the municipal regulations of the country, without.any^urthp.^restraiut q r .i l^ J ^ S ^ .e
whatever. The trade remained.in this state till the yea^lggl. In the .Dat.c^g^rds
of this period, the only complaints made, against Japanese authority, Relate,to,re,s&i<$Oiis
laid upon them in'matters of religion. > \ ? .
• In the beginning, the returns from Japan consisted, of silver, and copper . and,,the
former being, coined,-was received _ according to. the, current Rvalue; ,ini that j ^ ^ ^ £
where the;®oins.and weights went by the samej ;name^a^9.Anipldiyi,.,ow. katis^fêtyifc,
mas, and kandarins. Ten mas were worth a tahil,«Sixteen.tg/f(ëa-lqti; .and-.ope^huijdred
kali weighed one .hundred and twenty o rtn e hundred and^tWentyrone.poundsfDutch5
equal to a mark.
I There were two sorts .of silver, of which the fine was called iojnd an.d .thq^oarser
bar-silver« generally distinguished by"the Dutch under. ..thei;terms?jq&,fedny and light
money. This was at first carried to account- at tbe>rat^o£;sixty-two-sti&q^nn{lr u lialf
per tahil, 'no difference being madè in the books of- that tintel b e tj^n ^ th e tw o kinds ;
but in the year 1635, the common or bar-silver, .'wasffir&ed' at. fifty-seven rsb^^S.^he
tahil.. Both kinds, according iio .this regulation, were considered . by thej ^Dntghg^i
calculated too high.for an aiScle of merchandize, and^Vnsequently.-l^^emb^)^ ^ h |rin
demand in.the western parts of India,’ to'which it.was-at first.^sent^bylhe^^mp^gjg.j
;. The attention, of .the Dutch being however afterwards aljrgcted-to'the^atle in gold
from Japan,', orders, were issued to the factors in the year .1610, .requiring goldjasg.
return* to the amount of from ten to twelve hundred .-thousand, florins.. ^These -Orders
were ëtèoatêd withthe best success, and a wish seems on this bcca^t^tó^rat®
been expressed by the factory, that Japan might, as formerly,,Ije permitted .^supply
from one hundred .to one hundred and fifty chests of. gó[d'<kobang$i vbangs?, and gehos.
Gold and silver were at this time the principal articles; in.the returns from Japan.
Their Copper was not much in demand, probably because it was so little known
in India or.Europe; Tyet the Directprs, in their requisition-.for, the year lg£5?llstiate.the
price of Japan Copper, haying risendrom thirty-six to forty-six florins per^hundyed
f ounds weight, and an order haying been sent to. Japan for twenty t h o u s a n d , o f
that metal, the same rendered great profit.
In 1644, requisitions were made from Surat for, two thousand pijculs, from
Coromandel for one thousand pilculs, and from Batavia for four thousand pikuls of
copper: and in reply it is stated, that it would not be difficult to furnish .the quantity
■ required j
required;'that the Japan «opper:consisted of both sheet and bar copper, of which
the former was .purchased at twenty tahils the pifcul, of twelve stivers (interior silver)
per pound, tbejrigtwenty per cent, cheaper-than European copper!
The gold, after’beipg coined;, found a, very' profitable article, being purchased
a t .a.favourable rate. -. In the beginning the Iiohang wasi;purchased:‘for six -tahil eight
mas, and; îôximxatahil seveuwîasÿandras appears from the'books’ of-1669,' 1670jf and
M7 1, was within those ydarsi evenvpurchased as lowi'as’- five*tahils six mgs'and five
tahils eight mew..from the! great men: of the country?or*from' merchants,- according
to, circumstgneesJi-rfDuringytWo of these, years, more than one ‘ hundred thousand
iabangs. were,obtained, which rendered a profit of one- million of florins.'*-'’
In ,16.71y an edict was-issued*by! the ‘Japanese government prohibiting the further
exportation of silver; but the profit on the gold beingjjsp'considerable} the restriction
on the exportation, of'silver was a matter [of, indifference--to the'Dirtfch, who still
were enabled; to" obtain .their returns in the more profitable articles of gold and copper.
! The; exchange of the kohcàig~wa<t now fixed by the Japanese’government at sixty-eight
mas ; andthe.free and unrestricted trade which thé Dutch -had- hither)o-Jbnjoyed, was
subjected to an arbitrary valuation of the import cargoes} and limited-fim?with respect
to,,the articles of- merchandize* -and afterwards with respect to its extent.' »
, The lqs| of the island of Formosa in.1661, is supposed .tofhave given jtheifirst shock
to .the cre.ditio® the ’ Dutch at Japan. Not long after that event they experienced many
.instances ,óf' opposition and severaj lpréjudicial alterations, iirftiiej trade.1 '•
“ They^the. Japanese) were consequently,”- obsébvesjyir.'Imhoff, in his Memoir oft
(he Japan-Trade, ifno longer upd|r\ny, apprehension'óf; beiflg,annoyed’t>yJiis, while}
- ^ if w;é, had remained in-possession ofi Formosa, we were and plight have .continued
% masters >(ôf the navigation and trade between' CJiina and’ Japan. In that opinion I
tf igrri still further confirmed, when I consider, in the first instance, that thdprejudicial
“ change with respect to our^aituation at Japan, although it toolfipmce' onlÿ’séveral
“ .years afters the, .loss- of Formosa, had been already in agitation sometime-before ;
“ and secondly, that-notwithstanding the'confidence' of the-^Japanese in their-own
superiority, which they always evinced,, that arrogance did-not.conceal altogether a
« certain fear of us, very evidenttfrom their great jirecautionst ’ This ffear has^no^ym,
“ since decreased, land,’if,we may trust^to, the’ records}- has frequently been, succeeded
Oy,brutality.* It isjanlundeniabl^truth^that if a natiobi renders itself respected
“ and formidable it will'flourish* and; that otherwise it isjhuttlitüe esteemed.” -
The decline of the trade seems not at firsttöjhave been much attended to!- “ Whether
“ -the Japanese,” says ’the^same^writer, .^m^-jbat period' obtaineflyadvicë vof thb
“ advantages we derived from the trade, or that the bad conduct of oud servants gave
« occasion to further restrictions which succeedediteach lother; we|lö-not know, yet it
,V-.sê “ We were obliged to submit; to many insults, andit-frequently happened that the governors declined receiving
« our icprescnfcationsij-hinting that we might leave Japan altogether, and not -return- again From the records
“ also, wc pcrceiyc the despotic .régulations resotted, 'to'.hy.the Japanese respecting our nation, in- consequence
“ of out having'St that time Élit Ïtitle power in India,”— .
Japan Trade.