Tokugawa-French Economic Relations on the Eve of the Meiji Restoration

Authors

  • Mark Ericson

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/shashi.2024.68

Abstract

This article examines the efforts of the Tokugawa Bakufu and France to establish an economic dimension to their special relationship in the years before the Meiji Restoration. This aspect of the bilateral relationship is much less known than others, such as the French military mission to train Tokugawa troops and the construction of the Yokosuka naval dockyard. Attempts were made to give France a leading role in the sericulture trade, to establish a joint Japanese-French trading company, and to use Japanese resources as collateral for French financing of the Bakufu’s plans to reform and strengthening its military. The unstable economic situation in Europe, the opposition of rival Treaty Powers, and the sudden Meiji Restoration coup resulted in the failure of these efforts.

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Published

2024-04-26

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2024): Government and Private Concerns

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2024 Mark Ericson

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