Early trade watching
Dutchmen in the Nagasakiya in Edo In April 1600, the ship "de Liefde" arrived on the coast of Bungo (present-day
Usuki), with a dwindled, exhausted and sickly crew of survivors, the only ship remaining of the initial five vessels that departed from Rotterdam in 1598. This crew included
Jacob Quaeckernaeck,
Melchior van Santvoort,
Jan Joosten and
William Adams. The crew and ship's contents were seized under orders from
Tokugawa Ieyasu, the ruler at the time, and upon extracting information from some of the members brought to court about foreign affairs and the purpose of their mission, he permitted some to ship out on
Red Seal Ships, thus starting the first trading collaborations between the Dutch and the Japanese. When formal trade relations were established in 1609 at the behest of
William Adams, the Dutch were granted extensive trading rights and established a trading outpost at
Hirado, operated by the
Dutch East India Company. They traded in Asian goods such as spices, textiles, porcelain, and silk. In 1637, the
Shimabara uprising broke out following a revolt by peasants, farmers and
hidden Christians against the
Tokugawa shogunate. What began as resistance to heavy taxation and local abuses—including the alleged seizure and torture of a farmer's daughter for tax arrears—quickly escalated into a broader rebellion in which Christian believers and impoverished farmers allied against the shogunate. Fearing that the revolt might inspire similar uprisings elsewhere in the country, the shogunate adopted an increasingly intolerant stance toward Christianity. Although reluctant to become involved, the Dutch were ordered by the shogunate to assist in suppressing the rebellion in order to preserve their trading privileges. They complied by using a ship to bombard the besieged castle, though this assistance had little practical effect. In the aftermath, all Christian nations that had supported the rebels were expelled, leaving the Dutch as the sole remaining commercial partner from the
West.
Military cooperation After the forcible opening of Japan by an American fleet commanded by
Commodore Perry in 1854, the Netherlands was one of five countries to conclude a
treaty with Japan in 1858, the so-called
Ansei Treaties. , 1861 In 1860s, the
Tokugawa Shogunate decided to modernize the Japanese fleet. To do this, orders were placed for modern steam powered warships. The first of which was the
ZM SS Soembing, a gift from
King William III of the Netherlands, which was renamed the
Kankō Maru. To train Japanese sailors in the use of these new and powerful ships the
Nagasaki Naval Training Center was established at the entrance of Dejima, to maximize interaction with Dutch naval know-how. Among the students at the Nagasaki Naval Training Center was
Enomoto Takeaki, one of the founders of the
Imperial Japanese Navy. Following the opening of Japan to trade, the Dutch special mission in Nagasaki was closed down in 1860 and first Dutch Consulate was opened in Edo.
World War II in 1994, named in honour of 'The Love' (De Liefde), the first Dutch sailing vessel to reach Japan in 1600. Also notable are the many
tulips on the foreground.
Post war Japanese–Dutch relations The relations between Japan and the Netherlands after 1945 have been complicated. The invasion and
occupation of the
Netherlands East Indies during World War II, brought about the destruction of the colonial state in Indonesia, as the Japanese removed as much of the Dutch government as they could, weakening the post war grip the Netherlands had over the territory. Under diplomatic pressure from the
United States, the Netherlands recognised Indonesian sovereignty in 1949 (see
United States of Indonesia). Emperor
Hirohito landed in the Netherlands for a state visit on 8 October 1971. The visit was controversial because of the World War II troubles, and his delegation had to be protected from protesters. Japanese flags were burned by radical far-left activists of the
Red Youth in front of the media and a bomb alert was reported when the Japanese embassy was threatened. The Japanese press reacted furiously to the reception. After the visit, the Dutch government repeatedly apologised to Japan, and the mood in Japan turned positive when Hirohito called the visit a "success." Increasingly positive relations were largely felt in the
consumer electronics industry, where the Netherlands's
Philips and Japan's
Sony - both major electronics companies at the time - worked together in making several popular mass market technologies such as the
compact disc (CD). On the 24 August 2009, the Netherlands released a commemorative 5 euro coin to celebrate 400 years of relations. == Education ==