Satsumi-British War [1] ( 薩 英 戦 争 Satsu-Hey Senso: August 15-17, 1863 ) is an armed conflict in the Japanese city of Kagoshima between the principality of Satsuma and the British squadron.
| Satsumi-British War | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 British bombardment of Kagoshima on August 15, 1863 | |||
| date | August 15 - 17, 1863 | ||
| A place | Kagoshima , Satsuma Khan , Japan | ||
| Cause | incident in Namamugi on September 14, 1862 | ||
| Total | draw | ||
| Opponents | |||
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| Commanders | |||
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| Forces of the parties | |||
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| Losses | |||
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Content
History
The reason for the war was the incident in Namamugi on September 14, 1862. During it, the samurai of the principality of Satsuma killed one and severely wounded two British sailors who violated the rules of Japanese etiquette, trying to break through the samurai column. The Japanese government, represented by the shogunate, agreed to formally apologize and pay UK compensation of £ 100,000 . However, Satsuma refused to extradite the guilty to the British and pay additional compensation in the amount of 25 thousand pounds.
On August 11, 1863, a British squadron of 7 steam ships under the command of Vice Admiral August Cooper entered the bay of Kagoshima , the capital of Satsuma. The next day, the British demanded that the Japanese punish the guilty samurai and pay compensation. Satsuma refused, so on August 15, Cooper captured three Japanese steam ships. In response, the Satsumians launched shelling of the fleet from Mount Tempo and got into the flagship Euryal. Six people were injured and eight were killed, including ship captain John James Stephen Josling and senior assistant commander Edward Wilmot. The squadron hesitated with return fire for two hours, as approaches to the powder warehouse were littered with boxes compensated by the shogunate. The shootout lasted two days, during which the surroundings of Kagoshima were severely damaged. On August 17, the British retreated to Yokohama to repair and replenish provisions and fuel.
The firing range of British naval artillery armed with Armstrong's guns exceeded the firing range of Japanese artillery by 4 times. Because of this, the attackers managed to destroy 10% of the city of Kagoshima from a safe distance, along with the Shuseikan industrial center and the mint . The British side killed 11 people and injured 52 people. Satsumians lost 5 people and 10 wounded. However, the military power of the British squadron made Satsuma aware of the danger of the anti-foreign course , which could become the reason for the colonization of Japan by Western countries.
On August 17, 1863, the Satsumians and the British made peace. The first were Okubo Toshimichi and Shigeno Yasutsugu , and the second was the British ambassador to Japan, Edward Neal . Under the terms of the peace treaty, the Satsumans paid compensation to the British with shogunate loans, and the British bought their steam ships from the Satsumians. In the future, Satsuma never returned the borrowed money. Great Britain began active cooperation with the Satsumians, allowing the latter to undergo an internship in their country.
Notes
- ↑ Other names - shelling of Kagoshima ( born Bombardment of Kagoshima ), Anglo-Satsuma war ( born Anglo-Satsuma War ).
Literature
- Satsumi-British War // Encyclopedia of Nipponica: 26 vol. 2nd edition. - Tokyo: Shogakkan, 1994-1997. (jap.)
- Rubel V. A. Japanese civilization: traditional suspension and dominance. - Kyiv: “Akvilon-Pres”, 1997. (Ukrainian)
- Rubel V.A. Nova History of Asia and Africa: Post-Middle Scheme (XVIII - the other half of the nineteenth century). - Kyiv: Libid, 2007. (Ukrainian)
Links
- Incident in Namamugi and the Satsumi-British War (Japanese)
- Satsumi-British War (Japanese)
- Synopsis of the Satsumi-British War (Japanese)