Searching for trade opportunities, the small, seafaring nation of Portugal began the great European exploration of the fifteenth century. Portuguese navigators followed the western coast of Africa, eventually rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and sailed on to India and the spice islands of the Far East. They were the first Europeans to reach Japan, and they introduced the Japanese to both guns and Christianity.
The Japanese were not much interested in the rest of the word and had actually suppressed in favor of the honored Samurai swords. It was shock, therefore, when then Mathew Perry of the United States, arrived with his small flotilla and forced Japan to open its port under the threat of naval gun power. James follows in his article, “After Centuries of Japanese Isolation, a Fateful Meeting of East and West, “ provides an account of this event. Following the forced opening of its ports, Japan undertook a large-scale industrialization that brought it power in the Far East and allowed it to avoid the humiliation visited upon China by Western nations.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar