British Japan Consular Service
Encyclopedia
Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce
The was signed on August 26, 1858 by Lord Elgin and the then representatives of the Japanese government . This was an unequal treaty, that gave Japan semi-colonial status.The concessions which Japan made were threefold:...
between James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
Sir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
and the Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
until 1941 when war was declared by Britain on Japan as the ally of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
Notable officials
- William George AstonWilliam George AstonWilliam George Aston was a British diplomat, author and scholar-expert in the language and history of Japan and Korea.-Early life:...
- Abel GowerAbel GowerAbel Anthony James Gower was a British consul at two posts in Japan during the Bakumatsu: Nagasaki and Hakodate. He was also an amateur photographer....
- John Harington GubbinsJohn Harington Gubbins-Education:Gubbins attended Harrow School and would have gone on to Cambridge University, had family finances allowed.-Career:Gubbins was appointed a student interpreter in the British Japan Consular Service in 1871; English Secretary to the Conference at Tokyo for the Revision of the Treaties,...
- Joseph Henry LongfordJoseph Henry LongfordJoseph Henry Longford was a British consular official in the British Japan Consular Service from 24 February 1869 until 15 August 1902...
, served 1869-1902 - Ernest Mason SatowErnest Mason SatowSir Ernest Mason Satow PC, GCMG, , known in Japan as "" , known in China as "薩道義" or "萨道义", was a British scholar, diplomat and Japanologist....
, served 1862-83
Further reading
- "Britain's Japan Consular Service, 1859-1941" by J.E. Hoare in Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits, Volume II, ed. Ian Nish, 1997 ISBN 1-873410-62-X