National prestige and economic interest : Dutch diplomacy toward Japan 1850-1863

Abstract

This thesis discusses Dutch diplomacy with respect to Japan in the period 1850-1863, predominantly on the basis of Dutch primary sources that were not widely known or not published until present. The political and economical importance of the Netherlands East Indies made Asian Affairs always essential for the Netherlands. Moreover only the Netherlands as Western power maintained a centuries long relationship with Japan. How special this relationship was showed particularly when Japan was in the process of being opened up in the middle of the nineteenth century. Dutch diplomacy at this crucial moment in time has been portrayed as rather passive and neutral. This study, however, examines The Hague’s diplomatic initiatives from the theory of Dutch imperialism, and reaches the opposite conclusion. The Netherlands engaged in an autonomous and positive diplomacy toward Japan in order to promote its prestige and profit, and in doing so it played an important role among the larger Western powers. Although The Netherlands judged by its size has often been ranked among the small countries of Europe, this thesis evaluates it as a middle-sized power on account of its political and economic interests as a prominent colonial power in Asia.