An Artificial Island, a Restrictive Presence: Nagasaki, the Jesuits, and the Dutch Presence in Japan During the First Half of the Seventeenth Century

In the early modern period, Japan was one of the most attractive and profitable trading hubs for the Iberian empires. Until the sixteenth century, the Jesuit missionaries were the main intermediaries to promote Portuguese interests and businesses in the region. The position of these representatives changed irreversibly at the beginning of the seventeenth century when the Japanese gradually identified them as a threat: first as a consequence of the persecution of Christians that was escalating since the 1580s, and more effectively with the entrance of the Dutch in the archipelago in 1600. Analyzing the vicissitudes of their relationship with the Japanese, this chapter explores the Jesuits’ responses to the Dutch rise in Japan by focusing on how they relied on commerce to surpass their rivals’ imminent threat and sustain their position in the archipelago. This episode is crucial to understand the new dynamic unfolding in East Asia. Portugal’s competition with the Dutch VOC strengthened Japanese sovereignty at the expense of the Portuguese and, to some extent, the Dutch.