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Relationships between Russia and Japan in the end of 18th - beginning of 19th centuries

Student: Baygildina Arina

Supervisor: Olga V. Klimova

Faculty: Saint-Petersburg School of Social Sciences

Educational Programme: Asian and African Studies (Bachelor)

Year of Graduation: 2020

This thesis is going to give an overview of relations between the Russian Empire and Japan during the late XVIII th century and the beginning of the XIXth century. Current research is divided into 4 main chapters: 1. The collapse of the Japanese ship "Shinsho-maru". Laxman's Expedition to Japan (1792-1793) 2. The history of the creation of the Russian-American company. Preparation of the embassy of Nikolai Petrovich Ryazanov to Japan 3. The Embassy of Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov in 1803-1805. 4. Nikolai Khvostov’s and Gabriel Davydov’s sailing on Sakhalin in 1806-1807. The first chapter of the thesis will discuss the wreck of the Japanese ship called Shinsho-maru and the survived Japanese, one of which was Captain Daikokuya Koday. A Japanese ship was wrecked in 1783 near the Aleutian Islands. Later, the shipwrecked Japanese were brought to Irkutsk, where they met Professor Eric Laxman, who, taking Daikokuya Koda and his comrades with him, went to St. Petersburg. There, in 1791, a reception was arranged for the Japanese with Empress Catherine II. E. Laxman took the initiative and suggested using the Japanese as an excuse for a sailing mission to Japan. The empress supported the idea of the professor and on September 13 (24), 1791 issued a decree "On the establishment of trade relations with Japan.". The mission followed the next goals: 1. Establishment of trade and good neighborly relations with Japan. 2. Getting new knowledge about Japan. (culture, economics, politics). 3. Map the Japanese coast, harbors, trading ports, islands, and other geographic objects that expedition will hit on their way. Thus, the first chapter contains prerequisites for equipping the first official visit of Russian sailors to Japan, the course of sailing, a description of the stay of Russian researchers and sailors in Japan and summarizes the mission’s results. The second chapter of the research work focuses on the creation and work of the Russian-American Company (RAC). The chapter describes the objectives of the company, the history of its formation, the main entrepreneurs, and the role of the RAC in the preparation of the Nikolai Rezanov’s embassy. The third chapter of the diploma work narrates about the embassy of Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov in 1803-1805. The need for embassy arose because of several problems that the empire faced at the beginning of the XIXth century. The famine of the eastern part of Russia, the lack of food in the colonies, and the absence of less resource-intensive ways of delivering goods across Russia - all of this became an impetus for searching for new trading partners in the Far East. Due to the small remoteness of Japan from the eastern part of Russia and the colonies in Alaska, it was decided to use the permission to enter Nagasaki received by A. Laxman and equip the embassy to Japan. The mission followed the next goals 1. Establishment of trade and diplomatic relations with Japan. 2. Inspection of Russian colonial possessions in the North Pacific. 3. A detailed description of the geographic features that sailors and explorers will encounter on their way. 4. Conducting ethnographic research in Japan. Thus, the third chapter contains prerequisites for equipping the embassy, the course of the embassy, a description of the negotiations between the Russians and the Japanese. It also contains possible reasons for the failure of the embassy and the results. The fourth, final, chapter of the work focuses on the voyages of Nikolai Khvostov and Gabriel Davydov to Sakhalin in 1806-1807. After the failed embassy, N. P. Rezanov thought about how he could take revenge on the Japanese for refusing trade cooperation. While he was on the ship "St. Mary", which was sailing to the Russian colonies in America, he met two officers - N. Khvostov and G. Davydov. By this time, the empire was still experiencing problems regarding food shortages and difficulties in supplying the colonies, so Nikolai Petrovich decided that it was a good idea to force the Japanese to conclude a trade deal. Thus, voyages to Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were equipped in order to plunder and destroy the Japanese settlements there. The chapter narrates about the course of preparations for the mission, the course of swimming, and the results that such vandalistic actions led to. In conclusion, the study will summarize obtained knowledge and give a brief overview of subsequent contacts between Russia and Japan.

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