HISTORICAL TIMELINE
Background
1600: Battle of Sekigahara, the decisive victory for Ieyasu Tokugawa that allows him to unify Japan.
1603: Having consolidated his power, Ieyasu Tokugawa creates the Tokugawa Shogunate, based at his new capital in Eastern Japan, Edo (modern-day Tokyo).
1635: The “Sakoku” (closed country) policy is enacted, closing Japan to the outside world except for a small Dutch trading post at Nagasaki in the far west of the country.
1853: Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy steams into Edo Bay with his “Black Ships” flotilla, demanding the end of the “Sakoku” policy.
1854: Perry returns. The Shogunate agrees to end the “Sakoku” policy, signing the “Treaty of Peace and Amity” with the United States. Similar treaties with the other major Western powers follow.
1858: More substantial treaties are signed between the Western powers and the Shogunate, establishing Yokohama and a limited number of other sites as open ports.
The story of "Milligan and the Samurai Rebels" runs from September 1862 to September 1864.
Early September, 1862: Ernest Satow is among the student-interpreters (possibly including Robert S. Milligan) sent out by Britain to its diplomatic mission in Japan.
14 September, 1862: Charles Lennox Richardson, a British merchant, is murdered by samurai travelling in the party of the former “Daimyo” (Lord ) of the province of Satsuma.
15-17 August, 1863: The Royal Navy burns down the Satsuma capital of Kagoshima, as punishment for the failure to pay an indemnity and execute the murderers of Richardson.
20 August, 1864: The combined forces of the provinces of Satsuma and Aizu, in support of the Tokugawa Shogunate, repel an attempt by Choshu to seize control of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto and hence political power in Japan.
5-6 September, 1864: Allied bombardment of Choshu. The British, Dutch, French and US navies bombard the Choshu coast neighbouring the Straits of Shimonoseki, in retaliation for the Choshu shelling of passing Western ships.
The story of "Milligan and the Reluctant Shogun" runs from September 1864 to January 1867.
November 1864: Two British soldiers, Major Bird and Lieutenant Baldwin, are murdered in Kamakura.
March 1865: The Second Choshu Expedition, also known as the Summer War, is announced. This is a punitive expedition, led by the Tokugawa Shogunate, against the rebellious Choshu province.
June 1866: After much delay the Second Choshu Expedition begins, swiftly ending in military disaster for the Tokugawa Shogunate.
August 1866: The 14th Tokugawa Shogun, Iemochi, dies. The cause of death is reportedly a heart attack caused by beri-beri.
January 1867: Iemochi’s death is publicly announced and Yoshinobu Tokugawa (“Keiki”) becomes the 15th Tokugawa Shogun.
Background
1600: Battle of Sekigahara, the decisive victory for Ieyasu Tokugawa that allows him to unify Japan.
1603: Having consolidated his power, Ieyasu Tokugawa creates the Tokugawa Shogunate, based at his new capital in Eastern Japan, Edo (modern-day Tokyo).
1635: The “Sakoku” (closed country) policy is enacted, closing Japan to the outside world except for a small Dutch trading post at Nagasaki in the far west of the country.
1853: Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy steams into Edo Bay with his “Black Ships” flotilla, demanding the end of the “Sakoku” policy.
1854: Perry returns. The Shogunate agrees to end the “Sakoku” policy, signing the “Treaty of Peace and Amity” with the United States. Similar treaties with the other major Western powers follow.
1858: More substantial treaties are signed between the Western powers and the Shogunate, establishing Yokohama and a limited number of other sites as open ports.
The story of "Milligan and the Samurai Rebels" runs from September 1862 to September 1864.
Early September, 1862: Ernest Satow is among the student-interpreters (possibly including Robert S. Milligan) sent out by Britain to its diplomatic mission in Japan.
14 September, 1862: Charles Lennox Richardson, a British merchant, is murdered by samurai travelling in the party of the former “Daimyo” (Lord ) of the province of Satsuma.
15-17 August, 1863: The Royal Navy burns down the Satsuma capital of Kagoshima, as punishment for the failure to pay an indemnity and execute the murderers of Richardson.
20 August, 1864: The combined forces of the provinces of Satsuma and Aizu, in support of the Tokugawa Shogunate, repel an attempt by Choshu to seize control of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto and hence political power in Japan.
5-6 September, 1864: Allied bombardment of Choshu. The British, Dutch, French and US navies bombard the Choshu coast neighbouring the Straits of Shimonoseki, in retaliation for the Choshu shelling of passing Western ships.
The story of "Milligan and the Reluctant Shogun" runs from September 1864 to January 1867.
November 1864: Two British soldiers, Major Bird and Lieutenant Baldwin, are murdered in Kamakura.
March 1865: The Second Choshu Expedition, also known as the Summer War, is announced. This is a punitive expedition, led by the Tokugawa Shogunate, against the rebellious Choshu province.
June 1866: After much delay the Second Choshu Expedition begins, swiftly ending in military disaster for the Tokugawa Shogunate.
August 1866: The 14th Tokugawa Shogun, Iemochi, dies. The cause of death is reportedly a heart attack caused by beri-beri.
January 1867: Iemochi’s death is publicly announced and Yoshinobu Tokugawa (“Keiki”) becomes the 15th Tokugawa Shogun.