Mercenaries, pirates, and trade: Tokugawa Japan and the Dutch East India Company

In 1609, the Dutch East India Company founded its first East Asian base in Japan. The Company appeared at a critical juncture in Japanese history, as the newly established Tokugawa state (1603-1867) was in the process of consolidating its power both domestically and abroad. This dissertation focuses on the Dutch East India Company as a maritime and military power in East Asia, showing how the Company's unregulated, violent activities precipitated a series of clashes with the Tokugawa state at the exact moment that the emerging Japanese polity sought to establish its legitimacy. Confrontations over the recruitment of Japanese mercenaries, Dutch privateering in Japanese waters, and the sovereignty of Taiwan pushed the Tokugawa state to define new forms of state control over its borders and subjects.