Abe Masahiro

Abe Masahiro

Abe Masahiro ( Japanese 阿 部 正弘 ; born December 3, 1819 in Edo ; died August 6, 1857 in Edo) was a Japanese statesman . After the landing of Matthew C. Perry's Black Fleet , he negotiated the opening of Japan to trade with the western states.

Life

Abe came from an influential noble family . He was only 25 years old when he was appointed chairman of the Rōjū , one of the highest official posts in the Shogunate . The government until then had been in the hands of a group of conservative reformers whose attempts to restore the past virtues of the Japanese state led to significant civil unrest. Abe's early years in office were marked by successful efforts to alleviate the discontent caused by these changes.

Since western ships repeatedly appeared off the Japanese coast at the beginning of the 19th century, Abe had the coastal defense reinforced and thus continued Japan's traditional policy of isolation . Western influences were only welcome to enhance Japan's military and economic potential.

When Perry's fleet arrived in 1853, it was quickly apparent that the Japanese defense was no match for the American warships. When Perry returned in February, Abe signed the Kanagawa Treaty on March 31, 1854 to open Japan to restricted trade with the United States . Similar contracts were signed with Great Britain , Russia and the Netherlands in the months that followed . Meanwhile, fueled by the apparent weakness of the shogunate, voices for the reinstatement of the old imperial family have been raised. Abe, showered with criticism for betraying his country, was forced to relinquish much of his powers; after that he dealt exclusively with internal affairs.

Web links

Commons : Abe Masahiro  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Abe Masahiro. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved November 29, 2017 . 

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Abe is the family name, Masahiro the first name.