Prussian East Asia Expedition

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The ships of the East Asian Squadron

The Prussian East Asia Expedition , also known as the Eulenburg Expedition after its leader, Count Friedrich zu Eulenburg , was carried out by the Prussian Navy from 1859 to 1862 in East Asia . As a result, friendship, trade and shipping treaties were concluded with East Asian countries: with Japan on January 24, 1861, with China on September 2, 1861, and with Siam on February 7, 1862.

Friedrich-Albrecht Count of Eulenburg (1815–1881)

story

After the violent opening of Japan by American warships in 1853/54, numerous European states followed in order to secure commercial advantages. The weak shogunate government was forced to sign unequal treaties with the Western powers. Prussia , next to Austria the strongest German power, saw the opportunity to strengthen its role as a leading state in the unification of Germany by organizing an East Asia expedition and also to counterbalance Austria's Novara expedition, which was widely publicized . The Prussian expedition was supposed to conclude treaties with China , Japan and Siam on behalf of all states of the German Customs Union , the Hanseatic cities and both Mecklenburgs .

Accommodation of the mission in the "Guest House for Foreigners" in Edo (marked on the top left)

In 1859, the Prussian Navy, under the military leadership of Captain Henrik Ludvig Sundevall, set up a squadron consisting of the corvette Arcona , the frigate Thetis , the schooner Frauenlob and the transport ship Elbe . Friedrich Graf zu Eulenburg was in charge of scientific and diplomatic management. The explorer Ferdinand von Richthofen was one of the fellow scientists . Eulenburg was expressly allowed to use military force to enforce the Prussian demands. The squadron was also supposed to explore the possibility of Prussia taking possession of the island of Formosa , but the military weakness of the expedition and the danger of jeopardizing a trade treaty with China meant that this request was unsuccessful. The improvised expedition was accompanied by numerous mishaps, such as the loss of women's praise , which sank in a typhoon and killed all 47 crew members.

Negotiations with Japan

After five months of lengthy negotiations with the shogunate , the mission in Japan failed in its attempt to speak for all of Germany. The Japanese negotiators persistently refused to sign a treaty with 32 German states and gave as justification that they did not have an overview of the situation in Germany.

The American consul Townsend Harris had put his colleague and interpreter Hendrick Heusken (born 1832) at the disposal of Eulenburg . On January 14, 1861, on his way back to the American mission in the evening, Heusken was attacked by anti- western rōnin des Satsuma-han and seriously wounded despite the protection he was given. He died the following day and was buried in the Kōrin-ji with a large convoy in full honor. His grave can still be seen there today.

The treaty was finally signed on January 24, 1861, only valid between Japan and Prussia.

Negotiations with China

The delegation first crossed over to Shanghai. Due to the ongoing military conflict between the Western powers (Great Britain and France) and the Chinese Qing government and the inability of Prussia to intervene, negotiations could only begin in the spring of 1861. Prussia wanted to assert the same privileges for itself which the other Western powers had won through their victory in the Opium Wars under the unequal treaties . This included the opening of several ports for Prussian trade and the establishment of a permanent embassy on site. British and French representatives advised against these plans because, in addition to German competition, they feared a deterioration in Sino-Western relations if another Western power emerged with demands. Nevertheless, Eulenburg sent the later ambassador Max von Brandt to negotiate in the port city of Tianjin near Beijing. The Prussian delegation, which was unable to exert any military pressure during the negotiations, was ultimately able to achieve its goals through unexpected support from France; there one probably wanted to counteract a British superiority in East Asia.

The contract, which implemented all Prussian demands and was valid for the first time for the entire Zollverein, was finally signed on September 2, 1861.

Negotiations with Siam

On September 22nd, 1861 the delegation reached Bangkok, where they were already expected and received with honor. The Prussian ambassadors were impressed by the princely treatment and the atmosphere during the negotiations was much friendlier than at the previous stations of the expedition. The background was that Siam feared losing its independence to colonial powers - above all France, which had previously occupied some islands off the Cambodian coast and then positioned a warship in Bangkok. King Mongkut therefore tried to win Prussia, which until then had shown no such intentions of colonization, as an ally. Eulenburg assured him that he would stand by Siam, although he was actually not very interested in the local political situation and primarily pursued economic interests.

In view of the powerlessness of the country, a contract between Siam and Prussia including the Zollverein and Mecklenburg was signed on February 7, 1862, which among other things allowed all westerners to purchase land privately, which was actually not possible in the local culture.

Secondary literature

Members of the Prussian East Asia Expedition. After Gustav Spiess

Unofficial travel reports

literature

  • Peter Pantzer: The Eulenburg Mission and the establishment of German-Japanese relations . In: Distant Companions - 150 Years of German-Japanese Relations . Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen & VDJ, Mannheim 2012, (catalog for the exhibition November 8, 2011 to February 5, 2012)
  • Sebastian Dobson & Sven Saaler: Under the eyes of the Prussian eagle - lithographs, drawings and photographs of the participants in the Eulenburg expedition in Japan, 1860 - 1861 , Iudicum, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-86205-135-9
  • Sonja Blaschke: End of the isolation of Japan and the Eulenburg mission . In: Germany and Japan - 150 years of friendship . M & K GmbH, Berlin 2011, (anniversary publication for the German Embassy in Tokyo).
  • Masako Hiyama: Friedrich Albrecht Graf zu Eulenburg (1815-1881) . In: Bridge Builders. Pioneers of the Japanese-German cultural exchange. Iudicium, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89129-539-1
  • Subchapter: The Eulenburg Expedition , in: Cord Eberspächer: The German Yangtze Patrol. German gunboat policy in China in the age of imperialism , Bochum 2004, pp. 59–63. ISBN 3-89911-006-4 .
  • Holmer Stahncke (Hrsg.): Prussia's way to Japan - Japan in the reports of members of the Prussian East Asia expedition . OAG, Iudicium, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-89129-287-2
  • Bernd Martin : The Prussian East Asia expedition to China. On the history of the friendship, trade and shipping agreement of September 2, 1861 , in: Kuo Heng-yü / Mechthild Leutner (ed.): German-Chinese relations from the 19th century to the present , Munich 1991, p. 209 -240.
  • Michael Salewski : The Prussian and the Imperial Navy in the East Asian waters: The military interest in East Asia . In: Online version of the catalog for the exhibition “Tsingtau - a chapter of German colonial history in China. 1897-1914 ”in the German Historical Museum from March 27 to July 19, 1998, digitizedhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dhm.de%2Fausstellungen%2Ftsingtau%2Fkatalog%2Fauf1_5.htm~GB%3D~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3D~ double-sided% 3D ~ LT% 3D ~ PUR% 3D
  • Holmer Stahncke: The diplomatic relations between Germany and Japan 1854-1868 . Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag 1987, ISBN 3-515-04618-6

Web links

Wikisource: Maritime Letters to a Lady  - Sources and full texts
Wikisource: Reports by F. v. Richthofen  - sources and full texts
Wikisource: Reports by R. v. Werner  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. Lawrence Sondhaus: Preparing for Weltpolitik , Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1997, p. 68
  2. ^ Christian Richter: On the way to Deutsch-Formosa? The Prussian East Asia Expedition and the German Interest in Formosa in the 19th Century . In: Wenzao University: Languages ​​and International Studies , Vol. 18, December 2017, pp. 101-134.
  3. Ship preacher on board "Arcona"