Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Western power’s influence spread throughout the world. They came into contact with many types of people, but most of these encounters didn’t end well for some of the natives. Most of the powers were land hungry and wanted to control locations for trade; Egypt and India are prime examples of this. While most of these countries came under the control of those powers, Japan was pretty much able to control who came in and out of the country and this allowed them to remain independent.
Japan was populated with many clans, which would mean any western power that wanted to colonize Japan, would have to deal with each individual clan. Another reason that Japan would be difficult to colonize could’ve been …show more content…
In countries like China, during the Opium War, Britain was able to attack Chinese soldiers from their claims in India (“Opium”). After The First Anglo-Chinese War, also known as The First Opium War, Hong Kong was ceded to the British, which gave them another strategic location in the East Asia Sea, so Japan was not a good investment. While the British were increasing their domain in India, it became clear that their sights were not on Japan, but a more useful location. The British decided to try their luck at taking Egypt, which would be very useful for trade and shipping into and out of the Indian Ocean. In the early 1800’s the British were defeated by the Mameluke army led by Muhammed Ali. The British withdrew from Egypt and did not return until 1882. In 1869, the French government funded the building of the Suez Canal, which connected the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. After the completion of the Suez Canal, the British’s interest in Egypt swelled. The canal would cut the travel times between India and Britain drastically (Luscombe). Britain had other ports in the East Asia Sea such as Singapore. After Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles established a trading post there, the Dutch recognized that the British controlled Singapore (“History”). Also, I believe that Japan was not a strategic location for any western power, except for the U.S. The U.S., if they actually used the manpower and colonized Japan, could’ve used Japan as a jumping off point for the invasion of the Philippines during the Spanish-American War, which would be about thirty years after the Meiji
Japan was populated with many clans, which would mean any western power that wanted to colonize Japan, would have to deal with each individual clan. Another reason that Japan would be difficult to colonize could’ve been …show more content…
In countries like China, during the Opium War, Britain was able to attack Chinese soldiers from their claims in India (“Opium”). After The First Anglo-Chinese War, also known as The First Opium War, Hong Kong was ceded to the British, which gave them another strategic location in the East Asia Sea, so Japan was not a good investment. While the British were increasing their domain in India, it became clear that their sights were not on Japan, but a more useful location. The British decided to try their luck at taking Egypt, which would be very useful for trade and shipping into and out of the Indian Ocean. In the early 1800’s the British were defeated by the Mameluke army led by Muhammed Ali. The British withdrew from Egypt and did not return until 1882. In 1869, the French government funded the building of the Suez Canal, which connected the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. After the completion of the Suez Canal, the British’s interest in Egypt swelled. The canal would cut the travel times between India and Britain drastically (Luscombe). Britain had other ports in the East Asia Sea such as Singapore. After Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles established a trading post there, the Dutch recognized that the British controlled Singapore (“History”). Also, I believe that Japan was not a strategic location for any western power, except for the U.S. The U.S., if they actually used the manpower and colonized Japan, could’ve used Japan as a jumping off point for the invasion of the Philippines during the Spanish-American War, which would be about thirty years after the Meiji