Chapter 13: Missionaries and Slavers
Chapter 13: Missionaries and Slavers
Nagasaki (長崎) was one of the ports that came under the control of an Azuchi-appointed magistrate. In a peculiar situation, however, he negotiated the transfer of power from Portuguese missionaries rather than a local daimyo, as the port had been ceded to the Jesuits in 1581 by Oumura Sumitada. The process took a bit longer compared to other ports but with the mediation of Takayama Ukon (高山右近), a “Kirishitan” daimyo from Settsu province (摂津国) with close relations with the Jesuits in the Kinki region (近畿地方) Nagasaki came under the direct control of Azuchi with special privileges and exemptions for the Jesuits and the Portuguese in general by the middle of 1585 and Christianity becoming legalized throughout the entire realm.
This arrangement would not last long due to an unsettling discovery made by Nagasaki’s new magistrate, Hori Hidemasa (堀秀政). Largely undiscovered outside of Kyushu behind the enormous influence and wealth the Jesuits had grown due to the support of the various Kirishitan daimyo in Kyushu was the Portuguese slave trade of Japanese commoners to China, Southeast Japan, and even all the way to Portugal’s capital of Lisbon. Early reports among the Portuguese merchants and missionaries of the trade emerged in the form of complaints among the missionaries as early as 1555, with even King Sebastian of Portugal outlawing the slave trade in case it disrupted the missionaries’ efforts. However, his order fell on deaf ears and the trade continued, with even the missionaries coming to tolerate the slave trade without complaint.
This arrangement would not last long due to an unsettling discovery made by Nagasaki’s new magistrate, Hori Hidemasa (堀秀政). Largely undiscovered outside of Kyushu behind the enormous influence and wealth the Jesuits had grown due to the support of the various Kirishitan daimyo in Kyushu was the Portuguese slave trade of Japanese commoners to China, Southeast Japan, and even all the way to Portugal’s capital of Lisbon. Early reports among the Portuguese merchants and missionaries of the trade emerged in the form of complaints among the missionaries as early as 1555, with even King Sebastian of Portugal outlawing the slave trade in case it disrupted the missionaries’ efforts. However, his order fell on deaf ears and the trade continued, with even the missionaries coming to tolerate the slave trade without complaint.
Portuguese ship, a commonplace sight in Nagasaki in the late 16th century
Upon the first witnessed instances of the slavers’ activities, Hidemasa ordered an immediate crackdown on the activity and the incriminated merchants were arrested and detained, with Hidemasa sending a messenger back to Azuchi. Although there was universal disgust and condemnation of the slave trade among the councilors in Azuchi, there were disagreements on how to respond, ranging from a simple ban on the slave trade to a wholesale crackdown on Christianity, the latter more traditional-minded vassals like Akechi Mitsuhide generally supported. Even the imperial court weighed in, siding with Mitsuhide as in their eyes a barbaric, invasive faith was the cause and therefore needed to be purged. They already had serious objections to Nobunaga’s religious indifference and his close relations with the Jesuits for commercial purposes.
Nobunaga’s divided feelings between preserving good relations with the Portuguese and maintaining absolute sovereignty and authority ultimately led to the Southern Barbarian Control Decree (南蛮規制令) in 1586, which abolished the Kyushu slave trade, rescinded the special privileges and exemptions in Nagasaki, confiscated much of the Jesuits’ landholdings in Kyushu, and barred Kirishitan daimyo from engaging in the forced conversion of non-Christians. Additionally, the Azuchi navy would be granted the absolute right to stop any ships under suspicion of illegally participating in the slave trade. As for the detained slavers, they were publicly burned alive on the harbor for all to see, with their charred corpses displayed for several days as a warning.
While effective in the short term, the decree would chill relations between Nobunaga and not only the Jesuits and Portuguese but also the imperial court permanently. The legality of the missionaries’ activities had remained intact for the most part, but their influence curbed significantly to the point where Gaspar Coelho, the Superior of the Jesuit mission in Japan, felt threatened and unsuccessfully laid plans to arm Kirishitan daimyo against Nobunaga; he was later removed by other Jesuits and would leave Japan for good, dying in 1590 [1]. Nevertheless, his disapproving feelings were certainly shared by his missionary peers. Meanwhile, the more court-aligned voices felt ever more that Azuchi was too soft and forgiving towards Europeans at the expense of Japan’s sovereignty and traditional culture and values. This dissatisfaction on both sides would sow the seeds for future distrust and conflict after Nobunaga’s time.
Nobunaga’s divided feelings between preserving good relations with the Portuguese and maintaining absolute sovereignty and authority ultimately led to the Southern Barbarian Control Decree (南蛮規制令) in 1586, which abolished the Kyushu slave trade, rescinded the special privileges and exemptions in Nagasaki, confiscated much of the Jesuits’ landholdings in Kyushu, and barred Kirishitan daimyo from engaging in the forced conversion of non-Christians. Additionally, the Azuchi navy would be granted the absolute right to stop any ships under suspicion of illegally participating in the slave trade. As for the detained slavers, they were publicly burned alive on the harbor for all to see, with their charred corpses displayed for several days as a warning.
While effective in the short term, the decree would chill relations between Nobunaga and not only the Jesuits and Portuguese but also the imperial court permanently. The legality of the missionaries’ activities had remained intact for the most part, but their influence curbed significantly to the point where Gaspar Coelho, the Superior of the Jesuit mission in Japan, felt threatened and unsuccessfully laid plans to arm Kirishitan daimyo against Nobunaga; he was later removed by other Jesuits and would leave Japan for good, dying in 1590 [1]. Nevertheless, his disapproving feelings were certainly shared by his missionary peers. Meanwhile, the more court-aligned voices felt ever more that Azuchi was too soft and forgiving towards Europeans at the expense of Japan’s sovereignty and traditional culture and values. This dissatisfaction on both sides would sow the seeds for future distrust and conflict after Nobunaga’s time.
Portrait of Gaspar Coelho
These events would also shift the balance of power in Kyushu towards the Shimazu clan, the most powerful non-Kirishitan daimyo on the island. Sourin, who himself was heavily interrogated over the discovery of the slave trade, would pass away in 1587, and Shimazu Yoshihisa (島津義久) would become a councilor in the Azuchi government, sharply decreasing the influence of Kirishitan daimyo in the central government for the time being.
[1]: Happened IOTL in response to Hideyoshi's 1587 expulsion of Jesuits
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