alternatehistory.com

There has been some fascination over giving Ezo over a European country, from what I've seen so far. Until almost the last moments of transition towards modernization, Ezo used to be neglected outpost only loosely controlled by Matsumae clan. The idea to mass-settle the island is said to come pretty late and something of a sudden proposition, though I don't have much knowledge about this. It is said, had Japan found a client friendly enough that desire for the island, she would've sold it. But is that true that Japan didn't have long term plan for the island, especially in the context of holding against Russian expansion ? Really, just how little exactly did Japanese care about the island ? Enough to trust it to a friendly European nation that doesn't have the means to actually threaten Japanese sovereignty ?
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