1640 Macau embassy to Nagasaki
Front page of the 1643 book "Report of the Glorious Death of Four Portuguese Ambassadors from the City of Macau, with Fifty-seven Christians of their Delegation." by António Francisco Cardim[1] | |
| Native name | ポルトガル使節団長崎受難事件 |
|---|---|
| Date | 6 July – 4 August 1640 |
| Location | Nagasaki, Japan |
| Type | Diplomatic mission |
| Organised by | Senate of Macau |
| Participants | 74 crew (including 4 ambassadors) |
| Outcome | Embassy seized |
| Casualties | |
| 61 executed | |
| Deaths | Luís Pais Pacheco Rodrigo Sanches de Paredes Gonçalo Monteiro de Carvalho Simão Vaz de Pavia |
| Also known as "Martyr Embassy" (Portuguese: Embaixada Mártir) | |
The 1640 Macau embassy to Nagasaki (ポルトガル使節団長崎受難事件)[2] (Portuguese: Embaixada Mártir)[3] was a diplomatic mission dispatched by the Senate of Macau to Nagasaki in July 1640. Its purpose was to try and reverse the Tokugawa shogunate's decision to end nearly a century of Portuguese trade in Japan in 1639.[4][5]
The ban followed the Shimabara Rebellion, which the shogunate incorrectly blamed the Portuguese for aiding through the smuggling of supplies and missionaries.[6] Since Macau's economy relied on the annual trade with Japan,[7] the city's assembly resolved on March 13, 1640,[5][7] to dispatch four ambassadors, Luís Pais Pacheco, Rodrigo Sanches de Paredes, Gonçalo Monteiro de Carvalho and Simão Vaz de Paiva,[7] along with sailors and slaves, totaling 74 crew.[8] All participants knew that the risk of death was almost certain.[9]
The embassy's vessel arrived at Nagasaki on July 6, 1640,[8][10][11] however, all of the delegation members were imprisoned and detained on Dejima[10][11] by Kagazume Minbu and Nonoyama Shinbei[12] while their appeals were sent to Edo.[11] On 3[13]–4[11] August 1640, 61 members of the mission, including all four ambassadors, were beheaded on Martyrs' Mount in Nagasaki, and their ship was burned in the harbor.[10][13][11] 13 men were spared and sent back to Macau on 1 September to deliver the message of the embassy's fate.[10][13]
References
- ^ de Sousa 2019, p. 332-333.
- ^ 松竹 1989, p. 45.
- ^ 松竹 1989, p. 65.
- ^ Boxer 1951, p. 383.
- ^ a b Simões 2016, p. 95.
- ^ Boxer 1951, p. 383-384.
- ^ a b c de Sousa 2019, p. 328.
- ^ a b de Sousa 2019, p. 330.
- ^ Boxer 1951, p. 384.
- ^ a b c d Simões 2016, p. 96.
- ^ a b c d e Boxer 1951, p. 385.
- ^ 松竹 1989, p. 72.
- ^ a b c de Sousa 2019, p. 332.
Bibliography
- Boxer, C. R. (1951). The Christian Century in Japan: 1549–1650. University of California.
- de Sousa, Lúcio (2019). The Portuguese Slave Trade in Early Modern Japan: Merchants, Jesuits and Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Slaves. Vol. 7. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004388079.
- Simões, João Carlos dos Santos (2016). As Relações Luso‑Nipónicas durante a Época Nanban (PDF) (Thesis). University of Coimbra.
- 松竹, 秀雄 (1989). "寛永17年 (1640) ポルトガル使節団長崎受難事件 (2)" [A Study on the Execution of Portages Ambassadors in Nagasaki in the 17th year of Kanei (1640. A. D.)]. 經營と經濟. 68 (4): 45–91. ISSN 0286-9101.