THE RECORDED BRITISH presence in Nagasaki dates back almost 400 years. Well documented are the contacts involving William Adams and Richard Cocks in the early seventeenth century; the crews of the Return and Phaeton in 1673 and 1808, respectively; Thomas Raffles in 1813 and 1814; and the naval expeditions of Stirling, Elliot, Seymour and Elgin from 1854 to 1858. It was, however, the period from 1859 to 1899 when Nagasaki hosted one of Japan's major foreign settlements, that the British influence in this port town reached its zenith.

During this period, Nagasaki represented multiple images to the disparate groups of foreigners who gathered there. To merchants, it was one of three main designated ports of trade which allowed foreigners in Japan. To Christian missionaries representing almost every conceivable denomination, it was the regional mission headquarters for both church and educational activities. To government officials from two dozen countries, it served as consular district headquarters for Kyushu and western Japan. To thousands of sailors and soldiers on duty in East Asia, it was a welcome port-of-call with seemingly endless waterfront grog shops’ and ‘tea houses’. To travellers, it was the western gateway to Japan or the ‘Naples of the Orient’. To those suffering from various illnesses or fatigue, Nagasaki and its neighbouring spas served as a health resort. Finally, for all too many foreigners, Nagasaki was their final resting place, as more than 800 Westerners died and were buried in one of its international cemeteries. Of the Westerners in Nagasaki during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the British, more often than not, played the leading role.

MERCHANTS

For at least a year prior to the official opening of the foreign settlement at Nagasaki on 1 July 1859 (the 4th of July for those ever-patriotic Americans), British and other Western ships plied their wares between the China coast and this Western Kyushu port. The most active company in this early trade was, not surprisingly, Jardine-Matheson.

The Japanese government was obliged by treaties to have a site available for residence by the foreign population by 1 July but was not able to comply. Temporary arrangements had to be made in town until low-lying land at Oura along the harbour could be filled in and hills along either side of this reclaimed area could be cleared for residence.