There is a view that the repeated visits of American ships are a whaling boom, but if you look closely at the background, there seems to be other reasons besides whaling.
That's why the third edition of "Let's see why foreign ships came frequently in the 18th and 19th centuries", the beginning of the American edition.
America's turning point
Most of the land that is now the United States has been colonized by Britain, France, and Spain since the Age of Discovery, but a war involving local Indians in a battle for hegemony between Britain and France (=Seven Years' War) Developed into. Britain wins and many of the French colonies in North America are transformed into British territory.
However, in Britain, the financial situation deteriorated due to the colonial management of vast land and the war expenses against France. Repulsion arises as they try to survive by strengthening colonial rule.
That's how the American Revolutionary War happened from 1775 to 1783. is. As you know, the result is an American victory.
It seems that the victory of the United States was largely due to the military support of France and Spain, which were in the way of Britain, and the fact that Russia had armed neutrality with other European countries.
It is said that the United States had devised ways to improve the performance of its guns in order to deal with the hordes of wildebeest in the United States, which also contributed to the victory over Britain.
After that, he was busy preparing the inside of the United States to unite the country (1785-1795, the Northwest Indian War broke out due to the double tongue of Britain), and went abroad during the 18th century (needed armed force). I can guess that the risk was great to negotiate.
Now, while we are steadily preparing the appearance of such a country, a change in Europe will occur. That is the appearance of this person.
The appearance of Napoleon
In fact, it has a great influence not only on Napoleon and Europe but also on the United States. One of them is France's sale of Louisiana is.
When the United States became independent, the European powers were adjacent to the west. Notable is the Mississippi River, which is one of the most important transportation points in North America. There were tributaries in the 13 independent states, but it seems that the fact that many tributaries were in Louisiana, which is owned by Spain, was a heavy burden on the defense of the United States.
Louisiana is not French at this point. Of course there was an exchange between Spain and France even though it became a French territory, but let's take a look at that exchange.
The reason why Louisiana became French territory
After the Seven Years' War, many French speakers who lived in the northern part of the United States were rushed to Louisiana because they were dominated by Britain. It is said that the Spanish side also welcomed Catholic immigrants and generally accepted them favorably.
Under such circumstances, Spain's finances have been squeezed by colonial management in the United States, and it seems that the merit of maintaining the colony has diminished due to the conflict with immigrants from the United States coming from the east. is.
That's where the 1800 treaty was signed. Although not publicly announced, it is officially decided to hand over Louisiana to France. Napoleon sold the received Louisiana to the United States.
Having Louisiana makes it much easier to maintain in the United States than before. The fact that there are great powers on land was a heavy burden for emerging countries.
The situation in the United States during the turmoil in Europe
In 1803, the Napoleonic War broke out between France and other European countries including the United Kingdom. The United States decided to take a neutral position, but this touched the scales of both countries and ended up eating a naval blockade.
The United States at that time relied on exporting agricultural products and raw materials to Europe, which was a big blow.
It is no coincidence that an American ship arrived in Nagasaki in July of the same year and asked for trade. As of 1803, the Shogunate refused to trade, and later visits for trade purposes (including attempts) will cease until after 1830.
To be honest, the influence of whaling is completely large after 1830. After all, the heyday of whaling roughly coincides with 1830 to 1860.
At the same time, the United States Monroe Doctrine showed mutual non-interference between Europe and the Americas in 1823. It is thought that this was also a factor in the basic policy of diplomacy (since there was Russian territory in Alaska at that time, it also had the meaning of restraint on the southward policy).
In other words, it is a declaration that "interference with the Americas is considered to have quarreled with the United States", so in order to deal with developed countries and European countries at that time, it is necessary to have some armed force and abundant support. Become. Since Europe could be an enemy, it can be inferred that it was necessary to cooperate with other regions.
From around the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, there are things that can be understood only after learning world history, so I will continue to take up world history a little bit in the future.