Latest / The Rise of Colonialism: How Europe Divided the World — Fexingo History / The Portuguese Betrayal of the Samurai Christian Daimyo
Transcript
- Lucas: When we think of Portuguese imperialism in Asia, we usually picture Goa, Malacca, Macau — fortified trading posts and naval battles. But there's a whole chapter in Japan that's stranger than fiction: the rise and fall of the Christian samurai lords. Luna: Christian samurai? That sounds like a contradiction. Lucas: It really does, doesn't it? But in the late 1500s, during Japan's Sengoku period — the Warring States era — a handful of powerful daimyo in Kyushu converted to Catholicism. They weren't just converting for spiritual reasons; they were after Portuguese trade goods: guns, gunpowder, and above all, Chinese silk. Lucas: The Portuguese had arrived in Japan in 1543, and by the 1560s, they were actively brokering alliances with local lords. The Jesuits, led by figures like Francis Xavier, had made real inroads — by 1579, an estimated 100,000 Japanese were Christian. Luna: What made the daimyo convert? Lucas: Several factors. First, the Portuguese brought the arquebus — the matchlock gun — which was a game-changer in Japanese warfare. Daimyo who converted got preferential access to these weapons and the silver trade. Second, the Jesuits offered diplomatic ties with the Portuguese crown, which gave them a potential ally against rival clans. Lucas: The first major Christian daimyo was Ōmura Sumitada, who converted in 1563 and granted the Jesuits land in Nagasaki. He saw the Portuguese as a counterweight to his Buddhist neighbors. By 1580, Nagasaki was essentially a Portuguese colony under Jesuit administration. Luna: So the Portuguese were running a port city in Japan? Lucas: Effectively, yes. The Jesuits built churches, a hospital, and a seminary. They directed the silk trade from Macau right into Nagasaki's harbor. But this cozy arrangement didn't last. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan in the 1580s, he saw the Christian daimyo as a potential fifth column. Lucas: In 1587, Hideyoshi issued an edict banning Christianity and expelling the Jesuits. But he didn't enforce it strictly — he didn't want to disrupt the trade. Then in 1597, he executed 26 Christians in Nagasaki, mostly Japanese converts and foreign missionaries. That was a warning shot. Luna: And the Portuguese? Did they protest? Lucas: Not really. The Portuguese traders in Macau were pragmatic. They continued sailing to Japan, but they distanced themselves from the Jesuits. When the Tokugawa shogunate took power after 1600, the situation got worse. Tokugawa Ieyasu initially tolerated Christianity for trade, but his successors saw it as a threat. Lucas: The real turning point came in 1637 with the Shimabara Rebellion. That's the story of the Christian samurai's last stand. Luna: Shimabara — that's the big rebellion, right? Lucas: Exactly. The Shimabara domain, on the island of Kyushu, had a high concentration of Christians. The local daimyo, Matsukura Shigeharu, was a brutal ruler who imposed crushing taxes on the peasantry. Many of his samurai were converts, and when they rose up in 1637, they were joined by thousands of Christian peasants. Lucas: The rebels, led by a teenage boy named Amakusa Shiro — who was believed to be a messianic figure — seized Hara Castle and held out for months. They fought with desperate bravery, but the shogunate sent an army of over 120,000 men, including forces from the Dutch East India Company, who provided artillery. Luna: The Dutch helped the shogunate attack Christians? Lucas: They did. The Dutch were the only Europeans allowed in Japan after the Portuguese were expelled, and they were eager to prove their loyalty. They bombarded Hara Castle from the sea. In April 1638, the castle fell. All 37,000 rebels — men, women, children — were massacred. Lucas: After Shimabara, the shogunate cracked down ruthlessly. They implemented the Sakoku policy — complete isolation. Christianity was banned under penalty of death. They forced suspected Christians to trample on fumie — images of Christ or Mary — to prove they weren't believers. Luna: And what did the Portuguese do during all this? Lucas: Here's the betrayal. The Portuguese merchants and Jesuits in Japan had cultivated these Christian daimyo for decades, promising protection and alliance. But when the Tokugawa shogunate began persecuting Christians in the 1610s, the Portuguese crown chose trade over their converts. Lucas: In 1614, the shogunate issued a full expulsion of all missionaries. The Portuguese didn't resist; they withdrew. They even helped the shogunate track down hidden Christians, because they wanted to keep the silk trade alive. By the 1630s, the Portuguese were completely expelled from Japan. Lucas: But you know what's remarkable? Thousands of Japanese Christians went underground. They became the 'Hidden Christians' or Kakure Kirishitan. They passed down their faith in secret for 250 years, without priests, using adapted rituals. Luna: So the faith survived even after the Portuguese abandoned them. Lucas: It did. When Japan reopened to the West in the 1850s, the Hidden Christians emerged — and were astonished to find Catholic missionaries again. But that's another story. The Portuguese episode in Japan is a lesson in how colonial powers would sacrifice their own allies for profit. Luna: It's incredible how the daimyo trusted them, and then got left behind. Lucas: It really is. The Christian daimyo like Ōmura Sumitada and Arima Harunobu made a calculated bet: that the Portuguese would protect them in exchange for access. But in the end, the Portuguese were a maritime empire, not a land power. They couldn't — or wouldn't — commit troops to defend Japanese converts. Lucas: The shogunate knew that. When they saw how easily the Portuguese abandoned Nagasaki, they realized the foreigners had no real loyalty. That sealed Japan's isolation for two centuries. Luna: I guess it makes you wonder: was there ever a point where Japan could have become a Christian nation? Lucas: Maybe, if the Portuguese had acted differently. But the window closed with Shimabara. The rebellion was so brutal that it convinced the shogunate that Christianity was incompatible with Japanese sovereignty. And they were probably right — because the Portuguese had shown that their faith came with strings attached. Luna: Thanks, Lucas. That really puts a new light on the whole 'Portuguese empire' story. Lucas: Glad to share it. Next time, we'll look at another forgotten corner of colonial history — the Dutch in Formosa, or the Spanish in the Philippines again. But for now, this is Fexingo History.