Talk:Bunsei

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[edit] VOC disambiguation

The VOC was dissolved in 1800, so how could Philipp Franz von Siebold become a physician for it in 1823?--Yannick (talk) 07:02, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Good question; and there is a complicated answer. In Europe, the VOC did fail in 1800; and the Batavian Republic took over the company's debts and assets; and then when the republic became the Kingdom of Holland, the debts and assets were simply absorbed by the new state.

• See Dejima -- During the Napoleonic wars, in which the Netherlands was an ally of France, Dutch ships could not safely reach Japan in the face of British opposition, so they instead relied on "neutral" American and Danish ships. Interestingly, when the Netherlands became a province of France (1811-1814), and Britain conquered Dutch colonial possessions in Asia, Dejima remained for four years the only place in the world where the Dutch flag was still flying, under the leadership of Hendrik Doeff.

In Japan, the well-settled sakoku policy had excluded all Western traders except the favored Dutch merchants at Dejima after 1641. The Japanese were not unaware of the turmoil in Europe, but they were uninterested in the corporate structure of their sole overseas trading partner. The focus of attention for the Tokugawa shogunate was elsewhere; and the serial Western traders who profited from the trade were understandably loathe to provide any reason for impeding the flow of goods. At some point the Japanese-Dutch partnership was construed as workable by both sides, and for independent and non-congruent reasons, this became just one amongst a number of questions which simply weren't asked ....

However, in the Wikipedia context, you did ask ... which tells me that maybe the article would be improved by re-wording. Perhaps the question simply won't occur if the bright blue type-face is dimmed? Instead of either VOC or Dutch East Indies Company, what about the dull, unremarkable "Dutch East Indies Company" ...?

Are you willing to tolerate a practical response wrapped up in a fuzzy non-answer to an excellent question? Or have I misunderstood the gravamen of your curiosity? --Tenmei (talk) 17:45, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

I'm easy either way. But maybe the best link would be to the Dutch East Indies? Although I'm not a subject matter expert, it sounds like it would be more accurate, and it starts off with a discussion of its VOC origins.--Yannick (talk) 23:36, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, that's a plausible improvement; and we can always re-visit this again later as the depth and quality of these nengō articles evolve further. In any case, this thread provides a heads-up for others who might be able to help refine this minor point. Good suggestion. --Tenmei (talk) 15:26, 3 March 2008 (UTC)