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OverviewThe son of a village doctor, Rutherford Alcock trained in medicine and became a battlefield surgeon, working in Portugal and Spain during the civil wars there in the 1830s. In a major career shift, he entered the consular service, went to China, and ended up as British Minister (the equivalent of today’s ambassador) to Japan and then China. This progression was unique, indeed bizarre, especially as every senior position he got was one he specifically said he did not want. Nonetheless, he was the man who commenced Britain’s relations with Japan and introduced Japan’s arts and crafts to the UK, in addition to playing a central role in Britain’s relationship with China. He was no rampant imperialist and expressed ambivalence about Britain’s position in East Asia as he contended with intractable issues like the opium trade and how to punish attacks on British interests without starting a war. This book fills a major gap in the study of Japan’s opening to the West from a British perspective, as well as Britain’s relationship with East Asia as a whole, through the eyes of a brilliant, but complicated and contradictory figure. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Robert MortonPublisher: Amsterdam University Press Imprint: Amsterdam University Press ISBN: 9789463725293ISBN 10: 9463725296 Pages: 314 Publication Date: 20 September 2024 Audience: College/higher education , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsSure! Here's the revised version without all caps: Introduction Chapter One - A Young Man in a Hurry, London – Hexham – Paris, 1809–1828 Chapter Two - Perseverance, courage and fortitude of conduct, Portugal – Spain, 1831–1838 Chapter Three - Highly qualified for any professional situation, London, 1838–1844 Chapter Four - The most able of our Consuls in China, Amoy – Fuzhou, 1844–1846 Chapter Five - Acting with promptness and decision, Shanghai, 1846-1853 Chapter Six - Desolation around and about me, Shanghai – England – Guangzhou, 1853–1859 Chapter Seven - I can hardly say I am disappointed, Edo, 1859–1862 Chapter Eight - The scum of the earth, Yokohama, 1859–1862 Chapter Nine - A hundred petty acts of annoyance, Edo – Yokohama, 1859–1862 Chapter Ten - Sir Rutherford, 1862–1864, London Chapter Eleven - My service in the East thus terminates, Yokohama, 1864 Chapter Twelve - There is so much to fear and so little to hope, Beijing, 1865–1870 Chapter Thirteen - A Distinct and Disastrous Sacrifice of British Interests, Beijing, 1865–1870 Chapter Fourteen - Savourer the dignity of his position, 1870–1897, London Afterword Notes Bibliography Acknowledgements IndexReviewsAuthor InformationDr Robert Morton is a professor at Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan. He is the author of the prize-winning A.B. Mitford and the Birth of Japan as a Modern State and A Life of Sir Harry Parkes. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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