Charles Egbert DeLong (August 13, 1832 – October 26, 1876) was an American diplomat who served as the Envoy to Japan during the mid-19th century.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "De Long, Charles E." in .

Early life

DeLong was a native of New York. He relocated with his family to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

before he turned twenty. About 1851 he is reported to have been running a store at Foster Bar. He learned Chinese to communicate with the Chinese patrons. By 1853, he owned several gold claims on the

Yuba River The Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sierra Nevada and eastern Sacramento Valley, in the U.S. state of California. The main stem of the river is about long, and its headwaters are split into three major forks. The Yuba Rive ...

in Nevada County. He was elected Deputy Sheriff and admitted to the bar in 1857. The same year, he was elected to the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

from

Yuba County Yuba County (; Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 81,575. The county seat is Marysville. Yuba County is included in the Yuba City, California Metropolitan Statistical A ...

, and served for two terms.

Diplomat in Japan

In 1869, DeLong travelled to Japan with his wife Elida and two small children. On November 11, 1869, DeLong presented his credentials to

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Resident Minister A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indir ...

of the United States Consulate in Japan. In the name of the United States, he recognized the legitimacy of Japan's sovereignty over the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

. DeLong accompanied the

Iwakura Mission The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy (, ''Iwakura Shisetsudan'') was a Japanese diplomatic voyage to the United States and Europe conducted between 1871 and 1873 by leading statesmen and scholars of the Meiji period. It was not the only such m ...

on its visit to the United States in 1871. His wife Elida DeLong chaperoned five Japanese girls who were sent to attend American schools as part of the mission. Also in 1871, he negotiated a trade agreement between Hawaii and Japan. In 1872, he and Elida returned to Japan, now with three small children. They brought with them three servants, three horses, a carriage, and a sewing machine, but struggled to find acceptable accommodations, ultimately maintaining a house in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

a half-day's travel from DeLong's office in Tokyo. After his return to Japan, DeLong recommended the employment of fellow American Charles LeGendre as a foreign advisor to the Japanese

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, partly to influence the Japanese government to take a more aggressive stance against China, thus preventing the 1871 treaty between Japan and China from turning into a Sino-Japanese alliance against the western powers His position was elevated to that of

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

on June 9, 1872. He continued to serve in that capacity to October 7, 1873, although his career was marked by considerable friction with his superiors in Washington, who often accused him of overstepping his authority.

Later life

After his return to California from Japan in 1874, he resumed the practice of law at

Virginia City, Nevada Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...

. He died of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

in 1876.Yuba County Obits

Notes

References

* Bakken, Gordon Morris. ''Practicing Law in Frontier California'' University of Nebraska Press (2006) * Hammersmith, Jack. ''Spoilsmen in a "Flowery Fairyland": The Development of the U.S. Legation in Japan, 1859-1906.'' Kent State University Press (1989) * Nish, Ian. (1998) ''The Iwakura Mission to America and Europe: A New Assessment''. Richmond, Surrey: Japan Library. ;
OCLC 40410662
* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

.
OCLC 58053128
* Wray, Harry. and Conroy, Hillary ''Japan examined: perspectives on modern Japanese''. University of Hawaii Press (1994)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delong, Charles E. 1832 births 1876 deaths People from New York (state) American expatriates in Japan Members of the California State Assembly Ambassadors of the United States to Japan Deaths from typhoid fever 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American legislators People from Yuba County, California People from Virginia City, Nevada