William Robert Stewart was a US Captain from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
who was active in attempting trade with Japan in the beginning of the 19th century.
In 1797 he was commissioned by the Dutch from
Batavia
Batavia may refer to:
Historical places
* Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands
* Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
to take the ship ''Eliza of New York'' to
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
,
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 ...
, with a cargo of Dutch trade goods. The ship however reportedly sunk just a few hours after leaving Dejima, off the Takaboku islands. After being floated and repaired, it sailed again to Batavia, but was never heard of again.
On July 16, 1800 Stewart returned to Nagasaki, Japan on board a ship named ''The Emperor of Japan''. It was discovered that his ship was in fact the ''Eliza of New York'', which he had apparently stolen and renamed. He tried in vain to trade through the Dutch enclave of
Dejima
, in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...
. The director of the Dutch enclave,
Willem Wardenaar
Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, Gu ...
, instead sold the cargo as contraband, and used the profit to repay the original repairing and re-floating of the ship. Stewart was imprisoned and sent to Batavia, but he apparently managed to escape.
He sailed again to Japan in 1803, but again did not manage to sell his cargo.
Stewart's actions were mentioned extensively by
Hendrik Doeff, the then Dutch commissioner in Dejima, in his book "Recollections of Japan".
He died in
of
yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
in 1818.
See also
*
Gijsbert Hemmij
Gijsbert is a Dutch masculine given name, which is a variant of the names Gisbert and Gilbert, and means "bright pledge".''Behind the Name''"Given Name Gilbert" Retrieved on 24 January 2016. The name may refer to:
*Gijsbert Bos (born 1973), Dutch ...
*
Leopold Willem Ras Leopold Willem Ras (1760s–1823) was a Dutch merchant-trader and diplomat.
Life
Ras was the son of Joannes Henricus Ras and Magdalena Elisabeth Putkamer, who baptized children in , a town at the mouth of the Scheldt river. In June 1785, Ras sailed ...
Notes
References
* Gourlay, Walter E. (2008)
"A Camel for the Shogun: William Robert Stewart and the Deshima Connection" (abstract paper)
ASPAC 2008. Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, University of Victoria University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
, British Columbia
* . (1963). ''Historical documents relating to Japan in foreign countries: an inventory of microfilm acquisitions in the library of the Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo.'
OCLC 450710
* Vialle, Cynthia and Ton Vermeulen. (1997). ''The Deshima Dagregisters: Their Original Tables of Contents, Vol. 10, 1790-1800.'' Leiden: Institute for the History of European Expansion
OCLC 634570173
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, William Robert
Year of birth missing
1818 deaths
Deaths from yellow fever
Infectious disease deaths in Louisiana