Vince:
Here are a few from the hip
:
1.
Why did the supposedly xenophobic Tokugawa Ieyasu accept Adams and keep him
around? How did his presence in Japan shape future Japanese political and
relations with Europe, especially Catholic Europe?
2. Was Adams directly or indirectly an influence in Ieyasu's later decision
to refuse foreigners access to any part of Japan apart from the trading town
of Dejima, near Nagasaki?
3. How (if at all) did Adams' knowledge help Ieyasu in his domestic efforts
to unify Japan under a Tokugawa shogunate?
4. Having been exposed to modern European shipbuilding and gunsmithing
techniques by Adams and other late 16th/early 17th Century Europeans, why did Japan
not modernize for another three centuries? Were they incapable (either
through lack of skills or lack of natural resources), or was this a consious
choice? Either way, what was the practical effect for Japan, internationally and
domestically, of failing to modernize?
Hope these are helpful. The first two are pretty simple "historical fact"
questions, while the last two could provide fuel for some good debate among
folks who have done a bit of prior study on Japanese history.
Perhaps some other listeros could refine or shred these.
Cordially,
Patrick Howard
> Firstly I'd like to say hello to you all.
>
>
> I'm about to undertake a coursework project at school and was
> wondering if anyone could suggest some good questions on events
> surrounding the samurai.
>
> My teacher has asked me to see if I can focus on William Adams and
> some good questions about this man would be much appreciated although
> other questions wouldn't go a miss.
>
> The questions have to be the usual history type questions that can be
> debated from certain points of view.
>
> All help is much appreciated and thanks in advance.
> Vince.
>
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