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Full Description
The 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.
Contents
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, Index.
