Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce

Published version of the Treaties of Amity and Commerce between Japan and Netherlands, Britain, France, Russia and the United States, 1858

The Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce (日英修好通商条約, Nichi-Ei Shūkō Tsūshō Jōyaku) was signed on August 26, 1858 by Lord Elgin and the then representatives of the Japanese government (Tokugawa shogunate). This was an unequal treaty, that gave Japan semi-colonial status.

The concessions which Japan made were threefold:

• A representative of the British government would be permitted to reside at Edo.
• Hakodate, Kanagawa and Nagasaki were to be opened to British commerce on July 1, 1859, and British subjects could travel within a range of 25 miles of each port. Hyogo would open on January 1, 1863.
• British subjects would be allowed to reside in Edo from January 1, 1862, and Osaka from January 1, 1863.

See also

• Anglo-Japanese Alliance
• Ansei Treaties
• Japan-United Kingdom relations
• Harris Treaty
• James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
• Unequal treaty

References

• Auslin, Michael R. (2004). Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01521-0; OCLC 56493769