Sakoku Completed
1639
The Tokugawa shogunate expelled all remaining Portuguese traders from Japan and sealed the country. Only Dutch and Chinese merchants were permitted, and only at Nagasaki; in 1641 the Dutch were confined to Dejima, an artificial island in the harbor, while the Chinese lived in the town. Japan entered two centuries of enforced isolation from the Christian powers of Europe, developing in the sealed quiet a distinctive urban culture of extraordinary refinement.
In context
Also in 1639 (3 other events on record)
- Russians Reach the Pacific · Central Asia · Exploration
- Fundamental Orders of Connecticut · North America · Politics
- Horrocks Observes Transit of Venus · Europe · Science
Before and after in East Asia
Before and after in Politics
- Before: 1636: Providence Plantations
- After: April 13, 1640: Short Parliament
Era
Renaissance (1501–1650), one of 715 events from that era on Saeculum.