Dejima - Ship Arrivals

Ship Arrivals

In all, 606 Dutch ships arrived at Dejima during its two centuries of settlement, from 1641 to 1847.

• The first period, from 1641 to 1671, was rather free, and saw an average of 7 Dutch ships every year (12 sank during this period).
• From 1671 to 1715, about 5 Dutch ships were allowed to visit Dejima every year.
• From 1715, only 2 ships were permitted every year, which was reduced to 1 ship in 1790, and again increased to 2 ships in 1799.
• During the Napoleonic wars, in which the Netherlands was occupied by (and a satellite of) France, Dutch ships could not safely reach Japan in the face of British opposition. They relied on "neutral" American and Danish ships. (When the Netherlands was made a province by France (1811–1814), and Britain conquered Dutch colonial possessions in Asia, Dejima for four years was the only place in the world where the free Dutch flag flew, as ordered by Hendrik Doeff.)
• After the liberation of the Netherlands in 1815, regular Dutch trading traffic was reestablished.