Cina Giappone sui mari nei secoli XVI e XVII

The book analyses the Maritime history of China and Japan, during the 16th and the 17th Centuries. It is devided into three parts. The first part takes into exam the rise of the Chinese mercantilis in the second half of 16th Century, that is to say the Chinese private sea-trades, piracy, smuggling. The Chinese maritime activities also involved the Japanese partecipation: the Japanese daimyo, merchants, pirates and smugglers all took part to the international sea-trade network of East Asia. The Europeans as well, entered and settled in East Asia, using the Sino-Japanese international sea-trade netweork. The second part focuses on the Japanese foreign policy: the Tokugawa bakufu chose the so-called 'sakoku' policy in order to protect the Japanese finances and national integrity. The Tokugawa authorities finally decided to retire from the very competitive commercial sea-board. The third part analyses the rise of the Zheng maritime organisation, directly resulting from the Chinese mercantilism. The process saw the Chinese maritime activities becoming a reunited organisation, and therefore an economic, military and political structure under the Zheng command. The resulting Zheng maritime organisation attended a very significant key-role into the Ming-Qing dynastic conflict of 17th Century China. The research is based on Chinese and Japanese primary sources and most recent historical essays, as well as on Dutch -and European- primary sources and Archives. The bibliography is comprehensive of the most recent historical literature on East Asia Maritime history.