Turning Point - Sekigahara: Toyotomi's Global Expansion and its Consequences

Phase 16 - Revolutionary Fulfillment and the North American War

Japan, which was supposed to usher in a new era through the revolution, was still in turmoil.

The main causes of this turmoil were the resistance of the samurai and the common people within Japan, internal conflicts among the samurai, and resistance to the Japanese mainland from the new continent. Fortunately for everyone in Japan at the time, the French Revolution occurred in July 1789, just as a new era was beginning in Japan. This meant that most European countries were no longer preoccupied with distant Japan.

Furthermore, in 1795, just as Japan was about to enter its next period of turmoil, a new presidential government was established in France, taking a significant step towards becoming a full-fledged republican state.

On the other hand, in January 1795, when France annexed its neighboring country, the Netherlands, Britain immediately began to take action.

The Cape in South Africa, and Ceylon in the Indian Ocean, were occupied by the British forces, and they also arrived in the Sunda region of Japanese territory under the pretext of targeting the Dutch trading post. However, since there were many Japanese warships stationed in Malacca and Java, the British demanded the extradition of the Dutch as part of diplomatic negotiations. The Japanese, too, eventually settled for accepting this as part of diplomatic procedures.

In addition, in the New World, the United States of America had acquired the right of passage to the mouth of the Mississippi River from Japan rather forcefully and had begun to engage in development activities aimed at New Japan (Note: The mouth of the Mississippi River in the New Orleans area was purchased by Japan from Britain in 1783).

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Amidst these changes and external pressures from around the world, a sense of urgency was instilled in the Japanese people to build a stronger new nation.

In this context, the Japanese government rejected the demands of New Japan and decided to implement tax increases.

In response, there was a clash of opinions in New Japan between those advocating emulating the United States and those suggesting a long-term perspective considering the disparity in military strength. However, the resentment against the unjust demands imposed from the Japanese archipelago prevailed. Furthermore, many of the locally rooted samurai class joined the side of the common people, and even some of the troops stationed locally defected to New Japan, accelerating the movement towards independence. The reason for the local samurai switching sides was twofold: they would also become subject to taxation, and many had already abandoned the Japanese mainland in favor of designating New Japan as their new homeland. The fact that the samurai in the New World had a different social class and values compared to those in the Japanese mainland may have contributed to the misunderstanding among the people of the Japanese mainland.

Moreover, the United States had provided the weaponry used in the previous war to the independence forces of New Japan. For the United States, it was more convenient for their interests to have an independent entity rather than one under the control of the Old World, regardless of the opposing side's race.

On the other hand, Spain, which had managed to establish control over much of Central and South America, was concerned about the governance of its New World territories and opposed the independence of New Japan.

Meanwhile, preparations for military organization were underway in the Japanese archipelago to prevent independence, but it was not an easy task. The conscripted civilian militia of the Japanese army opposed being sent to New Japan. While this was something that should not have happened for a national military, it was perceived as such because it was originally ordered by the samurai, leading to a situation where the New Japan independence movement was perceived as a battle between samurai and commoners.