This chronological table summarizes years before the Dutch ship
De Liefde reaches Japanese waters and presents a context of
the first encounter.
| Japan | year | Europe, South Seas |
| Official "Kango (tally) trade" begins with Ming (China) | 1404 | |
| 1405 | Chinese Zheng He (or Cheng Ho)'s first expedition begins (later reaches Western coast of India) | |
| 1413 | Zheng He's fourth expedition begins (later reaches Eastern coast of Africa, Arabia); Ottoman Empire established. | |
| 1433 | The seventh and last expedition of Zheng He ends. China turns inward. | |
| 1498 | Vasco da Gama discovers Indian Ocean Route. Portuguese join South Sea trade networks. | |
| 1500 | Karel of Habsburg born. Later Karel V. | |
| 1511 | Portuguese occupy Goa | |
| 1513 | Pacific Ocean "discovered" | |
| 1516 | Karel enthroned as Carlos I of Spain | |
| 1517 | Reformation of Luther starts | |
| 1519 | Karel enthroned as Emperor Karel V of Holy Roman Empire. | |
| 1522 | Magellan's ship completes round the world voyage | |
| 1533 | Willem van Nassau, later the Prince of Orange, born | |
| Nobunaga of Oda born | 1534 | Society of Jesus formed |
| 1541 | Reformation of Calvin | |
| Portuguese come to Tanegashima as the first Europeans to reach and introduce guns to Japan | 1543 | |
| 1547 | ||
| Francisco de Xavier lands at Kagoshima to promote Christianity | 1549 | |
| Battle of Kawanakajima | 1555 | Karel V abdicates. He leaves Low Countries to his son Filipe. |
| 1556 | Filipe II enthroned in Spain | |
| 1562 | Huguenotic War in France (-1598) | |
| A Portuguese sailboat comes to Nagasaki | 1567 | |
| Nobunaga enters Kyoto, the Imperial Capital | 1568 | Independence war of the Netherlands starts |
| 1571 | Sea battle of Lepant | |
| 1572 | Occupation of Den Briel | |
| Nobunaga purges the Last Ashikaga Shogun | 1573 | Fall of Haarlem |
| 1574 | Liberation of Leiden | |
| Battle of Nagashino (First massive use of guns) | 1575 | |
| 1576 | Rebellious Spanish troops plunder and destroy Antwerpen (The Spanish Fury). | |
| 1579 | The Union of Utrecht (De Unie van Utrecht) | |
| 1580 | Spain annexes Portugal. | |
| 1581 | The Netherlands declares its independence. | |
| Nobunaga killed by his general. | 1582 | |
| Spanish boat comes to Hirado | 1584 | Willem, the Prince of Orange, killed by an assassin. |
| Dirck Gerritsz. Pomp's second trip to Japan on board a Portuguese ship. Pomp, known as "Dirck China", is the first Hollander to visit the country. | 1585 | Antwerpen falls in Spanish hands (The Fall of Antwerp). |
| Hideyoshi becomes the Grand Minister | 1586 | |
| Hideyoshi orders Jesuit missionaries expelled | 1588 | England defeats Spanish Armada |
| Hideyoshi completes unification of Japan | 1590 | Filipe II lifts trade blockade on rebellious provinces. |
| Hideyoshi sends army to Korea. | 1592 | A Japanese town built in Dilao (near Manila, Philippines). |
| Hideyoshi sends army to Korea again; the last international war Japan was involved until late 19C. Hideyoshi has 26 missionaries and Christians executed in Nagasaki. | 1597 | |
| Hideyoshi dies of diseases | 1598 |
Filipe II dies. Filipe III revives trade blockade,
making the life more difficult for the Dutch. De Liefde sails out with 4 other ships (Het Geloof, De Hoop, De Trouw and De Blijde Boodschap) of the Rotterdam fleet under the command of Jaques Mahu to find a new route to India (June). |
| 1599 | The Rotterdam fleet, now under the command of Simon de Cordes, camps at De Cordes Bay on the Magellan Strait for the winter. | |
|
De Liefde drifts to Bungo province,
Kyushu (April 19, note 1).
Among her surviving crew are
Jan Joosten van Lodensteyn and the English navigator, William Adams (this makes the year 2000 a special year for Japanese-English relationships as well). Ieyasu of Tokugawa wins Battle of Sekigahara | 1600 | |
| 1602 | Holland establishes East India Company (VOC). | |
| Ieyasu named Shogun and establishes Tokugawa (Edo) Shogunate. | 1603 | |
Notes:
1.
The arrival date of De Liefde, 19 April 1600
is based on the Julian calendar. It was April 29 of the
Gregorian calendar we use today, and March 16 of the 5th year
of Keicho in the Japanese calendar.
References:
| * PageTop | * 400 years | * Dutch Connection | * Kobashi Home |
URL=http://www.kt.rim.or.jp/~kobashi/dutch/pre400e.htm