Trading Ship

Name by which the vessel that made the commercial connection between India and Japan was known. It was also designated nau da prate, nau da China, nau do trato de Macau, and Kurofune (black ship). In the years that followed the arrival of the Portuguese in Japan, several places on Kyushû Island were visited by adventurers and private merchants. Around this time, there was no stable harbor and all activity was conducted by private parties, utilizing either their own ships or Chinese junks. Despite the intrinsic risks (shipwrecks, piracy) of the voyage, commerce was quite profitable, as the Portuguese became intermediaries between the two countries because of the rupture in China-Japan relations. Soon, Portuguese authorities understood the importance of this commerce and took control of the trading network, making large profits and consolidating their presence in the Far East. Thus, after 1550, an annual trip was established which became a monopoly of the Crown. The trip was assigned to a governor, a position granted by the official channels as a reward for services. At times, the trip of the Trading Ship was also granted by the Crown to some entities such as the city of Macao, Cochim, Malacca, as well as to a monastery of Augustinian nuns in Madrid. Later, in order to increase royal treasury revenues, the trip was auctioned in Goa, being sold to the highest bidder. Initially, Malacca was the point of departure for the trip, being replaced by Goa later. As of 1557, with Macao becoming established, it became a mandatory stopover in the Trading Ship´s route, which usually ended in Nagasaki. On a routine trip, the ship left Goa in April or May, loaded with cotton fabrics, Indian fabrics, crystal and glass objects, Flemish watches, and Portuguese wines. Sometimes more exotic objects were included, which were offered to Japanese Lords. About one month afterwards, the ship called at the port of Malacca, where part of the cargo was exchanged for spices, aromatic woods (such as sandal and aloe) and animal hides. From Malacca, it headed to Macao, arriving between the end of June and August. In this city, it was necessary to make a stop of ten to twelve months, since raw silk from Central China comprised most of the cargo headed to Japan. The silk was obtained in the semiannual fair of Canton, which took place in December/January and May/June, the contacts between merchants having been established previously. In addition to silk, the cargo also included porcelain items, musk, and gold. After loading the ship, it was necessary to wait for the favorable monsoon winds in order to depart. Between the end of June and August, the ship left for Japan, and it could take up to one month for it to get there. The ship remained in Nagasaki Harbor awaiting the October/November monsoon and, in case it was delayed, it could only depart in February/March of the following year. Carrying silver, furniture and screens, lacquered pieces and swords, the ship started the return trip. In case it could depart Nagasaki in November, it would arrive in Macao between December and January. In this port, the silver was unloaded, which would be negotiated for silk the following year, and the gold, silk, porcelain items, went on to Goa where they arrived in April. Although these were the main goods traded in this route, other products were included over time. So, in the last years of the commerce carried out by the Portuguese, silk fabrics went from Macao to Nagasaki, and copper, which was used in the production of artillery pieces and coins, went from Nagasaki to Macao. In the beginning of commercial relations, the slave trade was also a usual practice: Japanese and Korean prisioners of war were taken to Goa. This practice, despite being prohibited by both Portuguese and Japanese laws, continued to be carried out but would decrease in time. In addition to merchandise to be traded, the Trading Ship also transported missionaries, religious adornments, and correspondence, especially in the Macao-Japan portion of the route. Its importance was recorded on the namban screens, where the Trading Ship occupied a central place in the depictions by Japanese painters. If until the end of the 16th century the Trading Ship had a regular route, in the beginning of 1600 difficulties in conducting the trip began to arise, especially after the arrival of other European powers in the seas of the Far East. The commercial routes established by the Portuguese were contested by Spanish, Dutch, and English, which ended Portuguese monopoly of Asian commerce. To the problems caused by the attempts at establishing competing commercial networks, were also added attacks to Portuguese-controlled possessions and routes. These were carried out by Dutch ships in particular, which on various occasions impeded the Portuguese from conducting the voyage to Japan. In an attempt to minimize the damage resulting from enemy attacks, the practice of sending all the merchandise in a single ship was replaced in 1618 by one of dividing the cargo among several ships. Thus, the commerce once carried out by one carrack or galleon was conducted by ships of smaller dimensions such as pataxos, navetas, or galliots. Other factors added to the difficulties in carrying out the voyage of the Trading Ship. In addition to the climatic and nature-related reasons as well as to the poor management of the route by the Portuguese Crown and Macao merchants, political changes in Japan and conflicts with Japanese authorities also constituted impediments to regular commerce with this country. If the 1587 promulgation of the anti-Christian edict had upset the business relationship, though commerce continued due to a lack of viable alternatives, after the House of Tokugawa ascended the throne the transactions became more difficult. The close connection between Macao merchants and the religious who worked in Japan was not well received by the Japanese central power and, with the promulgation of a new anti-Christian edict in 1614, commercial relations also suffered the consequences of this policy. Although the expulsion of all missionaries was decreed, Portuguese merchants continued to aid the religious clandestinely. Their attitude jeopardized the survival of the commercial route, especially since several verified cases of merchants assisting religious were discovered. Thus, after guaranteeing the continuity of trade via the Dutch, the Japanese authorities opted for cutting off relations with Portuguese merchants in 1639, bringing the Trading Ship´s trips to an end.

Bibliography:
BOXER, Charles R., Portuguese merchants and missionaries in feudal Japan. 1543-1640, Londres, Variorum Reprints, 1986. LEITÃO, Ana Maria Ramalho Prosérpio, Do Trato Português no Japão: Presenças que se cruzam (1543-1639), dissertação de mestrado em História dos Descobrimentos e da Expansão Portuguesa apresentada à Faculdade de Letras da Universidade Clássica de Lisboa, Lisboa, 1994 (texto fotocopiado). O Grande navio de Amacau, Lisboa, Fundação Oriente e Centro de Estudos Marítimos de Macau, 1989.

Translated by: Maria João Pimentel