Holm, Fynn Jürgen (21 November 2022). Dis:Connecting the Japanese Pelagic Empire: Magdalena Bay and the Failed Japanese Expansion Across the Pacific, 1900-1914 (Unpublished). In: Oceans disconnect. LMU München. 21.11.2022-22.11.2022.
In April 1912, an American newspaper reported about an alleged Japanese “monster” colony at Magdalena Bay in Mexico. While the Magdalena Bay Incident is today remembered as a hoax and anti-Japanese propaganda, it turns out that the Japanese whaling company Tōyō Hogei did indeed intent to secure fishing rights and planned to build fishing coastal stations in Mexico. These stations would have been the first Japanese attempt of connecting the Pacific and build colonial fishing outposts on the American continent. This essay investigates the Magdalena Bay Incident and asks what the Japanese plans originally entailed and why the project failed early on. It is argued that Tōyō Hogei’s planned coastal stations would have been Japan’s first serious attempt of building what William Tsutsui has called an “pelagic empire.” However, due to the limited technology of the time it was not yet possible to operate freely on the oceans.
Item Type: |
Conference or Workshop Item (Speech) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of History 06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of History > Economic, Social and Environmental History |
UniBE Contributor: |
Holm, Fynn Jürgen |
Subjects: |
900 History > 910 Geography & travel 900 History > 950 History of Asia 900 History > 970 History of North America |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Fynn Jürgen Holm |
Date Deposited: |
03 Feb 2023 17:08 |
Last Modified: |
03 Feb 2023 23:27 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/177645 |
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