Whether it is "Pirates of the Caribbean" or "One Piece", many film and television creators have focused their attention on the pirate group that combines brutality and adventure in history. Around the 13th to 16th centuries, a group of Japanese pirates flew around Southeast Asian waters, which made people in coastal areas of our country frightened. Therefore, when it comes to pirates, many Chinese people would confuse the concepts of pirates and Japanese pirates. In fact, pirates and Japanese pirates do not mean the same thing, and pirates are not just the sea bandits we imagine that they can only burn, kill, loot and loot.
Japanese Japanese pirates have a very poor reputation. Not only our country, but North Korea is often harassed by them. In fact, the Japanese pirates from the 13th to the 16th centuries were not just Japanese, but in the later period, many Chinese refugees were involved. At that time, Japan was in a political situation that was unstable due to the opposition between the north and the south, and China was in the alternating era of the Yuan and Ming dynasties, while Korea was at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty. The regimes of the three countries were unstable, and the supreme rulers were too busy to take care of themselves and could not control the lives and death of the people. The Japanese pirates became even more unscrupulous.
Unlike Japanese pirates, pirates (also known as pirates and pirate warriors in Japan), they rely on collecting tolls to get rich, and together with local gentry, they have expanded their power and became the targets that the famous of wanted to win over at that time.
The emergence and development of pirates
Kakura Shogunate demises, causing Japan to fall into chaos of north-south opposition. It happened that the coastal residents who were forced by life in those two years of drought and famine were gathered together to grab official gold and silver supplies. The Emperor has also sent someone to suppress the emergence of this mob. During the Qing Dynasty and Emperors, he issued several government orders to eliminate these pirates, but the pirate forces were always rising one after another and were not fundamentally eliminated.
In addition, during the safe period, the commodity economy has developed greatly and promoted the prosperity of the manor system. The phenomenon of land annexation is becoming more and more serious, and many Japanese farmers have become ronin because of their loss of land, thus increasing social instability. In addition, after the law-based state collapsed, these roninists quickly gathered together to become mob organizations. Because they had hatred towards the landlord class, they began to frequently snatch official material teams and even smash the government.
The pirates gained a lot of warriors or gentry, and they also began to plunder money among these pirates. A large number of coastal tycoons devoted themselves to maritime activities, which also prompted the pirates to gradually transform from ordinary thugs into pirate samurai, becoming an important maritime military force in the Muromachi era.
By the Warring States Period of Japan, pirates had become a very powerful local group organization, and snatching passers-by property was far from satisfying them. They began to set up checkpoints at key sea routes, specifically collecting "tolls" for passing ships. The names are also diverse, including "carrying other money", "sailing other money", etc. During this period, pirates had basically achieved freedom of power and called themselves the name of the sea.
Moreover, in order to consolidate their power, these pirate groups have joined forces with generals and daming, and have become powerful weapons to assist daming in the form of mercenaries and retainers. They have their own military strength. In addition, they have their own maritime transportation capabilities, and have become the naval name of Warring States .
As Warring States daimyo , the support and interests given by pirates cannot be ignored. They are eager to absorb this maritime military force, so they have adopted a policy of relatively tolerant and preferential treatment for pirates. At this point, the era of pirate freedom has officially arrived. Pirate forces gradually penetrated into the military and politics.
In the Battle of Itsushima, the , Maori Yuan trapped in Itsushima, only 4,000 soldiers, while the , Tao Qingxian, the important official of the Ouchi clan, personally led a large army of 20,000 and more than 500 police ships to siege Maori Yuan. Maori Yuan was absolutely weak and wanted to win over pirates in nearby islands and villages, and use the pirates' power to launch a surprise attack on Tao Qingxian's army. It happened that the nearby Noi Island, the pirates who came to the island and Tao Qingxian had a dispute over the toll issue, and they were immediately willing to help after Mori Mori's persuasion.
So, when Tao Qingxian was unprepared, Maori Yuan joined forces with the pirate team to siege Tao Qingxian and won a great victory. Tao Qingxian's army was in chaos, and as many as a thousand drowned. In the end, Tao Qingxian had no choice but to commit suicide.
Another very famous pirate warrior is Oda Nobunaga 's martial arts servant Kyuki Katsurachi. It was because of the decline of the family that Jiugui Jiataka surrendered to Oda Nobunaga and wanted to use his power to revive the family business. Later, the Oda family formed a powerful Oda naval army in a short period of time, which was enough to compete with the strength of the Murakami naval army, which was known as the number one in the Warring States Period, and the most important help came from Katsura Kyuki. After Oda Nobunaga died in Honnoji, Kyuki Katsurachi was also defeated and died. His son chose to serve the Tokugawa family and continue to follow his father's old path.
9 Ghost Jialong is just a microcosm of many pirate leaders. At that time, many pirates followed the situation and gave up the inherent concept of "occupying the sea as king", but instead became an official as a warrior and regained the glory of the family.
In the struggle between Daming, the pirates used their own means and strongly inserted at sea, becoming a decisive force that cannot be ignored. At this time, it was not just Japanese business travelers, but even envoys, missionaries, etc. from neighboring countries would be intercepted for no reason. They only have two choices, either to accept the various terms they proposed and pay money. Or take up your own swords, guns and shells and fight against them to the death. The invasion of pirates not only plagues ordinary business travelers, but also hinders the maritime traffic to the city lords and warriors on one side.
1586 Louis Freus recorded a memory of his confrontation with Japanese pirates:
" The deputy district chief priest told me that Nojima was Japan The great pirates lived in. He built huge castles on the island, owned a large number of ships, and was often dispatched. The surrounding coastal areas paid tribute to him every year because they feared his power. Our priests and believers' brothers always went to sea, and they were in danger of falling into his hands. The priests hoped to obtain certificates of safe passage from him so that our members would not be captured and harmed by them. "
In addition to levied tolls on passing ships and extorted all people from all kinds of professions that they passed through, these pirates would also expand their territory, strictly manage their territory, and formulate corresponding rules to ensure the stability of the region and the normal operation of the pirate's work. Under such a mechanism, pirates can obtain a lot of wealth from their own sea and land territory, which is truly a huge profit.
The decline and disappearance of the pirates
The pirates have gone through the stage of being suppressed - used - talking about cooperation, and they can't escape the ending of death. The one who officially showed the red card to the Pirate Group was Toyotomi Hideyoshi . He had long started by integrating the pirate forces in the Seto Inland Sea and stepped up the acquisition of sea control rights step by step.
After inheriting Oda Nobunaga's career, Toyotomi Hideyoshi began to recruit the surrounding pirate forces, starting from small and medium-sized groups, and using relatively mild means to coerce and induce. After many pirates decided to surrender to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, they discovered that although the conditions for Toyotomi Hideyoshi's offer were attractive, they were also extremely strict with those who surrendered.
The reason why Toyotomi Hideyoshi used this method of inclusion instead of conquering by force is obvious that he is not absolutely confident of taking over the hegemony at sea and suppressing all pirate forces. So he offered relatively generous conditions, and wanted to buy time for himself to accumulate his strength.
By the time Toyotomi Hideyoshi had pacified the Shikoku region, he was also confident of his pirate group. On July 8, 1588, he issued the "Pirate Stop Order", which also issued a death talisman to the Pirate Group. At this point, all activities of the pirates will be classified as illegal activities. This is a policy of comprehensive suppression of pirates under Toyotomi Hideyoshi's clear order, and intends to restore normal traffic and stability in the inland sea through this decree.
"Pirate Stop Order" is as follows:
Imperially designated:
First, the actions of pirate ships on seas in various countries will be strictly stopped; now, if there are people who stole ships from Yiyu and the two countries to Yijinxi Island, if they hear about it, they will bear the consequences.
Second, all countries, bows of boats and hunters, who take boats and oars, should quickly go to the place where they are located to correct the book. If they are engaged in pirates, they will be sentenced to convictions and sentenced to the affidavit, and the king of the country can report the facts.
Third, from now on, among the lords, there will be pirates who will be punished and confiscated all the knowledge and actions of the last generation. Ordinances above
can be firmly implemented. If there is a violation of the race, the crime can be directly considered.
days July 8, 16th (Zhu Yin)
This ban was promulgated with very strict identity supervision and punishment measures, depriving the pirates of their sea control. The pirates were just trying to survive in the cracks, but now Toyotomi Hideyoshi completely denies their independence. Not only that, Toyotomi Hideyoshi also issued the "Sword Hunting Order", confiscating civilian weapons, suppressing peasant armed forces, and providing the possibility for clearing out pirates at one time. After these two decrees were promulgated, pirates in various regions quickly disappeared, and even the pirate family, which was once famous in the Warring States Period, was depressed at an extremely fast speed.
In Japan's history, the Edo period ushered in a long-lost "peaceful and prosperous era", and this prosperous era, just as Toyotomi Hideyoshi wished, no longer has the soil for pirates to take root and grow. Indeed, class contradictions and social unrest are the basis for the survival of pirates. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi took over Oda Nobunaga's mantle and unified Japan, the living space of the pirates became smaller and smaller. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi's policy on pirates changed from moderate to strict and harsh, the prosperity of the pirates would eventually end.
Summary:
Japan The pirate samurai group that appeared in during the Warring States Period was caused by the instability of the country and the intensification of class contradictions. Their means of making a living are inherently violence and plunder, which hinders the circulation of trade between localities, countries and countries. During the Warring States Period, Japan's economy and trade were unprecedentedly prosperous because of the obstacles of pirates. The setting up checkpoints in maritime traffic fortresses was extremely rampant. Even the Daming at that time needed to be protected by one of the pirates in order to ensure the safety of maritime operations.
But the existence of pirates is not useless. To a certain extent, the pirates also changed the political landscape at that time and restricted the development of Daming. Japan's territory is narrow and long and faces the sea. The military forces of the pirates will have some influence on the inland Daming, and even use joint means to influence the political structure of the surrounding areas. In short, Pirates are a disorderly social group that will only develop in times of turmoil and will be established to enter the upper class. The unrest in Japan's Warring States Period gave them the nourishment and even became a "master name", which was only a unique phenomenon in a specific era.
The history of pirates will eventually come to an end. During the Edo period, many of the retainers of daimyos in some places came from pirates. Although Toyotomi Hideyoshi was determined to suppress them, they might still survive with their own identities. However, in the later period of Tokugawa Shogunate, fewer and fewer retainers from these pirates were born. They really couldn't make it, so they had to return to the civilians. Some continued to farm, while others became vendors or craftsmen. Social stability and the concentration of the regime have cut off the retreat of the pirates. The "maritime overlord" that once flourished during the Warring States Period eventually became a noun that only exists in history books.
