Dejima doesn’t exist ITTL as it was built solely as a restricted trading post for the Portuguese. ITTL, there are very few trade restrictions aside from the Spanish and Portugueses’ right being suspended due to being at war.
Nobunaga’s Ambition Realized: Dawn of a New Rising Sun
- Thread starter Ambassador Huntsman
- Start date
Ah ok, but still the Dutch should get an enclave in southern Japan, after the war of course.
That sounds like a terrible idea for Japan to try and claim Siberian lands. The logistics aren't there and it is completely inhospitable, not to mention that they'd constantly be under pressure from native tribes and the Russians.
Plus, with Nurhaci gone and the Manchus reduced and fragmented, there is going to be a power vacuum there that will be contested between the Ming, the Koreans, Japan, the Mongols and Russia.
Chapter 38: Iberian-Japanese War Part V - The Luzon Invasion and the Battle of Hoang Sa
Chapter 38: Iberian-Japanese War Part V - The Luzon Invasion and the Battle of Hoang Sa
The spring began with the departure invasion fleet headed towards Luzon, carrying both general Kanbe Tomoyoshi and naval magistrate Kuki Moritaka. The 100-ship fleet of transports, warships, and tekkousen carried a land army of 15,000 men aside from sailors, including 10,000 Oda troops, 4,000 Ryuzōji troops, and 1,000 Bireitou samurai. Some of these ships would land in the various Batanes and Babuyan Islands between Bireitou and Luzon and gather resources and provisions, coming across some of the local tribes. Notably, a fort would start to be constructed on Calayan. The rest of the fleet aimed towards Aparri, site of the 1582 Battle of Cagayan between wokou pirates and the Spanish.
On March 16th, the Battle of Aparri began with a brief naval battle, if it could even be called that. The small Spanish fleet off of Aparri was dwarfed by the Azuchi fleet, and after a couple exchanges which saw the latter completely overwhelming the former, the Spanish captain chose to retreat rather than suffer inevitable losses and fight together with the reinforcements from Mexico City, which had arrived too recently to adequately prepare and set sail against the Japanese. However, Aparri was guarded by a well-provisioned army of 10,000, of which 1,000 were fully armored conquistadors, 1,000 were Latin American soldiers, and the rest were Catholic native levies. The bulk of this army fiercely resisted the landing Japanese forces at a beachhead to the east of Aparri, firing volleys of arquebus fire and showers of arrows from makeshift trenches and palisades. Surprisingly, cannonfire from Japanese carracks failed to shake the Spaniards’ well-entrenched position, and assaulting samurai and ashigaru only captured one of the trenches before retreating under heavy fire. At the same time, Japanese galleons and zentousen bombarded Aparri but received returning fire as well. The Japanese decided to briefly withdraw for the night while the Spanish-native force finally found time to rest.
The next day saw the continuation of this situation, with mounting losses on both sides. On the 2nd night, an exhausted Tomoyoshi decided to shift strategies and would take up the advice of Yamada Nagamasa (山田長政) [1], a prominent cavalry commander from Bireitou. Shortly before the dawn of the 3rd day, a few ships evaded the notice of the Spanish amidst the deep fog and landed a cavalry contingent of 300 a few kilometers east of their position, led by Nagamasa. The morning began much like the other 2 days on the main front. However, an hour into the battle, a firework signal was launched from a Japanese ship, followed by a cavalry charge from the east. The entirely dismounted Spanish army’s right flank began to become overrun by the elite samurai on horseback wielding melee weapons and bajouzutsu. Seeing the tides beginning to turn, Ryuzōji Noriie led his clan’s forces from the front and took trench after trench, palisade by palisade through heavy fighting. By mid-morning, the already beleaguered Spanish army routed and the main organized core retreated back to Aparri, entering the landscape of an bombarded city continually assaulted by the Japanese fleet. By the evening, the city was surrounded by the Japanese land forces. Aparri was sieged for a week before on the night of the 24th, the surviving conquistadors, accompanied by willing native allies, escaped the siege and headed deeper into the Cagayan Valley where they hoped to rebuild strength. The rest of the army surrendered the following morning on March 25th. The Japanese, despite this victory, had lost 1,000 men and now had to look after an additional 1,000 wounded men. 4,000 men in the Spanish army, meanwhile, had been killed, with another 4,000 captured.
On March 16th, the Battle of Aparri began with a brief naval battle, if it could even be called that. The small Spanish fleet off of Aparri was dwarfed by the Azuchi fleet, and after a couple exchanges which saw the latter completely overwhelming the former, the Spanish captain chose to retreat rather than suffer inevitable losses and fight together with the reinforcements from Mexico City, which had arrived too recently to adequately prepare and set sail against the Japanese. However, Aparri was guarded by a well-provisioned army of 10,000, of which 1,000 were fully armored conquistadors, 1,000 were Latin American soldiers, and the rest were Catholic native levies. The bulk of this army fiercely resisted the landing Japanese forces at a beachhead to the east of Aparri, firing volleys of arquebus fire and showers of arrows from makeshift trenches and palisades. Surprisingly, cannonfire from Japanese carracks failed to shake the Spaniards’ well-entrenched position, and assaulting samurai and ashigaru only captured one of the trenches before retreating under heavy fire. At the same time, Japanese galleons and zentousen bombarded Aparri but received returning fire as well. The Japanese decided to briefly withdraw for the night while the Spanish-native force finally found time to rest.
The next day saw the continuation of this situation, with mounting losses on both sides. On the 2nd night, an exhausted Tomoyoshi decided to shift strategies and would take up the advice of Yamada Nagamasa (山田長政) [1], a prominent cavalry commander from Bireitou. Shortly before the dawn of the 3rd day, a few ships evaded the notice of the Spanish amidst the deep fog and landed a cavalry contingent of 300 a few kilometers east of their position, led by Nagamasa. The morning began much like the other 2 days on the main front. However, an hour into the battle, a firework signal was launched from a Japanese ship, followed by a cavalry charge from the east. The entirely dismounted Spanish army’s right flank began to become overrun by the elite samurai on horseback wielding melee weapons and bajouzutsu. Seeing the tides beginning to turn, Ryuzōji Noriie led his clan’s forces from the front and took trench after trench, palisade by palisade through heavy fighting. By mid-morning, the already beleaguered Spanish army routed and the main organized core retreated back to Aparri, entering the landscape of an bombarded city continually assaulted by the Japanese fleet. By the evening, the city was surrounded by the Japanese land forces. Aparri was sieged for a week before on the night of the 24th, the surviving conquistadors, accompanied by willing native allies, escaped the siege and headed deeper into the Cagayan Valley where they hoped to rebuild strength. The rest of the army surrendered the following morning on March 25th. The Japanese, despite this victory, had lost 1,000 men and now had to look after an additional 1,000 wounded men. 4,000 men in the Spanish army, meanwhile, had been killed, with another 4,000 captured.
Salmon=Japan, light orange=Spain
The victorious Japanese consolidated their position and rebuilt the devastated city, notably restoring the old Nihonmachi quarter that had been destroyed the previous year and setting up their headquarters there. Over the next month, the Mōri navy and army would slowly arrive in the area, establishing their own camp a few kilometers and bringing much-needed food provisions. A Japanese army of 20,000-25,000 now stood in northern Luzon relatively unchallenged for the moment.
Not all was well, however. The small naval fleet at Aparri had quickly retreated back to Manila, where the naval commander was relieved of duty and imprisoned for cowardice and incompetence. Replacing him was Juan de Amezqueta, a veteran captain of the Puerto Rican militia who had come to Manila as the commander of the naval reinforcements from New Spain. However, rather than confront the Japanese in the Luzon Strait, he strived to break the blockade on Macau first and wait until the reinforcements from Madrid to arrive before striking at the main Japanese navy. De Amezqueta left Manila in late March just before the fall of Aparri with a fleet of 13 galleons, 5 carracks, and 20 smaller vessels.
Portrait of Juan de Amezqueta
On April 7th, the Spanish fleet tracked down Itou Sukenori’s fleet of 20 ships in the middle of the Hoang Sa islands [2]. Caught by surprise and lacking full strength as he regularly sent out scouting vessels across the South China Sea, Sukenori hastily assembled his fleet into formation. However, the Spanish fleet outnumbered the Japanese fleet 2 to 1 and held an even greater advantage in firepower., bombarding the latter. Nevertheless, Sukenori employed his hobayasen and zentousen well, squeezing the partially ironclad ships in between Spanish warships and carrying out boarding action while firing cannonballs forward from a safe distance. In the end, de Amezqueta was still able to clobber the Japanese, sinking or seizing many ships including all the hobayasen while mostly suffering casualties from a carrack successfully boarded by the Japanese and gone rogue. As Sukenori’s defeated fleet sailed back to Bireitou, the connection between Macau and Manila became secure again, allowing Portuguese ships to join the Spanish.
The prowess of Spanish naval power demonstrated in the naval Battle of Hoang Sa foreshadowed the truly titanic naval clashes that lay ahead in the war as de Oquendo’s grand fleet sailed ever closer to Manila, ready to rumble in the seas. On the other hand, the Japanese victories in northern Luzon endangered Manila as the former now had a viable land route towards the Philippine capital.
[1]: The same Yamada Nagamasa who served the Siamese king IOTL is a talented vassal of Iriebashi ITTL.
[2]: Vietnamese name for the Paracel Islands
The prowess of Spanish naval power demonstrated in the naval Battle of Hoang Sa foreshadowed the truly titanic naval clashes that lay ahead in the war as de Oquendo’s grand fleet sailed ever closer to Manila, ready to rumble in the seas. On the other hand, the Japanese victories in northern Luzon endangered Manila as the former now had a viable land route towards the Philippine capital.
[1]: The same Yamada Nagamasa who served the Siamese king IOTL is a talented vassal of Iriebashi ITTL.
[2]: Vietnamese name for the Paracel Islands
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God willing we'll have Japanese Philippines
Chapter 40: Iberian-Japanese War Part V - The Luzon Invasion and the Battle of Hoang Sa
The spring began with the departure invasion fleet headed towards Luzon, carrying both general Kanbe Tomoyoshi and naval magistrate Kuki Moritaka. The 100-ship fleet of transports, warships, and tekkousen carried a land army of 15,000 men aside from sailors, including 10,000 Oda troops, 4,000 Ryuzouji troops, and 1,000 Bireitou samurai. Some of these ships would land in the various Batanes and Babuyan Islands between Bireitou and Luzon and gather resources and provisions, coming across some of the local tribes. Notably, a fort would start to be constructed on Calayan. The rest of the fleet aimed towards Aparri, site of the 1582 Battle of Cagayan between wokou pirates and the Spanish.
On March 16th, the Battle of Aparri began with a brief naval battle, if it could even be called that. The small Spanish fleet off of Aparri was dwarfed by the Azuchi fleet, and after a couple exchanges which saw the latter completely overwhelming the former, the Spanish captain chose to retreat rather than suffer inevitable losses and fight together with the reinforcements from Mexico City, which had arrived too recently to adequately prepare and set sail against the Japanese. However, Aparri was guarded by a well-provisioned army of 10,000, of which 1,000 were fully armored conquistadors, 1,000 were Latin American soldiers, and the rest were Catholic native levies. The bulk of this army fiercely resisted the landing Japanese forces at a beachhead to the east of Aparri, firing volleys of arquebus fire and showers of arrows from makeshift trenches and palisades. Surprisingly, cannonfire from Japanese carracks failed to shake the Spaniards’ well-entrenched position, and assaulting samurai and ashigaru only captured one of the trenches before retreating under heavy fire. At the same time, Japanese galleons and zentousen bombarded Aparri but received returning fire as well. The Japanese decided to briefly withdraw for the night while the Spanish-native force finally found time to rest.
The next day saw the continuation of this situation, with mounting losses on both sides. On the 2nd night, an exhausted Tomoyoshi decided to shift strategies and would take up the advice of Yamada Nagamasa (山田長政) [1], a prominent cavalry commander from Bireitou. Shortly before the dawn of the 3rd day, a few ships evaded the notice of the Spanish amidst the deep fog and landed a cavalry contingent of 300 a few kilometers east of their position, led by Nagamasa. The morning began much like the other 2 days on the main front. However, an hour into the battle, a firework signal was launched from a Japanese ship, followed by a cavalry charge from the east. The entirely dismounted Spanish army’s right flank began to become overrun by the elite samurai on horseback wielding melee weapons and bajouzutsu. Seeing the tides beginning to turn, Ryuzouji Noriie led his clan’s forces from the front and took trench after trench, palisade by palisade through heavy fighting. By mid-morning, the already beleaguered Spanish army routed and the main organized core retreated back to Aparri, entering the landscape of an bombarded city continually assaulted by the Japanese fleet. By the evening, the city was surrounded by the Japanese land forces. Aparri was sieged for a week before on the night of the 24th, the surviving conquistadors, accompanied by willing native allies, escaped the siege and headed deeper into the Cagayan Valley where they hoped to rebuild strength. The rest of the army surrendered the following morning on March 25th. The Japanese, despite this victory, had lost 1,000 men and now had to look after an additional 1,000 wounded men. 4,000 men in the Spanish army, meanwhile, had been killed, with another 4,000 captured.
Salmon=Japan, light orange=Spain
The victorious Japanese consolidated their position and rebuilt the devastated city, notably restoring the old Nihonmachi quarter that had been destroyed the previous year and setting up their headquarters there. Over the next month, the Mouri navy and army would slowly arrive in the area, establishing their own camp a few kilometers and bringing much-needed food provisions. A Japanese army of 20,000-25,000 now stood in northern Luzon relatively unchallenged for the moment.
Not all was well, however. The small naval fleet at Aparri had quickly retreated back to Manila, where the naval commander was relieved of duty and imprisoned for cowardice and incompetence. Replacing him was Juan de Amezqueta, a veteran captain of the Puerto Rican militia who had come to Manila as the commander of the naval reinforcements from New Spain. However, rather than confront the Japanese in the Luzon Strait, he strived to break the blockade on Macau first and wait until the reinforcements from Madrid to arrive before striking at the main Japanese navy. De Amezqueta left Manila in late March just before the fall of Aparri with a fleet of 13 galleons, 5 carracks, and 20 smaller vessels.
Portrait of Juan de Amezqueta
On April 7th, the Spanish fleet tracked down Itou Sukenori’s fleet of 20 ships in the middle of the Hoang Sa islands [2]. Caught by surprise and lacking full strength as he regularly sent out scouting vessels across the South China Sea, Sukenori hastily assembled his fleet into formation. However, the Spanish fleet outnumbered the Japanese fleet 2 to 1 and held an even greater advantage in firepower., bombarding the latter. Nevertheless, Sukenori employed his hobayasen and zentousen well, squeezing the partially ironclad ships in between Spanish warships and carrying out boarding action while firing cannonballs forward from a safe distance. In the end, de Amezqueta was still able to clobber the Japanese, sinking or seizing many ships including all the hobayasen while mostly suffering casualties from a carrack successfully boarded by the Japanese and gone rogue. As Sukenori’s defeated fleet sailed back to Bireitou, the connection between Macau and Manila became secure again, allowing Portuguese ships to join the Spanish.
The prowess of Spanish naval power demonstrated in the naval Battle of Hoang Sa foreshadowed the truly titanic naval clashes that lay ahead in the war as de Oquendo’s grand fleet sailed ever closer to Manila, ready to rumble in the seas. On the other hand, the Japanese victories in northern Luzon endangered Manila as the former now had a viable land route towards the Philippine capital.
[1]: The same Yamada Nagamasa who served the Siamese king IOTL is a talented vassal of Iriebashi ITTL.
[2]: Vietnamese name for the Paracel Islands
Tbf the problem with the Spanish is that they have to wait for the reinforcements which are oceans away while the Japanese could send multiple fleets to the parasol islands and may get to Manila and seige it.
I'm loving the updates on the war. Would it be possible to get a map to visualise the movement of the fleets and armies? Would help me a great deal I reckon
The Dutch already have special trading privileges in Kagoshima and are now the dominant European presence in Japan because of the war.
Will work on it.
Just binge read this and my thoughts are this for the possible future:
China and koreas fate shouldn't be much different ittl than than otl a relatively prosperous 1600s and 1700s only to stagnate and decline in the 1800s made worse by industrial nations knocking on their door looking to trade, the necessary reforms and mindset change needed to change that isn't going to happen without a period of devastion like the sengoku period and a powerful reformer like oda, that being said their reaction to powerful industrialised nations could end up somewhat like japans otl.
South-east Asia is going to be interesting since having a powerful and close nation like Japan interested in trade and expansion changes alot of things there.
In regards to colonisation I think large scale migration from Japan will start in the 1700s which is when it's population started to stagnate in our tl, possible places that will end up japenese majority are the philipines since at the time it's population wasn't even 1 million, taiwan,some Indonesian islands(but not all), the pacific Islands like Hawaii, and mabye Australia and nz
China and koreas fate shouldn't be much different ittl than than otl a relatively prosperous 1600s and 1700s only to stagnate and decline in the 1800s made worse by industrial nations knocking on their door looking to trade, the necessary reforms and mindset change needed to change that isn't going to happen without a period of devastion like the sengoku period and a powerful reformer like oda, that being said their reaction to powerful industrialised nations could end up somewhat like japans otl.
South-east Asia is going to be interesting since having a powerful and close nation like Japan interested in trade and expansion changes alot of things there.
In regards to colonisation I think large scale migration from Japan will start in the 1700s which is when it's population started to stagnate in our tl, possible places that will end up japenese majority are the philipines since at the time it's population wasn't even 1 million, taiwan,some Indonesian islands(but not all), the pacific Islands like Hawaii, and mabye Australia and nz
I would say Australia and NZ is unlikely but the Japanese becoming majority in parts of the Philippines, Taiwan, Ryukyu, Sakhalin, the Kurils , and maybe Hawaii is very possible to me
I don't see why Australia or nz are out of the question in otl the only reason the British ended up with them is that no one else tried to seriously colonise them, of course the japenese settlers would have to get use to a different kind of agriculture but its not like britain was full of massive ranches in otl either
It’s unlikely the Japanese have the incentive or motive to colonise them before any Europeans.
Case in point the Dutch stared at Australia for centuries from Java and did squat. Japan is even further north than Java and has much closer interest to colonize
They can use New South Wales as a place to feed its political exiles though.
That's just false. The British grabbed both because they were afraid of the French getting them first.
In all honesty any talk of Japan even exploring far south enough to encounter South Australia or New Zealand goes completely against what Japanese priorities are likely to be in this era. The Japanese will likely want to dominate trade in East Asia; this is a good reason to try and seize the Philippines from Spain, but their direction of expansion is more likely to be towards Malaya than going continuously south for no real reason.
I wonder how not having the silver trade will affect China.