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Sep 24, 1564
William Adams
He was born on September 24, 1564, in Gillingham, Kent, England. -
1576
Death of father
His dad died when he was 12, and he was apprenticed to a shipbuilder, Master Nicholas Diggins. He also gained knowledge about astronomy and navigation over the next twelve years. -
First job
He joined the Royal Navy where he assisted Sir Francis Drake.He then became the master of a supply ship, Richarde Dyffylde, for the British navy during the invasion of the Spanish Armada. This gave him the skills to travel and trade. -
Far east expedition
He was appointed as pilot major with a fleet which was dispatched for a Dutch expedition to the Far East. The fleet consisted of five ships. The Spanish and Portuguese were the only European countries trading with japan. if Adams could arrange a trade deal for the Dutch it would brake the Spanish and Portuguese stronghold. -
Period: to
Disaster
Bad weather and several disasters meant only Adams's ship plus one other survived the journey. Both the ships then sailed westward for Japan but in late February 1600, the other ship was also claimed by a typhoon along with its entire crew.This disaster led to Adam's ship being captured and brought him to the attention of the shogun who after the meeting looked on him favourably. -
Imprisonment
In April 1600, his ship along with its crew of about 20 people, anchored off the island of Kyushu in southern Japan. The ship was immediately seized and the crew were imprisoned at Osaka Castle on orders by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the future shogun. -
Western style ship construction
Shogun Tokugawa ordered him to help in construction of Japan's first Western-style ship. Adams supervised the production and became one of Tokugawa’s chief trade advisers and a diplomat of Japan. this is how he made a good living in japan and became the first western samurai. -
Establishing a factory
Adams helped in the establishment of a factory for the British East India Company in Japan. He received a yearly salary of 100 English Pounds. he was the reason japan approved establishment of trading factories by the Netherlands and England. -
Period: to
South East Asia expeditions
He undertook several expeditions traveling as far as Southeast Asia. These expeditions were for developing trade or at other times for personal reasons. Adams was influential in getting permission from the shogun for the English ships to come and trade. -
His death
He died of an unnamed illness in Hirado, north of Nagasaki and was buried there. He never returned back home to his first wife and children in England.