Leased Land

Leased Land

Basic Building Statistics (can be modified by difficulty level, arts, skills, traits and retainers)

  • Cost: 0
  • Allowing foreigners to use Japan's sacred soil decreases your daimyo's honour by -1
  • Receive +4500 wealth from the Portuguese by leasing this land to them

Description

The foreigners offer wealth, and all they ask is the use of a little piece of land.

This land can be handed over to foreign, Portuguese control for them to do with as they wish. In return, the clan gains a large amount of money. However, there is a loss of respect among all right-thinking Japanese who see no need to give any of Japan to foreigners. That it was the Portuguese rather than the Spanish getting involved in Japan during this period was the result of the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, brokered by the Catholic Church. This treaty had divided the whole world between Catholic Spain and Catholic Portugal, without any reference to any other European powers. While the Pope, a Spaniard, had not been directly involved, he was certainly happy to endorse the arrangement. Any thought for the natives who might not want to be colonised or exploited was, of course, completely lacking. Japan fell in the Portuguese sphere of influence, so the Spanish stayed away. Quite how happy the Shogun and his daimyo would have been if this treaty had been made known to them is an interesting bit of speculation. The chances are that the implicit arrogance of the European Catholics would have scuppered any chance of trade, let alone anything else. It might have cost many Europeans their heads, too.