page_title: Bombardment of Kagoshima
section_title: Final negotiations and convergence
hierarchical_section_title: Bombardment of Kagoshima / Final negotiations and convergence
caption_attribution_description: Payment of reparations by Satsuma.
context_page_description: The Bombardment of Kagoshima, also known as the Anglo-Satsuma War, was a battle fought between Britain and the Satsuma Domain in Kagoshima from 15 to 17 August 1863. The British were trying to extract compensation and legal justice from the daimyō of the Satsuma Domain for the Namamugi Incident in 1862, when vessels of the Royal Navy were fired on from coastal batteries near Kagoshima. The British bombarded the city in retaliation and pushed back the Satsuma, but were unable to defeat them and eventually retreated two days later. The Satsuma declared victory and after negotiation fulfilled some British demands for the Namamugi Incident.
context_section_description: Satsuma however later negotiated and paid £25,000 (which they borrowed from the bakufu and never repaid, due to the fall of the bakufu in 1869 and its replacement by the Meiji administration).  They never produced or identified Richardson's killers, but despite this, the reparation received was enough to obtain an agreement by Britain to supply steam warships to Satsuma.
  The conflict actually became the starting point of a close relationship between Satsuma and Britain, which became major allies in the ensuing Boshin War. From the start, the Satsuma Province had generally been in favour of the opening and modernization of Japan. Although the Namamugi Incident was unfortunate, it was not characteristic of Satsuma's policy, and was rather abusively branded as an example of anti-foreign sonnō jōi sentiment, as a justification to a strong European show of force.
  An interesting historical footnote to this incident was that a teenaged Tōgō Heihachirō was manning one of the cannons used to defend the port, and is reported to have attributed his future career as head and "father" of the Imperial Japanese Navy to this moment.
caption: The payment of the Satsuma indemnity
exif: {}