Having obtained a trade pass from the Japanese government in 1609, the Dutch established a trading post on the island of Hirado to the northwest of Nagasaki. Jacques Specx (c 1588-c 1652) was put in charge and succeeded in establishing good relations with the local authorities. The Dutch lived in relative freedom on Hirado; some of them intermingled with the native population and got married. However, in 1639, the Japanese government ordered all half-bred children to leave the country. Finally, in 1641, the Dutch had to raze the trading post to the ground and moved to the artificial island of Deshima in the bay of Nagasaki.
1669<div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1669-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
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