"[44]
As Spain and Portugal were at this time both subject to Philip II, the
Portuguese also suffered from the suspicions engendered by this speech.
Moreover, the Dutch, who were at war with Spain, began to trade with
Japan, and to tell all they knew against Jesuits, Dominicans,
Franciscans, and Papists generally. A breezy Elizabethan sea captain,
Will Adams, was wrecked in Japan, and on being interrogated naturally
gave a good British account of the authors of the Armada. As the
Japanese had by this time mastered the use and manufacture of fire-arms,
they began to think that they had nothing more to learn from Christian
nations.
Meanwhile, a succession of three great men--Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and
Iyeyasu--had succeeded in unifying Japan, destroying the
quasi-independence of the feudal nobles, and establishing that reign of
internal peace which lasted until the Restoration--period of nearly two
and a half centuries. It was possible, therefore, for the Central
Government to enforce whatever policy it chose to adopt with regard to
the foreigners and their religion. The Jesuits and the Friars between
them had made a considerable number of converts in Japan, probably about
300,000. Most of these were in the island of Kyushu, the last region to
be subdued by Hideyoshi. They tended to disloyalty, not only on account
of their Christianity, but also on account of their geographical
position.
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