The Phaeton Incident

         On August 15th in 1805, the cannons of the HMS Phaeton were aimed directly at the center of Nagasaki. The English demanded food and water under the threat of cannon fire. The soldiers from Saga domain, who were guarding Nagasaki harbor, panicked upon seeing a modern Western warship.
         After their failure during the Phaeton incident, the Saga domain began searching for methods of combating foreign warships. After 20 years, under the guidance of Shigeyoshi Nabeshima, a chief counselor of the Saga domain, the people in Takeo began to study Western military tactics.
         Around this time, Shigeyoshi Nabeshima traveled to Nagasaki in order to study Western military tactics and improve the Saga domain’s military preparedness.
　

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