In 1600, English helmsman William Adams washed ashore in Japan, and was interrogated by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japan's most powerful warlord and soon-to-be shogun. Far from executing Adams as a pirate, Ieyasu made him one of his most trusted advisers. This biography traces Adams's rise from humble pilot to a position of immense influence in Japan's foreign relations. It unravels the subsequent diplomatic manoeuvres of the Western powers in the shogun's empire, and Adams's eventual downfall.
This is the first full biography of Adams based on original Dutch, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese sources, and includes much previously unknown information. Frederik Cryns tells the authentic story of Adams's chequered life in its historical context, taking us on a compelling journey into Adams's complex inner feelings and cosmopolitan heart.

- 256 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
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Table of contents
- Front Cover
- Half Title
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Note on Dates and Translations
- Preface
- 1 Adams’s Early Life
- 2 The Disastrous Voyage of the Liefde
- 3 Winning the Shogun’s Favour
- 4 Shaping Ieyasu’s Foreign Policy
- 5 The Coming of the English
- 6 Waning Influence
- NOTES ON SOURCES
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- PHOTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- INDEX
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Yes, you can access In the Service of the Shogun by Frederik Cryns in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Historical Biographies. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.