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| | The Emergence of Japan as a Western Text, 4 |
 | | In 1871 the Kingdom of the Ryûkyûs, a Chinese protectorate since the fourteenth century, was brought under Japanese jurisdiction, and eight years later annexed, to the futile protestations of the Ryûkyûan king and the Ch’ing court. |
 | | Japanese forces were outnumbered on land and sea but within seven months had expelled the Chinese from Korea, destroyed the Ch’ing fleet, and were in control of Shantung, crucial Manchurian ports, and the sea lanes leading to Peking. |
 | | By the autumn of 1905 Japan stood among the colonial powers of the West as an equal, and through the remainder of the Meiji period confirmed the status in a series of diplomatic accords that in effect traded recognition of colonial interests. |
| www.themargins.net /bib/front/intro4.htm (2070 words) |
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