Ganghwa Island incident
Battle of Ganghwa | |||||||
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Yeongjong Island which is near Ganghwa. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Japan | Korea | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Inoue Yoshika | Commander Lee Min-deok | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Land: 22 marines Sea: 1 gunboat |
Land: 500 infantry Artillery pieces | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 killed 1 wounded |
35 killed[1] 16 captured 36 artillery piece and small cannon captured 1 fort destroyed |
The Ganghwa Island incident or the Japanese Battle of Ganghwa (
Background
In the second half of the 19th century, the Korean Peninsula was the scene of a power struggle between several imperial powers, including the Russians and the French, as well as the Chinese and the Japanese.
The Meiji Restoration of 1868 ended the 265-year-old feudalistic Tokugawa shogunate in Japan. The new government of Japan sent a messenger holding a letter with the sovereign's message which informed of the founding of a new administration of Japan to the government of Korea Joseon dynasty on December 19, 1868.
However, the Koreans refused to receive the letter because it contained the
The Chinese suggested to the Koreans to receive the sovereign letter from Japan because China knew the power of Japan at that moment.[3] Despite government-level negotiations held in 1875 at Pusan, no substantial progress was made. Instead, tension grew as the Koreans continued to refuse to recognize Japan's claims of equality with China.
Engagement at Ganghwa Island
On the morning of September 20, 1875, the
Aftermath
The number of casualties of the incident was recorded at 35 in the Joseon Dynasty with two Japanese soldiers wounded. In addition, 16 Korean naval personnel were captured by Japan. Many weapons were also looted. After the incident, the
See also
- Meiji period
References
Sources
- Duus, Peter (1998). The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea. University of California Press. ISBN 0-52092-090-2.
- ISBN 0-231-12341-8.
- ISBN 0-6740-0334-9.