Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction & Chapter Summaries
- Chapter Summaries
- List of Contributors
- Abbreviations/ Names and Name Order
- 1 British Relations with Japan, 1852–2017: An Overview
- 2 Lord John Russell, 1792–1878 [lst Earl Russell] Foreign Secretary, 1852–53, 1859–69
- 3 Lord Clarendon, 1800–1870 [George William Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon] Foreign Secretary, 1853–58, 1865–66, 1868–70
- 4 Lord Granville, 1815–1891 [George Leveson Gower, 2nd Earl Granville] Foreign Secretary, 1870–74, 1880–85
- 5 Lord Derby, 1826–1893 [Lord Stanley & 15th Earl of Derby] Foreign Secretary as Lord Stanley, 1866–68; as Lord Derby 1874–78
- 6 Lord Salisbury, 1830–1903 [3rd Marquess of Salisbury] Foreign Secretary, 1878–80, 1885–86, 1887–92, 1895–1900. Prime Minister, 1885–86, 1886–92, 1895–1902
- 7 Lord Rosebery, 1847–1929 [5th Earl of Rosebery] Foreign Secretary, 1886, 1892–94 Prime Minister, 1894–95
- 8 Lord Kimberley, 1826–1902 [John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley] Foreign Secretary, 1894–95
- 9 Lord Lansdowne, 1845–1927 [Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne] Foreign Secretary, 1900–05
- 10 Sir Francis Bertie, 1844–1919 Key official in framing the Anglo-Japanese Alliance
- 11 Sir Edward Grey, 1862–1933 [Viscount Grey of Falloden] Foreign Secretary, 1905–16
- 12 Arthur James Balfour, 1848–1930 [lst Earl of Balfour] Foreign Secretary, 1916–19 Prime Minister, 1902–05
- 13 Lord Curzon, 1859–1925 [George Nathaniel, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston] Foreign Secretary, 1919–24
- 14 James Ramsay MacDonald, 1866–1937 Foreign Secretary, 1924 Prime Minister, 1929–31
- 15 Austen Chamberlain, 1863–1937 Foreign Secretary, 1924–29 Neville Chamberlain, 1869–1940 Prime Minister, 1937–40
- 16 Sir John Simon, 1873–1954 [lst Viscount Simon] Foreign Secretary, 1931–35
- 17 Lord Lytton, 1876–1947 [Victor Alexander George Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton], A key role in advancing Anglo-Japanese Relations in the 1930s
- 18 Sir Samuel Hoare, 1880–1959 [Samuel Gurney, 1st Viscount Templewood] Foreign Secretary, June-December 1935
- 19 Sir Anthony Eden, 1897–1977 [lst Earl of Avon] Foreign Secretary 1935–38, 1940–45, 1951–55
- 20 Lord Halifax, 1881–1959 [Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax] Foreign Secretary, 1938–40
- 21 Lord Hankey, 1877–1963 and R.A. Butler, 1902–1982 and the ‘Appeasement of Japan, 1939–1941 Foreign Secretary (Butler), 1963–64
- 22 Ernest Bevin, 1881–1951 Foreign Secretary, 1945–51
- 23 Winston Churchill, 1874–1965 Prime Minister, 1940–45, 1951–55
- 24 Britain and Japan, 1950–1990: A British Perspective
- 25 Sir Alec Douglas-Home, 1903–1995 [14th Earl of Home] Foreign Secretary, 1960–63, 1970–74 Prime Minister, 1963–64
- 26 Edward Heath, 1916–2005 Prime Minister, 1970–74
- 27 Margaret Thatcher, 1925–2013 [Baroness Thatcher] Prime Minister, 1979–90
- 28 Sir Geoffrey Howe, 1926–2015 [Lord Howe of Aberavon] Foreign Secretary, 1983–89
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - Lord Clarendon, 1800–1870 [George William Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon] Foreign Secretary, 1853–58, 1865–66, 1868–70
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 April 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction & Chapter Summaries
- Chapter Summaries
- List of Contributors
- Abbreviations/ Names and Name Order
- 1 British Relations with Japan, 1852–2017: An Overview
- 2 Lord John Russell, 1792–1878 [lst Earl Russell] Foreign Secretary, 1852–53, 1859–69
- 3 Lord Clarendon, 1800–1870 [George William Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon] Foreign Secretary, 1853–58, 1865–66, 1868–70
- 4 Lord Granville, 1815–1891 [George Leveson Gower, 2nd Earl Granville] Foreign Secretary, 1870–74, 1880–85
- 5 Lord Derby, 1826–1893 [Lord Stanley & 15th Earl of Derby] Foreign Secretary as Lord Stanley, 1866–68; as Lord Derby 1874–78
- 6 Lord Salisbury, 1830–1903 [3rd Marquess of Salisbury] Foreign Secretary, 1878–80, 1885–86, 1887–92, 1895–1900. Prime Minister, 1885–86, 1886–92, 1895–1902
- 7 Lord Rosebery, 1847–1929 [5th Earl of Rosebery] Foreign Secretary, 1886, 1892–94 Prime Minister, 1894–95
- 8 Lord Kimberley, 1826–1902 [John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley] Foreign Secretary, 1894–95
- 9 Lord Lansdowne, 1845–1927 [Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne] Foreign Secretary, 1900–05
- 10 Sir Francis Bertie, 1844–1919 Key official in framing the Anglo-Japanese Alliance
- 11 Sir Edward Grey, 1862–1933 [Viscount Grey of Falloden] Foreign Secretary, 1905–16
- 12 Arthur James Balfour, 1848–1930 [lst Earl of Balfour] Foreign Secretary, 1916–19 Prime Minister, 1902–05
- 13 Lord Curzon, 1859–1925 [George Nathaniel, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston] Foreign Secretary, 1919–24
- 14 James Ramsay MacDonald, 1866–1937 Foreign Secretary, 1924 Prime Minister, 1929–31
- 15 Austen Chamberlain, 1863–1937 Foreign Secretary, 1924–29 Neville Chamberlain, 1869–1940 Prime Minister, 1937–40
- 16 Sir John Simon, 1873–1954 [lst Viscount Simon] Foreign Secretary, 1931–35
- 17 Lord Lytton, 1876–1947 [Victor Alexander George Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton], A key role in advancing Anglo-Japanese Relations in the 1930s
- 18 Sir Samuel Hoare, 1880–1959 [Samuel Gurney, 1st Viscount Templewood] Foreign Secretary, June-December 1935
- 19 Sir Anthony Eden, 1897–1977 [lst Earl of Avon] Foreign Secretary 1935–38, 1940–45, 1951–55
- 20 Lord Halifax, 1881–1959 [Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax] Foreign Secretary, 1938–40
- 21 Lord Hankey, 1877–1963 and R.A. Butler, 1902–1982 and the ‘Appeasement of Japan, 1939–1941 Foreign Secretary (Butler), 1963–64
- 22 Ernest Bevin, 1881–1951 Foreign Secretary, 1945–51
- 23 Winston Churchill, 1874–1965 Prime Minister, 1940–45, 1951–55
- 24 Britain and Japan, 1950–1990: A British Perspective
- 25 Sir Alec Douglas-Home, 1903–1995 [14th Earl of Home] Foreign Secretary, 1960–63, 1970–74 Prime Minister, 1963–64
- 26 Edward Heath, 1916–2005 Prime Minister, 1970–74
- 27 Margaret Thatcher, 1925–2013 [Baroness Thatcher] Prime Minister, 1979–90
- 28 Sir Geoffrey Howe, 1926–2015 [Lord Howe of Aberavon] Foreign Secretary, 1983–89
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
INTRODUCTION
George Villiers, the fourth Earl of Clarendon, was British foreign secretary from 1853 to 1858, 1865 to 1866 and 1868 to 1870, dying in office. Although critical events regarding Japan – the opening of the country and the aftermath of the Meiji Restoration – occurred while he was foreign secretary, there are not a huge number of references to Japan in his papers, the turbulence in Europe seeming far more pressing to him. Nevertheless, he played an important part in the ‘opening’ of Japan to British trade and the establishment of a productive diplomatic relationship with the country.
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
A member of the Liberal party, Clarendon was a highly competent administrator and a charming man – Gladstone considered him the pleasantest colleague that he had. Although he was liked by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria came to feel antipathy towards him after Albert's death, thinking him ‘impertinent’ for his hostile comments about Germany and Germans (and she may have got wind of his jokes about her relationship with her servant, John Brown). Clarendon's biographer Herbert Maxwell described him as ‘the most finished gentleman’, with the ‘air of refinement which Vandyke was wont to give to his portraits’. He added, ‘even in age … his eye had lost none of its brightness nor his figure any of its unstudied elegance. His manners … had a charm which unbent the most rugged antagonist’. Bismarck thought that he might have prevented the Franco-Prussian War had he not died in 1870. He was intensely sociable, spending his days gossiping and intriguing, and his nights working on Foreign Office papers. He was a chain-smoker, an unknown thing in England at the time, having picked up the habit when he was minister in Spain in his thirties. He was ambitious, in an age when it was necessary to conceal political ambition, although he never made any real push to get to the very top. He was also a ladies man. The best-known story about him in this regard is when the Countess de Montijo was asked whether her daughter Eugénie, who became Empress of France, was in fact his child, she replied after a pause, ‘Les dates ne correspondent pas’.
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- Information
- British Foreign Secretaries and Japan 1850-1990Aspects of the Evolution of British Foreign Policy, pp. 32 - 41Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2018