An amateur historian has unearthed compelling evidence that the first Australian maritime foray into Japanese waters was by convict pirates on an audacious escape from Tasmania almost two centuries ago.
Fresh translations of samurai accounts of a “barbarian” ship in 1830 give startling corroboration to a story modern scholars had long dismissed as convict fantasy: that a ragtag crew of criminals encountered a forbidden Japan at the height of its feudal isolation.
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Discussion:
Why was Japan isolated in the 1800s? Do Homework
What do you know about Australia's convict history? Where did the convicts come from? Do Homework
What other stories about pirates do you know? Do Homework
