The Satsuma Empire and Its Sugar Colonies on the Edges of Early Modern Japan

Date of Award

Spring 1-1-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

History

First Advisor

Drixler, Fabian

Abstract

This dissertation examines the colonial relationship between Satsuma domain and the Amami Islands from 1609-1871, and the continuation of this colonial relationship into the first decade of the Meiji period. It argues that Satsuma’s rule over the Amami Islands constituted the earliest and clearest example of colonialism within early modern Japan. Through an analysis of Amami's sugar industry, environmental transformation, and political governance, it demonstrates how Satsuma transformed these islands into sugar-producing colonies that helped finance the domain's political ambitions while maintaining their status as an ambiguous border zone between Japan, Ryukyu, and China. Satsuma leveraged Amami's geopolitical ambiguity and existing Ryukyuan social structures to establish a colonial system centered on sugar production. Beginning in 1691, the domain introduced sugar cultivation technology from China via Ryukyu, leading to the development of Japan's first domestic sugar industry. This industry reshaped Amami's environment, society, and economy: forests were cleared for fuel and barrels, coral reefs were harvested for lime, and subsistence farming was replaced by sugar monoculture, creating a population dependent on imported food and vulnerable to famine. Satsuma's administration of Amami featured elements typical of colonial rule: intensive resource use, political coercion through parallel administrative structures, manipulation of local elites, and the prevalence of debt bondage and unfree labour. By the mid-nineteenth century, this colonial system had made Amami a crucial source of revenue for Satsuma, contributing to the domain's ability to play a leading role in the Meiji Restoration. This history challenges traditional narratives of early modern Japan by revealing how Satsuma operated as an imperial formation within the Tokugawa system. Moreover, it suggests that Japan's modern colonial practices had domestic antecedents in Satsuma's governance of Amami, where many of the domain's future leaders first encountered and implemented colonial policies. This research thus offers new perspectives on the origins of Japanese imperialism and the nature of state formation in early modern East Asia.

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