James Glynn

James Glynn (1800–1871) was a U.S. Navy officer who in 1848 distinguished himself by being the first American to negotiate successfully with the Japanese during the "Closed Country" period.

James Glynn entered the United States Navy on March 4, 1815. He became a lieutenant in 1825, a commander in 1841, and served on the California coast during the Mexican-American War. He was put in command of the sloop-of-war USS Preble (16 guns) and sent to China.

In Canton, he learned from the Dutch consul about the imprisonment at Nagasaki of 15 American sailors from the whaleship Lagoda, who had been shipwrecked on the northern Japanese island of Yeso on June 7, 1848. Although the coast of Japan was poorly known, and the American Commander James Biddle, with the ships USS Columbus and USS Vincennes had been recently repelled by the Japanese in the bay of Edo (Tokyo), Glynn was ordered by David Geisinger to leave for Nagasaki, where he arrived on April 17, 1849.

The sailing orders to Captain Glynn recommended both caution and firmness in his enterprise:

The Japanese tried to block the entrance to Glynn's ship, but he forced his way through a row of boats and anchored in the middle of the bay of Nagasaki. Despite Japanese menaces, he insistently demanded the release of the prisoners, and threatened an intervention of the United States. With some help from the Dutch in the negotiations, the prisoners were finally delivered to him on April 26.

The sailors had suffered throughout their internment, and after several attempts to escape were put in cages where several died of exposure. Another had hanged himself, and was left hanging in his cage for two days. Ranald MacDonald was also among the party of the rescued, although he had traveled to Japan of his own will and taught English to several Japanese during his internment in Nagasaki, becoming the first American to teach English in Japan.

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