William Adams

Columbia Encyclopedia: Will Adams

Adams, Will (William Adams), 1564?-1620, first Englishman to visit Japan. As pilot of a Dutch ship searching for gold and trade, he reached Japan in 1600. At first imprisoned and sentenced to death, Adams was released by the shogun Ieyasu, and soon became one of his favorites, advising him on navigation, trade, and Western affairs. The Japanese used vessels constructed under his direction for many of their longer voyages. Adams attempted to foster trade relations with England, and he made trading trips to the Ryukyu Islands, Siam, and Cochin China. He married a Japanese woman, acquired a Japanese name (Anjin Sama, or Mr. Pilot), was named an honorary samurai, and was given an estate at Yokosuka. Western trade with Japan was largely maintained by dint of his close relationship with the shogun. Shortly after Adams's death, foreign trade was prohibited and Japan was closed to the West until the arrival of Matthew Perry more than 200 more years later. Adams's story forms the basis of James Clavell's novel Shogun (1975).

Bibliography

See his letters (ed. by T. Randall, 1850) and his logbook (ed. by C. J. Purnell, 1916); biography by G. Milton (2003); R. Cocks, Diary (1964); and H. H. Gowen, Five Foreigners in Japan (1936, repr. 1967).

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Works: Works by William Taylor Adams

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(1822-1897)

1854

The Boat Club; or, The Bunkers of Rippleton. This melodramatic adventure story in which three teenage boys defeat a gang of ruffians proves immediately popular, and Adams, writing as "Oliver Optic," would follow it with six similar books involving the same characters. The Boat Club series is the first of his many juvenile series.

Quotes By: William Adams

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Quotes:

"Faith is a continuation of reason."

Wikipedia: William Adams

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William Adams may refer to:

William Adams (sailor) (1564–1620), English sailor and visitor to (later naturalized citizen and samurai of) Japan
William Adams (master) (1706/07–1789), English scholar
William Adams (potter) {baptised 1746 - 1805) North Staffordshire potter, founded the Greengates Pottery
William Adams (MP) (1752–1811), MP for Totnes
William Adams (lawyer) (1772–1851), English lawyer notable for his part in negotiating settlements with the United States in the 1814/1815 period.
William Adams (oculist) (1783–1827), English ophthalmic surgeon
William Bridges Adams (1797–1872), British author, inventor & locomotive engineer
William Adams (minister) (1807–1880), religious leader & college president
William Bridges-Adams (Theatre director) (1889–1965), British stage director
William Adams (author) (1814–1848), English religious writer
William Adams (locomotive engineer) (1823–1904), British locomotive engineer
William Adams (cricketer) (1885–1957), English cricketer
will.i.am, real name William Adams, (born 1975), musician, producer, and member of The Black Eyed Peas
Willy Northpole, real name William Adams (born 1980), rapper signed to Ludacris' DTP Records
William Taylor Adams, (1822–1897), author & politician
William Wirt Adams, (1819–1888), American Confederate Army general
William Herbert Adams (1861–1954), Governor of Colorado
William A. Adams, Union general
William G. Adams (1923–2005), Canadian politician
William E. Adams (1939–1971), Vietnam Medal of Honor recipient
William Adams (haberdasher), London haberdasher and founder of Adams' Grammar School in 1656
W. E. "Smiley" Adams (1935–2003), American racehorse trainer
William Thomas Adams, British Member of Parliament for Hammersmith South, 1945–1949
William Y. Adams, Herskovitz Prize-winning author for Nubia: Corridor to Africa
Willie Adams, Canadian politician
Willie Adams (American football), American football player
Willie Adams (1910s pitcher) (1890–1937), American baseball player
Willie Adams (1990s pitcher) (born 1972), American baseball player (Oakland Athletics)
Bill Adams (American football) (born 1950), former Buffalo Bills offensive guard
Bill Adams (Australian footballer) (born 1900), former VFL player and coach
Bill Adams (footballer born 1902) (1902–1963), former Southampton FC right half back
Billie Adams, character in video game Deus Ex: Invisible War
Billy Adams (1861–1954), governor of the State of Colorado, United States, 1927–1933
Billy Adams (musician), banjo player, a former member of Dexys Midnight Runners.

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	Yokosuka (city, Japan)
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	William Adams Richardson (American jurist, statesman & economist)

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William Adams

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