Throughout the 1840s, various groups sought to find solutions to repeated violations of sakoku and questioned the ability of the shogunate to practically defend the country if there was an actual invasion. Many came to very different conclusions.Support the Show.

Throughout the 1700s, after a series of political purges and national instability, the Joseon kingdom experienced a cultural flowering.Support the Show.

As the Qing Dynasty continued to decline in the wake of mass rebellions and longstanding insurgencies, a conflict with the British East India Trade Company would evolve into the disastrous Opium Wars.Support the Show.