Fushigi no Kuni no Bird - Vol. 10 Ch. 49 - Hakodate (3)
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Amazing as always, thank you very much!
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Thanks for your summary of the Vyse affair
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thank youuuuuuuuuu
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Some more facts about Captain Vyse I found that weren't pertinent to the summary, but shed some light as to what sort of man he was:
• His father was Major General Richard William Howard Howard Vyse, who was a British soldier and Egyptologist, though I use the term lightly. The second Howard in his name is not a typo. He was named after his grandfather and only later received the surname of "Howard Vyse" (occasionally seen hyphenated) by royal decree. Technically I should have used "Howard Vyse" throughout the summary of the affair but it would've taken up so much space.
• His father's claims to fame in the field of Egyptology include leading the British exploration of the Pyramids of Giza, summarily using gunpowder to blast through the rock to find undiscovered chambers. So apparently graverobbing ran in the family.
• The family lived at Stoke Place in Slough. The house still exists, though it has been turned into a fairly mid hotel (IMO)
• Captain Vyse had 2 sisters and 7 brothers. Most of the brothers went into the military, though one became an MP.
• When a British subject was murdered, Vyse issued a notice to British citizens living in Japan requesting that they go about "thoroughly armed, both as regards revolvers and every other species of deadly weapon, and to use them on every lawful occasion, both against the Japanese officials and non-officials.”
• Become involved in a dispute about a racehorse called Daimio winning the Metropolitan Plate at Yokohama, enraging some members of the British community
• Left the Consulate one Christmas in charge of a deputy, who threw a party and got "so gloriously tipsy" that he set fire to the Consulate, burning it and the large adjoining barrack to the ground.
• The above incident is why Vyse was sent off to be consul in Hakodate, "the ends of the earth", a place where only less than competent diplomats were sent. The city had only seven foreign residents who "apparently all desperately hated each other." The British kept a consul there only because the Americans and Russians did. The Americans only had a presence there because it was a convenient port for their whaling fleets to resupply.
• Declared bankrupt in 1872. At the time of his bankruptcy, he was living in Paris, without trade or occupation, supported by modest remittances from his family. Described as "a bit of a sponger".
• His nickname was "Punch".
• His father was Major General Richard William Howard Howard Vyse, who was a British soldier and Egyptologist, though I use the term lightly. The second Howard in his name is not a typo. He was named after his grandfather and only later received the surname of "Howard Vyse" (occasionally seen hyphenated) by royal decree. Technically I should have used "Howard Vyse" throughout the summary of the affair but it would've taken up so much space.
• His father's claims to fame in the field of Egyptology include leading the British exploration of the Pyramids of Giza, summarily using gunpowder to blast through the rock to find undiscovered chambers. So apparently graverobbing ran in the family.
• The family lived at Stoke Place in Slough. The house still exists, though it has been turned into a fairly mid hotel (IMO)
• Captain Vyse had 2 sisters and 7 brothers. Most of the brothers went into the military, though one became an MP.
• When a British subject was murdered, Vyse issued a notice to British citizens living in Japan requesting that they go about "thoroughly armed, both as regards revolvers and every other species of deadly weapon, and to use them on every lawful occasion, both against the Japanese officials and non-officials.”
• Become involved in a dispute about a racehorse called Daimio winning the Metropolitan Plate at Yokohama, enraging some members of the British community
• Left the Consulate one Christmas in charge of a deputy, who threw a party and got "so gloriously tipsy" that he set fire to the Consulate, burning it and the large adjoining barrack to the ground.
• The above incident is why Vyse was sent off to be consul in Hakodate, "the ends of the earth", a place where only less than competent diplomats were sent. The city had only seven foreign residents who "apparently all desperately hated each other." The British kept a consul there only because the Americans and Russians did. The Americans only had a presence there because it was a convenient port for their whaling fleets to resupply.
• Declared bankrupt in 1872. At the time of his bankruptcy, he was living in Paris, without trade or occupation, supported by modest remittances from his family. Described as "a bit of a sponger".
• His nickname was "Punch".
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Thank you for the chapter and all the additional info at the end, it really makes this a lot more enjoyable to read. Comparing manga Bird to her personality in her letters is always interesting. The vyse incident is crazy though. It’s a perfect example of just how harmful and ridiculous extraterritoriality was. I’m glad it was brought up in this manga, even if only for a few pages. It also feels good to hear about how Vyse’s later years and how poorly they seemed to go.
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These two facts totally cracked me up, particularly the consulate burning
