ABSTRACT
International political matters could be and were further complicated by the playing out of rivalries between foreign nations on an East Asian stage. The majority of the ordinary people of East Asia probably remained unaware of such international affairs, although this did not prevent people on occasion being caught up in them. This was certainly the case regarding the islanders of what is now called Geomundo, a three-island archipelago off the south coast of Korea, which had been named Port Hamilton by the British in reflection of the potential utility of its water body rather than its land area, given the extensive harbour the islands circumscribe. The earliest hint that the British were thinking of making use of the sheltered waters of Port Hamilton for their own strategic purposes comes in April.
