Background
After a series of Mongol invasions from 1231 to 1259, the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea signed a treaty in favor of the Mongols and became a Mongolian vassal. Kublai was declared Great Khan of the Mongol Empire in 1260 (though not widely recognized by the Mongols in the west) and established his capital at Dadu (Beijing) in 1264.
Japan at the time was ruled by the Shikken (Shogunate Regents) of the Hōjō clan, who had intermarried with and wrested control from the Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate after his death in 1203. The inner circle of the Hōjō had become so preeminent that they no longer consulted even the Hyōjō (評定) (the council of the shogunate of the Shogun), nor the Imperial Court of Kyoto, nor their vassals (gokenin), and made their decisions in their private meetings at their residences (寄合 yoriai).
The Mongols had also made attempts to subjugate the native peoples of Sakhalin since 1260, which only ended in 1308.
Read more about this topic: Mongol Invasions Of Japan
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“They were more than hostile. In the first place, I was a south Georgian and I was looked upon as a fiscal conservative, and the Atlanta newspapers quite erroneously, because they didn’t know anything about me or my background here in Plains, decided that I was also a racial conservative.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)