Background
After the defeat of the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the Boshin War (1869) of the Meiji Restoration, a part of the former Shogun's navy led by Admiral Enomoto Takeaki fled to the northern island of Ezo (now known as HokkaidÅ), together with several thousand soldiers and a handful of French military advisors and their leader, Jules Brunet. Enomoto made a last effort to petition the Imperial Court to be allowed to develop HokkaidÅ and maintain the traditions of the samurai unmolested, but his request was denied.
Read more about this topic: Republic Of Ezo
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