The period when Keio was founded was the era of Japanese isolation under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The great powers were planning to force Japan open, and the Meiji restoration was about to happen.
慶應大學開辦的年代，正是德川幕府鎖國時代將屆，西方列強正想來日本扣關、明治維新順勢將興的時期。