from 1604, about 350 red seal ships, usually armed and incorporating some western technologies, were authorized by the shogunate, mainly for southeast asian trade. japanese ships and samurai helped in the defense of malacca on the side of the portuguese against the dutch admiral cornelis matelief in 1606. several armed ships of the japanese adventurer yamada nagamasa would play a military role in the wars and court politics of siam. william adams, who participated in the red seal ship trade, would comment that ""the people of this land (japan) are very stout seamen"".