In 1868, a civil war (The Boshin war) broke out between the two factions fighting for control of the nations. The Imperial forces, led by the emperor Meji, who wanted to retake control of the government for the emperors which was taken from them in the 11th century, and the Shogunate forces wanted to maintain their grip on the nation while trying to go back to the old ways of isolationism. While these were setbacks the Shogunate had one advantage, they had the support of French generals which led small Shogun forces, but were overshadowed by the far more prestigious Shogun generals.