Expedition of Commodore Perry

Expedition of Commodore Perry
Name	Expedition of Commodore Perry
Date	1852–1854
Location	Pacific Ocean; Edo Bay; Tokyo
Result	Convention of Kanagawa; opened Japan
Commander1	Commodore Matthew C. Perry
Commander2	Tokugawa Ieyoshi
Strength1	US Navy squadron
Strength2	Tokugawa shogunate forces

Expedition of Commodore Perry The expedition led by Commodore Matthew C. Perry (1852–1854) was a United States naval and diplomatic mission that used a squadron of steam and sailing vessels to compel the opening of the Empire of Japan and conclude the Convention of Kanagawa. The operation intersected with contemporary actors such as the United States Navy, the Tokugawa shogunate, and foreign powers including the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and Netherlands East Indies Company commercial interests. It combined elements of diplomacy and show of force to alter East Asian maritime access and trade patterns.

Background and Objectives

Perry’s expedition emerged from mid-19th century US priorities driven by figures and institutions like President Millard Fillmore, Secretary of State Daniel Webster, and the United States Congress seeking coaling stations and commercial rights in the Pacific Ocean, East Asia, and along routes to California and the Hawaiian Kingdom. American merchant interests represented by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, American Consul general Townsend Harris, and merchant houses such as Russell & Company pressed for access to Japanese ports closed under the sakoku policy enforced by the Tokugawa bakufu. Strategic concerns linked to the Opium Wars, the First Opium War, and the expansion of European colonialism in Asia influenced policymakers in Washington, D.C. and officers of the United States Navy.

Fleet Composition and Leadership

The squadron assembled under Perry included steam frigates and sloops commanded by officers drawn from the United States Navy roster, helmed by Commodore Matthew C. Perry with staff officers and captains such as Daniel Ammen and Francis Spencer. Vessels included the steam frigate USS Mississippi (1841), the flagship USS Susquehanna, the steamer USS Powhatan, and the sloop-of-war USS Saratoga, supported by smaller tenders and transports used for coal and provisions sourced from ports like Honolulu in the Hawaiian Kingdom and coaling points in the Philippines. The expedition reflected advancements in naval technology exemplified by steam propulsion, iron-hulled experimentation, and modern naval ordnance developed at facilities like the Brooklyn Navy Yard and influenced by contemporaneous admirals in the Royal Navy and the French Navy.

Voyage and Diplomatic Engagements

Departing from New York City and Norfolk, Virginia, Perry’s squadron crossed the Atlantic Ocean, transited around Cape Horn, and made diplomatic and logistical calls at Valparaiso, Callao, Guam, and Honolulu where interactions involved colonial and indigenous authorities including the Captaincy General of Chile and the Kingdom of Hawaii. In Edo Bay (near Edo, later Tokyo), Perry presented letters from President Fillmore and engaged negotiators from the Tokugawa shogunate and representatives of the Emperor of Japan through intermediaries such as Hayashi Akira and Morrison Incident-era interlocutors. His missions echoed prior contacts by the Dutch East India Company and tied into regional rivalries involving the Russian Empire at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the British Empire at Shanghai.

Military Actions and Encounters

Although primarily diplomatic, the expedition deployed a coercive posture using firepower demonstrations, amphibious landings, and coastal maneuvers backed by ordnance tested at sites like the Washington Navy Yard. Encounters ranged from formal shore receptions to tense confrontations with coastal defenses manned by retainers of daimyō such as forces loyal to Tokugawa Nariaki and other domains. The squadron’s presence affected Japanese coastal batteries and shore-based samurai contingents, and it intersected indirectly with internal political debates involving figures such as Ii Naosuke and proponents of the sonnō jōi movement. International observers from the British Admiralty and French naval detachments monitored Perry’s actions.

Outcomes and Treaty Provisions

The principal legal outcome was the Convention of Kanagawa (1854), negotiated by Perry and signed by shogunate officials including Hayashi Akira and ratified through shogunal channels under Tokugawa Iesada. The treaty provided for the opening of the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American ships, assurances for shipwrecked sailors, and establishment of a U.S. consular presence—terms later expanded by the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (Harris Treaty) and successive unequal treaties involving Great Britain and France. The accord set frameworks for coaling rights, extraterritorial privileges that later arose in negotiations involving Rudolphus D. Burnham and other diplomats, and maritime navigation clauses that altered regional shipping lanes linking Nagasaki, Edo, Yokohama, and Pacific trade routes.

Impact and Legacy

Perry’s expedition catalyzed the end of Japan’s isolation under the sakoku edicts and precipitated internal reforms culminating in the Meiji Restoration. It influenced modernization initiatives inspired by Western models adopted by leaders such as Meiji Emperor, Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Kido Takayoshi, and spurred Japan’s rapid industrialization, naval buildup exemplified by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and participation in conflicts like the Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War. Internationally, the mission reshaped American engagement in Asia-Pacific geopolitics, affected treaty networks including the Ansei Treaties, and became a subject for historians examining imperial encounters, naval diplomacy, and the diffusion of technology. Cultural and diplomatic artifacts from the expedition influenced collections at institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the National Archives and Records Administration and remain contested in discussions involving heritage and sovereignty.

Category:1854 treaties Category:United States naval history Category:History of Japan