Opening of Japan

japan isolationism before us/dutch

1844 the Dutch sent a diplomatic mission urging the bakufu (shogun) to open the country, but Abe and the bakufu rulers refused this suggestion source 4

japan isolationism before us

1844, 1845, and 1846, British and French warships visited the Ryukyu Islands and Nagasaki to request commercial relations. In response, the bakufu in 1845 established a new office for coastal defense and various diplomatic posts source 4

japan isolationism

1846 Commander James Biddle of the American East Indian fleet appeared with two warships in Uraga Harbour (near Yokohama) and held consultations with bakufu representatives on the question of opening commercial relations. When refused by the bakufu, Biddle returned empty-handed source 4

downfall of shogun

1867, the last Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, surrendered all powers of government to the Emperor. source 5

commodore Perry

A lifetime naval officer, Perry had distinguished himself in the Mexican-American War and was instrumental in promoting the United States Navy's conversion to steam power. SOURCE 1

what the kanagawa treaty allowed

According to the terms of the treaty, Japan would protect stranded seamen and open two ports for refueling and provisioning American ships: Shimoda and Hakodate. Japan also gave the United States the right to appoint consuls to live in these port cities, a privilege not previously granted to foreign nations. SOURCE 1

downfall of shogun

After the arrival of the British minister Sir Harry Parkes in 1865, Great Britain, in particular, saw no reason to negotiate further with the bakufu and decided to deal directly with the imperial court in Kyōto. source 4

hx of foreigners in Japan

Although he is considered first person to visit the islands he was not, Dutch Portuguese, and Spanish traders came first. SOURCE 1

japan isolationism

Although previously well-disposed towards foreign trade and Christian missionaries, Shogun Ieyasu of the House of Tokagawa in 1603 began to expel all foreigners and suppress the alien religion source 5

Reasons for US expansion

American traders in the Pacific replaced sailing ships with steam ships, they needed to secure coaling stations, where they could stop to take on provisions and fuel while making the long trip from the United States to China. SOURCE 1

kanagawa treaty

Americans presented the Japanese with a variety of gifts that included a miniature steam locomotive, a telegraph apparatus with lines, modern fire-fighting equipment, various agricultural tools, arms (including Colt six shooters and Hall's twenty-four-shot rifles), one hundred gallons of whiskey, clocks, stoves, and many books about the United States source5

reasons for us expansion

Americans saw the Pacific as an extension of the "Manifest destiny; relations with Japan would provide a critical link in the chain of ports they had recently forged across the Pacific source 5

Christianity

At the time, many Americans believed that they had a special responsibility to modernize and civilize the Chinese and Japanese. In the case of Japan, missionaries felt that Protestant Christianity would be accepted where Catholicism had generally been rejected. Other Americans argued that, even if the Japanese were unreceptive to Western ideals, forcing them to interact and trade with the world was a necessity that would ultimately benefit both nations. SOURCE 1

japan isolationism

Between 1790 and 1853 at least twenty-seven U.S. ships (including three warships) visited Japan, only to be turned away source 5

commodore perry mission

Commodore Aulick had insisted that the Japan fleet have at least three first class steamships and a sloop of war. Aulick wanted the steamers for two reasons. The first was that he thought a ship without sails would scare the Japanese and the second reason was for their speed. He also asked that the ships be equipped with heavy caliber guns, explosive shells, rockets, etc. to scare the Japanese or destroy them if necessary source 5

perry mission

Displaying his audacity and readiness to use force, Perry's approach into the forbidden waters around Tokyo convinced the Japanese authorities to accept the letter. source 1

downfall of shogun

Domestically it was forced to make antiforeign concessions to placate the loyalist camp, while foreigners were assured that it remained committed to "opening the country" and abiding by the treaties. Both sides saw it as prevaricating and ineffectual source 4

Reasons for US expansion

First, the combination of the opening of Chinese ports to regular trade and the annexation of California, creating an American port on the Pacific, ensured that there would be a steady stream of maritime traffic between North America and Asia. SOURCE 1

who was townsend harris?

Harris was a New York merchant dealing with Chinese imports. source 1

harris treaty

He arrived in Shimoda in 1856, but, lacking the navy squadron that strengthened Perry's bargaining position, it took Harris far longer to convince the Japanese to sign a more extended treaty. Ultimately, Japanese officials learned of how the British used military action to compel the opening to China, and decided that it was better to open its doors willingly than to be forced to do so. source 1

President Millard Fillmore

He authorized a formal naval expedition to Japan to return shipwrecked Japanese sailors and request that Americans stranded in Japan be returned to the United States. SOURCE 1

perry mission

He then sailed north to Edo (Tokyo) Bay, carrying a letter from the U.S. President addressed to the Emperor of Japan. Emperor figurehead/tokugawa shogunate real leaders and emperor just figurehead. source 1

who commodore perry?

He was a 19th century U.S. Naval officer who fought in the Mexican War and headed an important expedition to Japan to open diplomatic relations. SOURCE 1

perry mission

His mission was to complete an agreement with the Japanese Government for the protection of shipwrecked or stranded Americans and to open one or more ports for supplies and refueling source 1

Perry's mission

His mission was to complete an agreement with the Japanese Government for the protection of shipwrecked or stranded Americans and to open one or more ports for supplies and refueling. SOURCE 1

japan isolationism

Iemitsu believed that influences from abroad would shift the balance that existed between the Shogun and the feudal lords. Japanese nationals were not permitted to leave the country - even accidentally: sailors who drifted across the Pacific, carried away from Japanese shores by typhoons, were not allowed to return on pain of death. source 5

hx of isolationism

In the 1830s, the Far Eastern squadron of the U.S. Navy sent several missions from its regional base in Guangzhou (Canton), China, but in each case, the Japanese did not permit them to land, and they lacked the authority from the U.S. Government to force the issue. SOURCE 1

reasons for us expansion

Japan became increasingly important as a way station along the path from California to Shanghai. The opportunity was noted by Secretary of the Treasury Robert Walker in 1848: "By our recent acquisitions in the Pacific, Asia has suddenly become our neighbor, with a placid intervening ocean inviting our steamships upon the track of a commerce greater than that of all Europe combined." source 5

harris treaty

Japan sent delegation to US in 1860 to ratify source 1

The Harris Treaty

Japan signed this treaty which opened Japan's doors SOURCE 1

japan isolationism before us/dutch

No Europeans were allowed into Japan except the Dutch -- and they were allowed to land only one ship every year source 5

commodore perry

On July 8, 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy, commanding a squadron of two steamers and two sailing vessels, sailed into Tôkyô harbor aboard the frigate Susquehanna source 3

Commodore Matthew Perry actions

On July 8, 1953 he led four ships into the harbor at Tokyo Bay seeking to re-establish for the first time in over 200 years regular trade and discourse between Japan and the western world. SOURCE 1

perry mission

Perry arrived in Japanese waters with a small squadron of U.S. Navy ships, because he and others believed the only way to convince the Japanese to accept western trade was to display a willingness to use its advanced firepower/brought gifts for emperor to show western superiority/ source 1

perry mission

Perry first sailed to the Ryukyus and the Bonin Islands southwest and southeast of the main Japanese islands, claiming territory for the United States, and demanding that the people in both places assist him source 1

commodore perry

Perry had more diplomatic experience than any other American officer, and his dignified, if pompous, manner would serve him well in his negotiations with the Japanese source 5

commodore perry

Perry prepared thoroughly. He carried on extensive talks with business figures interested in Asian trade; refused to allow diplomats to come; had discretion to use force source 5

commodore perry mission

Perry's fleet set sail from Norfolk, Virginia, on November 24, 1852. He had been given specific instructions to expand America's trade relations in the Asian region and to acquire rights to establish coaling stations in ports along the Japanese coast or in the uninhabited islands around Japan source 5

Japan isolationism

Persistent attempts by the Europeans to convert the Japanese to Catholicism and their tendency to engage in unfair trading practices led Japan to expel most foreigners in 1639. For the two centuries that followed, Japan limited trade access to Dutch and Chinese ships with special charters. SOURCE 1

european countries opening japan

Russia, Britain, France, and Holland all followed Perry's example and used their fleets to force Japan to sign treaties that promised regular relations and trade. They did not just threaten Japan — they combination their navies on several occasions to defeat and disarm the Japanese feudal domains that defied them. source 3

meiji restoration

Starting with the restoration of the emperor and filtering down even to the local level, Japanese bureaucracy, society, military, and economy was revamped to emulate the more modern and advanced West. Feudal Tokugawa practices were to be discarded as obsolete and attention focused instead on the acquisition of knowledge and technology from "the world". Scholars were sent to Europe to learn of Western technology, systematic reforms were implemented to improve education, the army was now comprised of conscripted peasants, and a new financial banking system was established. source 5

commodore perry mission

The Japanese had no modern weapons with which to defend Edo or even to prevent a blockade of the capitol - the provisions for which all came by sea. Despite ordering that no one discuss the foreign ships, word spread through the country and every day they remained the bakufu lost face with the Japanese people source 5

japan isolationism before us/dutch

The Netherlands, the only European power trading with Japan, realized that, if Britain succeeded in forcing Japan to open the country, it would lose its monopoly; so the Dutch now planned to seize the initiative in opening Japan and thus to turn the situation to their own advantage. source 4

tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate was founded in 1603, when Tokugawa leyasu (his surname is Tokugawa) and his allies defeated an opposing coalition of feudal lords to establish dominance over the many contending warlords. source 3

japan isolationism

The attempts in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to introduce Christianity were met with resistance and persecution, and ended in failure. In the same centuries Japan traded with the Portuguese, but excluded them in 1638 source 5

Townsend Harris

The first U.S. consul assigned to a Japanese port SOURCE 1

japans answer

The following spring, Perry returned with an even larger squadron to receive Japan's answer. The Japanese grudgingly agreed to Perry's demands, and the two sides signed the Treaty of Kanagawa on March 31, 1854. SOURCE 1

commodore perry mission

The squadron's size was expanded to include the steamers Mississippi, Susquehanna, Powhatan, and the Allegheny. The sloops Plymouth and Saratoga were also promised, as was the ship-of-the-line Vermont and the Macedonian. source 5

downfall of shogun

Tokugawa bakufu in a dilemma; had to strengthen the country against foreigners; knew that providing the economic means for self-defense meant giving up shogunal controls that kept competing lords financially weak

tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa became dominant, receiving the title of shôgun from the politically powerless emperor, he did not establish a completely centralized state; replaced opposing feudal lords with relatives and allies, who were free to rule within their domains under few restrictions source 3

downfall of shogun

Tokugawa cause was doomed. In January 1868 the principal daimyo were summoned to Kyōto to learn of the restoration of imperial rule source 4

harris treaty - rest of europe

after US signed treaty, other foreign powers signed treaties with japan source 1

US desire to break isolationism

after opium war with Britain and china opened trade to Britian, President John Tyler asked Caleb Cushing of Massachusetts to undertake a mission to open Chinese ports to American trade. In 1844 Cushing negotiated the Treaty of Wangxia. This agreement granted to American merchants the same rights as Britain based upon the "most-favored nation" principle. The next obvious move was a similar treaty with Japan source5

japan isolationism

bakufu had for two centuries retained its political dominance through strict adherence to the policy of seclusion; opinion among daimyo and samurai split between isolationism and opening up japan source 4

Manifest destiny

belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable. SOURCE 1

perry return to japan

came with ten ships (four sailing ships, three steamers, and three supply ships -- a quarter of the U.S. Navy) and 1600 men and dropped anchor 26 miles from Edo on February 13, 1854. came with ten ships (four sailing ships, three steamers, and three supply ships -- a quarter of the U.S. Navy) and 1600 men and dropped anchor 26 miles from Edo on February 13, 1854; threatened them with naval action when they procrastinated source 5

reasons for us expansion

christian church saw Japan as target for Christianization source 5

commodore perry mission

delivered letter and said would be back for reply in the spring;daimyo divided about how to deal source 5

japan isolationism before us/dutch

dutch arrived in Nagasaki in 1852 and submitted to the Nagasaki Magistrate an official letter from the governor of the Dutch East Indies. The letter predicted the arrival of the Americans and requested that Japan sign a trade pact with the Netherlands before that event; ignored him, then Russians tried, ignored them source 5

commodore perry mission

extreme formality of dress and ceremony impressed japanese as perry delivered the president's letter to the shogun source 5

japan motive of isolationism

fear that spreading of such foreign influence could create disorder or even civil war--shaped the background that foreigners never understood. For 250 years the Tokugawa Shogunate maintained that internal order and Japan's very survival required cutting off the inherently disorderly and usually uncontrollable affairs of the outside world source 5

harris treaty

first commercial treaty with japan source 1

downfall of shogun

growing influence of imperial loyalism, nurtured by years of peace and study, received support even within the shogunal camp from men such as Tokugawa Nariaki, the lord of Mito domain (han). Activists used the slogan "Sonnō jōi" ("Revere the emperor! Expel the barbarians!") not only to support the throne but also to embarrass the bakufu source 4

kanagawa treaty

guaranteed that the Japanese would save and care for shipwrecked Americans, and that they would provide food, coal, water, and other provisions for the American ships that docked in Nagasaki. In five years the same supplies could be procured at Shimoda and Hakodate. It also granted the United States permission to build a consulate in Shimoda source 5

kanagawa treaty

in addition to providing for distressed American ships in Japanese waters, it contained a most-favored-nation clause, so that all future concessions Japan granted to other foreign powers would also be granted to the United States. As a result, Perry's treaty provided an opening that would allow future American contact and trade with Japan. source 1

1858 the Harris Treaty (Treaty of Amity & Commerce)

it opened the ports of Yokohama, Kobe, Nagasaki, Niigata & Hakodates to American trade and extraterritoriality (immunity/exemption from local law) for foreigners. The treaty also called for an exchange of diplomatic agents, fixed low import/export duties and the rights of missionaries. SOURCE 1

commodore perry mission

japan had no navy to defend itself source 3

commodore perry mission

left 11/24/52, arrived 5/53!; Perry's fleet arrived at Naha Port in the Ryukyus in May of 1853. Contrary to instructions, he threatened, and applied, force readily, telling the Ryukyu government that if he were not allowed access or lease to required facilities and areas for a coaling station and for trading purposes, he would send 200 troops to occupy Shuri castle. The Ryukyu government surrendered unconditionally source 5

impact on japan of opening

new access to modern technological development led japan to modernize its military, and to rise quickly to the position of the most formidable Asian power in the Pacific. SOURCE 1

reasons for us expansion

one motive for the sending of Perry's expedition to Japan was the protection of the whalers. Other things leading to that step were: the discovery of gold in California; the growth of industrial and commercial centres on the Pacific Coast of the United States; increasing trade with China; and the development of steam-navigation, necessitating coaling-stations and ports for shelter in the Orient. source 6

1854 Kanagawa Treaty

opened Japan to trade with the United States and the west. SOURCE 1

downfall of shogun

outmanuevered by new meiji emperor; the shogun could give up land and risk revolt from his vassals, or appearing disobedient, which would justify punitive measures against him source 4

biddle encounter

president polk sent biddle; On July 20, 1846 Biddle anchored Columbus and Vincennes off Uraga at the entrance to Edo Bay - where they were immediately surround by hundreds of armed guard boats. In an attempt to appear friendly, Biddle allowed Japanese sightseers to swarm freely over the ships, accepted gifts, and entrusted the President's letter to a minor official. The Shogun refused to accept the letter and ordered the ships away, adding that they must never return. The officer of the guard boat that brought this reply ordered Commodore Biddle to come aboard and get it in person. At first Biddle refused, then made the mistake of complying. As he was about to step onto the vessel, one of the Japanese soldiers gave him a blow that sent him toppling back into his cutter. The Japanese authorities expressed their regret, but since Biddle had orders "not to do anything to excite a hostile feeling or distrust of the United States," he simply departed in peace on July 29. This action was interpreted by the Japanese as weakness and the whole episode considered a "victory" over "the American big ships." source 5

tokugawa shogunate

prevented rival alliances by forbidding marriage between feudal lord families and making them spend every other year in Edo (organized hostage system) source 3

effects of opening on japan

ruling shôgun seemed unable to do anything about the problems brought by the foreign trade; samurai leaders began to demand a change in leadership. source 3

russians competition for japan

russia primary competitors for opening of japan; came right after Perry left; Russian court learnt of American plas to force the opening of Japanese port;1852, Admiral Efimii Vasil'evich Putiatin - veteran of a failed 1843 attempt to force the opening of Japan - was again dispatched with instructions to establish greater ties with Japan as well as with China; failed but convinced japan that isolationism had ended source 5

reason for us expansion

the American whaling industry had pushed into the North Pacific by the mid-18th century, and sought safe harbors, assistance in case of shipwrecks, and reliable supply stations SOURCE 1

downfall of shogun

the death of the shogun Iemochi in 1866 brought to power the last shogun, Yoshinobu, who realized the pressing need for national unity. In 1867 he resigned his powers rather than risk a full-scale military confrontation with Satsuma and Chōshū, doing so in the belief that he would retain an important place in any emerging national administration source 4

impact of japan opening

the process by which the United States and the Western powers forced Japan into modern commercial intercourse, along with other internal factors, weakened the position of the Tokugawa Shogunate to the point that the shogun fell from power. The Emperor gained formal control of the country in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, with long-term effects for the rule and modernization of Japan. source 1

effects of opening/downfall of shogun

the years of isolation meant that the bakufu had only minimal knowledge about contemporary international diplomacy. The bakufu was barely able to control the its own regional daimyo or to prevent civil unrest amongst ordinary peasants and farmers, let alone foreign intruders with advanced military know-how. A sense of desperation was illustrated by the bakufu's sudden desire to seek the assistance of that long-forgotten institution: the Imperial Family. source 5

tokugawa shogunate

third shôgun, Tokugawa Iemitsu enforced isolation in the seventeenth century, believing that influences from abroad (meaning trade, Christianity, and guns) could shift the balance that existed between the shôgun and the feudal lords - he was right source 3

effects of opening on japan

trade brought much foreign currency into Japan disrupting the Japanese monetary system source 3

effects of opening on japan

weakness of the Tokugawa shogunate before the Western demand for trade, and the disruption this trade brought, eventually led to the downfall of the Shogunate and the creation of a new centralized government with the emperor as its symbolic head. source 3

commodore perry mission

when landed, japanese fired two cannons and surrounded boats/tried to board; perry repelled boarders and demanded to speak to someone in shogun in high authority source 5

downfall of shogun

when signed harris treaty, loyalty of shogun to throne and role as repeler of barbarians was questioned source 4