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Jump to navigationJump to searchCommodore Matthew Perry (view source)
Revision as of 09:37, 19 December 2021
, 09:37, 19 December 2021→1854
Perry returned to Naha on 12/22 (Jan 20, 1854), this time with a fleet of ten ships, including his flagship the [[USS Susquehanna|USS ''Susquehanna'']], as well as the steamships ''[[USS Powhatan|Powhatan]]'' and ''[[USS Mississippi|Mississippi]]'', and the sailing ships ''[[USS Plymouth|Plymouth]]'', ''[[USS Saratoga|Saratoga]]'', ''[[USS Macedonian|Macedonian]]'', ''[[USS Lexington|Lexington]]'', ''[[USS Vandalia|Vandalia]]'', ''[[USS Southampton|Southampton]]'', and ''[[USS Supply|Supply]]''.<ref name=edotokyo/> He stayed in Naha for only four days, during which time he forced his way into Shuri castle again, but again was refused audience with the king.
Perry returned to Naha on 12/22 (Jan 20, 1854), this time with a fleet of ten ships, including his flagship the [[USS Susquehanna|USS ''Susquehanna'']], as well as the steamships ''[[USS Powhatan|Powhatan]]'' and ''[[USS Mississippi|Mississippi]]'', and the sailing ships ''[[USS Plymouth|Plymouth]]'', ''[[USS Saratoga|Saratoga]]'', ''[[USS Macedonian|Macedonian]]'', ''[[USS Lexington|Lexington]]'', ''[[USS Vandalia|Vandalia]]'', ''[[USS Southampton|Southampton]]'', and ''[[USS Supply|Supply]]''.<ref name=edotokyo/> He stayed in Naha for only four days, during which time he forced his way into Shuri castle again, but again was refused audience with the king.
He then arrived at Edo Bay again in mainland Japan on 1/14 (Feb 11) with a fleet of seven ships.<ref>The ''Susquehanna'', ''Powhatan'', ''Mississippi'', ''Macedonian'', ''Vandalia'', ''Southampton'', and ''Lexington''. The ''Saratoga'' and ''Supply'' arrived later, sailing from [[Shanghai]] to join the fleet at Edo Bay on 2/6 and 2/21 respectively. ''Ishin Shiryô Kôyô'' 維新史料綱要, vol 1 (1937), 532, 548, 558.</ref> The [[Convention of Kanagawa]] was signed on 3/3 (March 31), opening the ports of [[Hakodate]] and [[Shimoda]] to American trading ships, obligating the Japanese government to provide provisions and good treatment otherwise for American or European castaways throughout Japan, and arranging for the establishment of formal relations in the Western/modern style, with a permanent American consulate to be established shortly afterwards. Perry also asked the shogunate about opening Ryukyuan ports for trade, but was rebuffed, with the shogunate telling the commodore that Ryûkyû was "a very distant country, and the opening of its harbor cannot be discussed by us."<ref name=hellyer163>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 163.</ref>
He then arrived at Edo Bay again in mainland Japan on 1/14 (Feb 11) with a fleet of seven ships.<ref>The three steamships ''Susquehanna'', ''Powhatan'', and ''Mississippi'', and the sailing ships ''Macedonian'', ''Vandalia'', ''Southampton'', and ''Lexington''. The sailing ships ''Saratoga'' and ''Supply'' arrived later, sailing from [[Shanghai]] to join the fleet at Edo Bay on 2/6 and 2/21 respectively. ''Ishin Shiryô Kôyô'' 維新史料綱要, vol 1 (1937), 532, 548, 558.</ref>
Perry and his men anchored at Koshiba on 1/16 (Feb 13) and then met with Uraga bugyôsho officials and discussed where the shogunate's formal response to the president's letter would be presented to the commodore. Adams came ashore at Uraga on 1/25 (Feb 22) and met with [[Hayashi Fukusai]] and others at a temporary reception hall.<ref name=edotokyo/>
Perry and others then came ashore at [[Yokohama]] on 2/10 (March 8) and had their first formal meeting with shogunate officials. On 2/15, Perry gifted the shogunate a number of items including [[telegraph]] equipment, mechanical models, and small boat cannon. The two sides had their second formal meeting on 2/19 (Mar 17) and their third formal meeting the following day, during which shogunate officials presented Perry and his men with a number of lacquerware items and other craft pieces.<ref name=edotokyo/>
The [[Convention of Kanagawa]] was signed on 3/3 (March 31), opening the ports of [[Hakodate]] and [[Shimoda]] to American trading ships, obligating the Japanese government to provide provisions and good treatment otherwise for American or European castaways throughout Japan, and arranging for the establishment of formal relations in the Western/modern style, with a permanent American consulate to be established shortly afterwards. Perry also asked the shogunate about opening Ryukyuan ports for trade, but was rebuffed, with the shogunate telling the commodore that Ryûkyû was "a very distant country, and the opening of its harbor cannot be discussed by us."<ref name=hellyer163>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 163.</ref>
In the meantime, in response to the recent arrivals of both Perry and a number of other Western ships, the shogunate ordered all bells in the country to be melted down and refashioned into cannon and rifles - with the exception of bells at head temples (''honzan''), those used for timekeeping, and those of great age and fame.
In the meantime, in response to the recent arrivals of both Perry and a number of other Western ships, the shogunate ordered all bells in the country to be melted down and refashioned into cannon and rifles - with the exception of bells at head temples (''honzan''), those used for timekeeping, and those of great age and fame.
