James Baquet Few today remember the American naval officer known as Commodore Perry, but in his own way, he was a game changer. Matthew Calbraith Perry was born in the state of Rhode Island in 1768, the son of a Navy captain. He distinguished himself in numerous campaigns, including the War of 1812, the suppression of the slave trade of Liberia, and the suppression of both the slave trade and piracy in the West Indies. He was a leading advocate in the move to replace the outdated sailing ships of the navy with the newly-available steam ships. But the pinnacle of his achievement occurred, not in Atlantic or Mediterranean waters, but in the Pacific. Because it was Perry who, through what has come to be called “gunboat diplomacy,” brought his “Black Ships” into Tokyo (then Edo) Bay and forced the opening of Japanese ports to American trade. Until this happened, foreign sailors who were shipwrecked in Japanese waters were either imprisoned or executed. The 1854 Convention of Kanagawa between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate ended the 220-year-old policy of national seclusion, even creating an American consulate in Japan. Perry set out from Virginia for Japan in late 1852. He reached the entrance to Edo Bay on July 8, 1853, where he turned his guns on the town of Uraga and refused demands to leave. He insisted that, were the Japanese to choose battle, he would annihilate them. He fired 73 cannons full of blanks, claiming he was celebrating America’s Independence Day, which was already past. It had the right effect. Meanwhile, his boats were conducting coastal surveys. He was at last permitted to land and present a letter of demand on July 14. He then sailed to Hong Kong, saying he would return for their reply the following year. In February 1854 — just a half a year later — he returned, landing in March near present-day Yokohama. Negotiations lasted about a month, resulting in a treaty which led first to the opening of ports, and ultimately to the fall of the Shogun and the restoration of imperial power. Perry returned to the United States in 1855. Vocabulary: Which word or phrase above means: 1. showed (oneself) to be special 2. highpoint 3. wipe out 4. charges with powder but no shells 5. urging negotiations by a show of force 6. putting down 7. one who creates a new situation 8. one who promotes something 9. isolation 10. naval rank below rear admiral | 