mar 31, 1854 - Treaty of Kanagawa

Description:

In the 1850s, Commodore Matthew C. Perry was sent to Japan by President Fillmore with some gunships to "negotiate" a trade treaty with the emperor (even though it was the shogun that actually had the power). Before this, Japan had been almost completely isolationist, allowing only a few Dutch and Chinese ships to trade with them. Japan sends a letter back, saying that they agree, but they need five years to prepare a harbor. Commodore Perry comes back with even more gunships and threatens to go to war with Japan if they don't agree right away, and to show he means business he opens fire on some nearby buildings. Japan grudgingly agrees, and in 1854 the two countries sign the Treaty of Kanagawa, which opens two Japanese trading ports to American sailors.