On
March 31,
1854, the
Convention of Kanagawa was used by Commodore
Matthew C. Perry of the
U.S. Navy to force the opening of the
Japanese ports of
Shimoda and
Hakodate to
American trade. Though he refused to deal with petty Japanese officials and demanded to speak with the Japanese Head of State, Perry did not realize that he had only spoken with representatives of the
Tokugawa Shogun and not the
Emperor. For the Emperor to interact in any way with foreign barbarians was, of course, out of the question. After the
Treaty of Kanagawa was concluded, similar treaties were negotiated by the
Russians and the
British.
See History of Japan
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