In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry sailed to Japan to open trade for the US and to get Japan to agree to aid shipwrecked sailors who washed up on the islands' shores. The Japanese government rejected Perry's mission. The following year, Perry returned, this time with seven warships. This show of force convinced the Japanese government that cooperation with the US was the smart thing to do. This resulted in the Treaty of Kanagawa, which opened trade to the US in two ports and promised aid to shipwrecked sailors.

The visit had important effects. Japan became aware of its deficiency in relation to industrialized powers and resolved to strengthen itself. (Japan's success in this is seen in the essay on the Boxer rebellion, where in fewer than fifty years it had become a player in the imperial acquisitions game.)

The Perry mission shows the US expanding its influence well beyond...