JAPAN’S CULTURE SHOCK what happened when the Black Ships arrived at Edo in 1853?

The United States of America grew by leaps and bounds across the North American continent during the 19th century. The discovery of gold in California in the 1840s helped drive American settlers to the Pacific Coast to make their fortunes. By mid-century, though much of the land in-between the coasts remained to be settled, the US had become a Pacific nation.

This opened new horizons for the US and its people. Among the most prominent was the desire to possess a share of the lucrative China trade. Hitherto, the Chinese market had been dominated by European powers, such as Britain and Holland, that had been trading in Asia for centuries.

Japan came to figure in American plans. The US sought to strengthen its presence in the Pacific through the creation of government-subsidised mail steamship lines that would compete with British firms for dominance of the international mail trade. American mail steamers would need to pass by Japan, a mysterious and closed island nation of which relatively little was known, and it was clear that the island nation would be an excellent place to obtain coal, if only the Japanese would allow foreign ships into their harbours.

Another important American reason for seeking to ‘open’ Japan was the treatment of shipwrecked American seamen by the Japanese. American whaling ships had in recent years begun hunting