Perry Expedition

This article is part of a series about Millard Fillmore
Personal Early life and career House University at Buffalo 12th Vice President of the United States Compromise of 1850 13th President of the United States Presidency Inauguration Federal judges appointed Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Swamp Land Act of 1850 Indian Appropriations Act of 1851 An Act for the Admission of the State of California Fillmore, Utah Millard County, Utah Illinois Central Railroad Perry Expedition Electoral history 1844 Whig National Convention 1844 New York state election 1848 Whig National Convention 1848 United States presidential election 1852 Whig National Convention 1856 American National Convention 1856 Whig National Convention 1856 United States presidential election Legacy Fillmore Street Statue of Millard Fillmore
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The Perry Expedition (Japanese: 黒船来航, kurofune raikō, "Arrival of the Black Ships") was a diplomatic and military expedition in two separate voyages (1852–1853 and 1854–1855) to the Tokugawa shogunate (徳川幕府) by warships of the United States Naval corps. The goals of this expedition included exploration, surveying, and the establishment of diplomatic relations and negotiation of trade agreements with various nations of the region. Opening contact with the government of Japan was considered a top priority of the expedition, and was one of the key reasons for its inception.

The expedition was commanded by Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, under orders from President Millard Fillmore. Perry's primary goal was to force an end to Japan's 220-year-old policy of isolation and to open Japanese ports to American trade, through the use of gunboat diplomacy if necessary. The Perry Expedition led directly to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the western Great Powers, and eventually to the collapse of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of the Emperor. Following the expedition, Japan's burgeoning trade routes with the world led to the cultural trend of Japonisme, in which aspects of Japanese culture influenced art in Europe and America.