As early as 1797 an American vessel chartered by the Dutch had visited Nagasaki.

From time to time American sailors had been shipwrecked on the shores of Japan, and the United States had more than once picked up and sought to return Japanese castaways.

In 1846 an official expedition under Commodore Biddle was sent to establish relationships with Japan but was unsuccessful.

In 1853 Commodore Perry bore a message from the President to the Mikado which demanded--though the demand was couched in courteous language--"friendship, commerce, a supply of coal and provisions, and protection for our shipwrecked people." After a long hesitation the Mikado yielded.

Commodore Perry's success was due not solely to the care with which his expedition was equipped for its purpose nor to his diplomatic skill but in part to the fact that other countries were known to be on the very point of forcing an entrance into the seclusion of Japan.