<P> The Perry Expedition was a diplomatic expedition to Bakumatsu period Japan, involving two separate trips by warships of the United States Navy, which took place during 1853--54 . 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 American 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 . </P> <P> The growing commerce between America and China, the presence of American whalers in waters off Japan, and the increasing monopolization of potential coaling stations by the British and French in Asia were all contributing factors in the decision by President Fillmore to dispatch an expedition to Japan . The Americans were also driven by concepts of Manifest Destiny and the desire to impose the benefits of western civilization and the Christian religion on what they perceived as "backward" Asian nations . By the early nineteenth century, the Japanese policy of isolation was increasingly under challenge . In 1844, King William II of the Netherlands sent a letter urging Japan to end the isolation policy on its own before change would be forced from the outside . Between 1790 and 1853 at least twenty - seven U.S. ships (including three warships) visited Japan, only to be turned away . </P> <P> There were increasing sightings and incursions of foreign ships in Japanese waters, and this led to considerable internal debate in Japan on how best to meet this potential threat to Japan's economic and political sovereignty . In May 1851, American Secretary of State Daniel Webster authorized Commodore John H. Aulick, commander of the East India Squadron, to attempt to return seventeen shipwrecked Japanese then in San Francisco, which might provide the opportunity for opening commercial relations with Japan . On May 10, 1851, Webster drafted a letter addressed to the "Japanese Emperor" with assurances that the expedition had no religious purpose, but was only to request "friendship and commerce" and supplies of coal needed by ships en route to China . The letter also boasted of American expansion across the North American continent and its technical prowess, and was signed by President Fillmore . However, Aulick became involved in a diplomatic row with a Brazilian diplomat and quarrels with the captain of his flagship, and was relieved of his command before he could undertake the Japan expedition . His replacement, Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry (1794--1858) was a senior - ranking officer in the United States Navy, and had extensive diplomatic experience . </P>

Why did the us demand trade with japan
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