Mejii Restoration of Japan

Commodore Perry first landed in Japan with the intention of "negotiating" with the Japanese to open up a treaty port in Japan for American sailors. In reality, he was trying to intimidate the Japanese into agreeing with his demands. Japan is an archipelago (a string of islands) on the east coast of Asia . The Americans wanted to use Japan as a place to reload on supplies for their ships. They tried to bully the Japanese into opening up a treaty port in Japan- and it worked. After seeing the ships and technology that the American fleet had, the Japanese had no other choice but to agree to their demands. However, the Japanese were able to learn from the other nations and was able to change from a third world nation to an imperialistic society in 1 generation. The feudalistic society that had governed Japan for centuries crumbled and was replaced by the Meiji era. The shoguns that held the power for so long relinquished their authority to the emperor. The samurai class could no longer carry their swords as well.