The United States, however, with no foothold in Southeast Asia, was in need of a route to China through the Pacific in order to compete with Europe.
While England had a competitive edge, France was also ahead of the game. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, countries in Western Europe sought the expansion of their markets to Southeast Asia, mainly India and Qing Dynasty China, for the export of mass-produced goods-later, these activities evolved into a fierce competition for acquiring colonies. The Age of Imperialism, led by Europe and the United States, was a time of opening ports and securing footholds for colonization.
In Japan, the years between this incident and the Meiji Restoration are generally referred to as 'the last days of Tokugawa Shogunate.' Perry presented a message from the President of the United States to the Edo bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun), which resulted in a treaty between the United States and the Empire of Japan. In 1853, the East India Squadron of the United States Navy arrived in Japan at Uraga, near the entrance of Tokyo Bay (Uraga, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture)-an incident that came to be known as the 'Arrival of the Black Ships.' Commodore Matthew C.
