1856, Aug. 2001. The Encyclopedia of World History

The Encyclopedia of World History. 2001.


1856, Aug

U.S. consul general Townsend Harris (1804–78) arrived at Shimoda with instructions to procure a commercial treaty.	1

1858, March–May

Growing imperial prestige was seen in an extraordinary Edo appeal to the emperor for approval of further interaction, which was refused. The strong antiforeign spirit in the imperial capital of Kyoto became linked with the pro-emperor movement (sonn).	2

June

Ii Naosuke was appointed tair (great counselor) and soon became all-powerful in Edo. He secured the appointment of Iemochi as the shogun's heir and the signature (July 29) without imperial approval of the important commercial treaties previously arranged with Harris. This treaty, which went well beyond what Perry had called for, provided for unsupervised trade and permanent residence at five ports, residence at Edo and saka, an envoy at Edo, extraterritoriality, a conventional tariff, and a prohibition on the import of opium, to be revised in 1872 or later. Treaties followed with Holland (Aug. 18), Russia (Aug. 19), Great Britain (Aug. 26), and France (Oct. 7), all on the model of the Harris treaty. Naosuke commenced a roundup of all those suspected of opposing his moves in the Ansei Purge (1858–60).	3


The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.