Commodore Perry's black ships reach Japan
Citations (1)
- The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers whole source · open book
The entire military system ossified for two centuries, so that when Commodore Perry’s famous “black ships” arrived in 1853, there was little that an overawed Japanese government could do except grant the American request for coaling and other facilities. At the beginning of its period of political consolidation and growth, Russia appeared similar to Japan in certain respects. Geographically far removed from the West—partly on account of poor communications, and partly because periodic clashes with Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire interrupted those routes which did exist—the Kingdom of Muscovy was nevertheless deeply influenced by its European inheritance, not least through the Russian Orthodox Church.
chapter: Two Outsiders—Japan and Russia