In the Black Ships’ Wake

Abstract

This paper focuses on the micro-actors—merchants, whalers, and would-be diplomatic representatives—who followed in the black ships’ wake in anticipation of opportunities at the newly opened treaty port of Hakodate. Examining the backgrounds, connections, and activities of these actors, we show that American commercial activity in Japan contrasted with the almighty image projected by Commodore Matthew Perry’s gunboat diplomacy. Viewed from the perspective of treaty port Hakodate, the American presence in Japan in the decade following its opening was characterized by fragility and commercial failure. This fragility has implications for our understanding of commercial and power dynamics in the mid-nineteenth-century Pacific.