This short piece is from the April 6, 1854 edition of the Sandusky Register, published as the Daily Commercial Register from out of Sandusky, Ohio in the U.S.
As usual, I received some help from Vinny in finding this journalistic masterpiece that was plumbed from the vast repository of Early American Newspapers at www.readex.com.
To be honest, it's not as eye-opening a piece as we have come to see from other accounts of the Commodore Perry Japan Expedition to open up a trade partnership with Japan, but it does help one get a better grasp of what the American people were being told.
The Japan Expedition
Washington, April 3
The Evening Star says that Com. Perry was long since notified to return home after visiting the Emperor of Japan, and it is understood he will leave but one steamer and two sloops of war in the Chinese Sea and return by way of San Francisco.
This tiny extract of news is important in that it shows that while the United States had indeed accomplished its goal of delivering a letter from then-President Fillmore to the Emperor of Japan, it wasn't quite ready to vacate the area near Japan, providing an American presence in an area that is a hotbed of political animosity in 2013, as China and Japan argue over a few islands, that are only valuable as it presents a wider boundary to keep China out… whereas China wants to get closer to not only see what Japan is up to, but to see what the US is up to with is armed forces at Okinawa.
It is interesting to note that Okinawa, back in the 1850s, was know as Lew Chew (or Loo Choo or several other spelling variations). I don't know about you, but it certainly had a more Chinese sounding name back then.
It's just a little bit of history repeating.
Cheers
Andrew Joseph
PS: check out the Propellerheads HERE… one of my favorite all-time songs.
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