East Asia

In 1800

Jan 22, 1800

Websitethe Tokugawa shogunate had ruled the Japanese islands for two hundred years.

In 1853

Jan 22, 1853

Websitean American fleet of four warships under Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Edo Bay (now Tokyo Bay).

In 1858

Jan 22, 1858

Website U.S. consul Townsend Harris signed a more detailed treaty.

In 1863

Jan 22, 1863

Websitethe Sat-Cho alliance (from Satsuma-Choshu) forced the shogun to promise to end relations with the West.

In 1868

Jan 22, 1868

WebsiteTheir armies attacked the shogun’s palace in Kyoto and proclaimed that the authority of the emperor had been restored.

In 1889

Jan 22, 1889

WebsiteThe country was divided into 75 prefectures. (The number was reduced to 45 in 1889 and remains at that number today.)

In 1904

Jan 22, 1904

WebsiteJapan launched a surprise attack on the Russian naval base at Port Arthur, which Russia had taken from China in 1898.

In 1905

Jan 22, 1905

WebsiteAfter their defeat, the Russians agreed to a humiliating peace.

In 1907

Jan 22, 1907

WebsitePresident Theodore Roosevelt made a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Japan that essentially stopped Japanese immigration to the United States.

In 1910

Jan 22, 1910

WebsiteJapan annexed Korea outright.