Joseph M. Henning, associate professor of history at the Rochester Institute of Technology, lectured on "Commemorating the Perry Expedition: From Gunboat Diplomacy to the Cold War," on Friday as a part of the Asia at Noon lecture series.
Henning spoke about Matthew C. Perry, a commodore in the U.S. Navy in the 19th century. Perry is best known for opening Japan to the rest of the Western world in the Convention of Kanagawa.
According to Henning, most people who lived in 1854, the year the convention was held, knew that the convention was a clear case of "gunboat diplomacy," as Commodore Perry brought with him a large military force, and Japan only agreed to opening after the Perry Expedition because of the threat of military force and violence.
Henning explained how the expedition's anniversary in the United States came to be celebrated as an example of peaceful relations by both nations, rather than the military procedure that it really was.
Matthew Key, a freshman civil engineering major, said that he was impressed by how interesting the lecture was.
"I don't really know much about Asia at Noon. I thought it was going to be more about Colonel Perry and his life, but it's good that they got into more of the effects on America and Japan, like if Russia had gotten there first," he said.
Key said that he went to this Asia at Noon lecture, which is held by the Asian Studies Program and is described by its Web site as a "brown-bag lunch gathering," because his World Civilizations professor told him that it would be helpful for a test.
"It was pretty interesting. It was like, I didn't know anything about that," he said. "I would go again because the lecture fits well into my schedule and I can walk there from class."
Professor Thomas Burkman, the Asian studies program director, said that the Asia at Noon lectures are held for everyone interested in Asia, including members of the community.
"I think it's an important venue for Asianists to get together, including students, professors, undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty," Burkman said. "This one (particularly) was a relatively sparsely attended event."
Professor Roger Des Forges, who is a member of the teaching faculty of the Asian Studies Program, and helped with the Asia at Noon series, echoed Burkman's statement regarding attendance but explained the lectures' strengths.
"That was a little on the light side. It always depends on the topic and the time of the semester," he said. "I guess that the strength of this program is that it is interdisciplinary, and it's a forum where faculty and graduate students can also talk about their research."
Henning, while discussing the Perry Expedition, described the three main tasks that were put forth for Commodore Perry in the expedition.
The first was that Japan be compelled to treat shipwrecked American sailors properly, which was important because many of the whale-fishing boats ended up washing along Japanese shorelines, and the fishermen that came with them were often treated poorly and even jailed, as it was an offense for them to be in Japan.
The second was to open Japanese ports for the supply of U.S. vessels, and the third was to open commercial relations with Japan.
The Secretary of State Daniel Webster, who Henning described as the "brainchild" behind the expedition, spoke on many occasions about the importance of opening Japan for commercial relations, without disguising his comments regarding peaceful relations.
"The coal in the mountains of Japan made Japan the 'common enemy of mankind' for not sharing this 'god-given resource,' " Henning said, quoting Webster.
Henning also focused his talk towards UB, explaining that U.S. President Millard Filmore who he said was best known for the Perry Expedition, and who, upon completing his presidency, returned to Buffalo, where he became chancellor of the university.
"This one was noteworthy in that it enabled us to link with an Asian scholar at another institution in the region," Burkman said.
