Commodore Perry had chosen the paddle-wheeled steam…
April
1853 CE
Commodore Perry had chosen the paddle-wheeled steam frigate Mississippi as his flagship, and has made port calls at Madeira (December 11–15), St Helena (January 10–11), Cape Town (January 24 – February 3), Mauritius (February 18–28), Ceylon (March 10–15), Singapore (March 25–29) and Macao and Hong Kong (April 7–28), where he meets with American-born Sinologist Samuel Wells Williams, who provides Chinese language translations of his official letters, and where he rendezvouses with Plymouth.