Commodore Perry, on his way back from…

Commodore Perry, on his way back from Japan, anchors off of Keelung in Formosa, known today as Taiwan, for ten days.

Perry and crew members land on Formosa and investigate the potential of mining the coal deposits in this area.

He will emphasize in his reports that Formosa provides a convenient mid-way trade location.

Formosa is also very defensible.

It could serve as a base for exploration as Cuba had done for the Spanish in the Americas.

Occupying Formosa could help the United States to counter European monopolization of the major trade routes.

The United States government will not respond to Perry's proposal to claim sovereignty over Formosa.