15,697
edits
Changes
no edit summary
[[File:Ticonderoga-1863.jpg|left|thumbnail|300px|USS Ticonderoga in 1863 - 15 years before Shufeldt's voyage]] __NOTOC__
Between 1878 and 1880, Commodore Robert Shufeldt commanded the U.S.S. Ticonderoga on a mission to Africa, the Middle East, and Asia in an attempt to further open those regions to U.S. trade. The voyage was moderately successful at raising awareness of U.S. manufactures, but concrete results in the form of trade agreements were mostly lacking, except for an unratified 1880 treaty with Anjouan. However, Shufeldt was able to lay the groundwork for an 1883 commercial treaty with Korea.
From the Persian Gulf, Shufeldt sailed to India, Singapore, Borneo, the Philippines, and Hong Kong before heading to Japan, where he aimed to secure Japanese mediation for his negotiations with the Korean government. The Korean government had been hostile to U.S. entreaties since an unsuccessful U.S. attempt to forcibly establish a commercial footing in 1871. However, Japanese mediation ultimately was not successful during Shufeldt’s voyage.
Shufeldt left Japan for China, where he hoped to negotiate with Chinese Viceroy Li Hongzhang (also transliterated Hung-Chang) to obtain a commercial treaty with Korea. Li had followed a policy of reasserting Chinese claims over Korea and curbing Korean autonomy, and so was not amenable to arranging an agreement at that time. Shufeldt also hoped that Li Hongzhang would be interested in American assistance in the reorganization of the Chinese Navy, but the Chinese government had already secured French assistance. Shufeldt ultimately had to leave East Asia without any diplomatic agreements.
==What was the impact of Shufeldt's voyage?==
Overall, Shufeldt’s voyage succeeded in raising the U.S.’s international profile and prestige but came short of producing significant concrete results. However, the voyage did lay the necessary groundwork for the 1883 Korean treaty , which was signed on May 22, 1883, after Shufeldt had been promoted to Rear Admiral and had secured a diplomatic post in China.
