Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Convention of Kanagawa with the Tokugawa Shogunate, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.
The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the Kanagawa Treaty (, Kanagawa Jyaku) or the JapanUS Treaty of Peace and Amity (, Nichibei Washin Jyaku), was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March 31, 1854. Signed under threat of force, it effectively meant the end of Japan's 220-year-old policy of national seclusion (sakoku) by opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American vessels. It also ensured the safety of American castaways and established the position of an American consul in Japan. The treaty precipitated the signing of similar treaties establishing diplomatic relations with other Western powers.
Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and the Confederate States Navy. For over two centuries, the designation has been given varying levels of authority and formality.
Today, it is no longer a specific rank within Active Duty or Reserve ranks, but it continues to be used as an honorary title within the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard for those senior captains (pay grade O-6) in command of operational organizations composed of multiple independent subordinate naval units (e.g., multiple independent ships or aviation squadrons).
However, commodore is a rank that is actively used to this day in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, the civilian volunteer branch of the Coast Guard, for the ranks of District Commodore, Vice National Commodore, and National Commodore.