This is the first American map of the island of Formosa. From report of the ‘Japan Expedition’. Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was the Commodore of the U.S. Navy who compelled the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. Commodore Perry led the US expedition to Japan to open up trade with the country. Vertente, C. The Authentic Story of Taiwan, ill p.138.