Convention of Kanagawa
The Tokugawa Shogunate had encouraged Japanese to settle in Hokkaidō, especially after Hakodate became a treaty port open to foreigners under the 1854 Convention of Kanagawa between Japan and the United States. After defeating the Tokugawa, the Meiji government created the (Colonization Office) for Hokkaidō. The Kaitakushi recruited many foreign advisors ("oyatoi gaikokujin") to help modernize the economy and in 1874 began recruiting ex-samurai to populate and defend the northern islands.