Online Module 3: Chapter 19, Empires in Collision

Hello!, Welcome back to another blog post. In this post, we will be discussing the answers to three "big picture" questions from the chapter, a similar format to my previous blog posts. This chapter focuses on Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia and the state of various empires in these locations.

 1. How did Western pressures stimulate change in China during the 19^thcentury?

We are well aware of the West’s influence on the world. As home to the leading countries in the economic and development sectors, their reach has affected countries such as China in many other ways. First, China was forced to continue to import opium. Although throughout the nineteenth-century opium imports created a massive addiction problem in China. Opium importation was also illegal and had to be smuggled into China, and therefore, was against Chinese Law. Second, China had to surrender Hong Kong to Britain and open a number o other ports to European Merchants. Also, import tariffs were set in China at the rate of 5 percent— which is exceedingly low. Third, Foreigners were given the right to live in China under their own laws and had the right to buy land in China. The west was heavily bound by the means of education and religion. Because of this, another change that situated in China was the country became open to Christian missionaries. In terms of the countries China had control, they lost control over Vietnam, Korea, and Taiwan. The West was also permitted to patrol some of the interior waterways in China. 

2. What lay behind the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the 19^thcentury?

The Ottoman Empire was a state that controlled most of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa for centuries In the twentieth century, the empire experienced a decline following its decades of control. The empire shrank in size because of the hostility of the European people. The empire was no longer able to deal with the West and many of its people feared that the Empire would be unable to protect them from fulling under Christian powers. Soon enough many invasions occurred and left the empire to become weak. The military of the empire has lost its strength and it became increasingly difficult for the empire to defeat the West. There was also a seemingly big difference in advancement between the west and the Ottoman empire. There was an evident military and technological gap wherein the West reigned superior. Because of this, the Ottoman Empire found it difficult to keep up amidst their dependency on Europe. 

3.  In what ways was Japan changing during the Tokugawa era?

The Samurai class in Japan evolved into a more salaried administrative class but still maintained their devotion to daimyo lords and the warrior code. Japan also underwent multiple agricultural changes such as growing more rice and engaged in a variety of rural manufacturing enterprises. In terms of religion, the influence of Confucianism on Japan encouraged educations and as a result, spawned a massively literate population. The Tokugawa era also provided a solid foundation for Japan.s remarkable industrial growth which how the country was recognized to be one of the most urbanized countries in the world. Merchants prospered in Japan, they had money but lacked social class due to the opposition of the daimyos. But alongside this, corruption increased and became widespread throughout the country. There was a seemingly increasing hike in local peasants and the prevalence of urban riots became a form of expression of the grievances of the poor. As I was looking back at my note from my comparative government class, I can't help but point out that the uncanny similarity between the expression of dismay to the government in the Tokugawa era to the French Revolution. It made me ponder on the fact that people have been exercising the right to freedom of expression and are explicitly expressing their opinions and ideas to the government, something I would consider to be a democratic act. 

This marks the end of the blog post, I hope you were able to learn something from the chapter. Leave some comments and your thoughts down below!