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Chapter 31: Societies at Crossroads The Ottoman Empire in Decline I) Intro During the 18th century, the Ottoman empire experienced military reverses and challenges to its rule By the early 19th century the Ottomans could no longer ward off European economic competition and involvement As the Ottomans launched reforms to regenerate the empire, Egypt and north African provinces declared their independence Europeans seized territory in the north and west parts of the Ottomans Pressure from ethnic, religious and nationalist groups threatened to fragment the empire The once-powerful realm slipped into decline The sovereignty of the country was maintained by the Europeans II) The Nature of Decline Military Decline By the late 17th century, the Ottoman empire had reached the limits of its expansion They had suffered huge defeats, especially by the Austrians and Russians Ottomans lagged behind Europeans in strategy, tactics, weaponry, and training There was also a breakdown in the discipline of the Janissary corps, which had been the backbone of the imperial army They repeatedly masterminded palace coups in the 17th and 18th centuries By the 19th century they had become a powerful political force within the empire The neglected their military training and turned a blind eye to advances in weaponry As its military capacity declined, the Ottomans became vulnerable to its more powerful neighbors Loss of military power led to a declining effectiveness of the central gov’t Was losing power in the provinces to its own officials By the early 19th century, semi-independent governors and notables had formed private armies to support the sultan in Istanbul in return for recognition of autonomy These independent rulers turned fiscal and admin institutions to their own interests Collected taxes for themselves and sent only small payments to the imperial treasury Territorial Losses The Ottomans maintained authority in Anatolia and Iraq, but suffered losses elsewhere Russia took over the Caucasus and central Asia The Austrian empire wore away at the western frontiers Nationalist uprisings forced the Ottomans to recognize the independence of Greece in 1830 and Serbia in 1867 Most significant was the loss of Egypt The invasion of Napoleon in 1798 sparked turmoil in Egypt Local elites attempted to seize power after Nap’s departure The ultimate victor of this conflict was the general Muhammad Ali Built a powerful European-style army and ruled Egypt from 1805 to 1848 Drafted peasants to serve in the infantry Hired French and Italian officers to train his troops Launched a program of industrialization Focused on cotton textiles and armaments While nominally subordinate to the Ottoman sultan, by 1820 he had established himself as the effective ruler of Egypt The most powerful nation in Muslim lands Invaded Syria and Anatolia, threatening to capture Istanbul and end the Ottomans The Ottoman Empire only survived because the British intervened Feared the Ottoman collapse would result in an expansion of Russian influence Muhammad Ali made Egypt an autonomous state within the Ottoman empire Economic ills aggravated the military and political problems of the Ottomans The volume of trade passing through the empire declined in the later 17th and 18th centuries European merchants began to circumvent the Ottomans and traded directly in India and China By the 18th century, European trade focus had shifted to the Atlantic Ocean where the Ottomans had no presence Economic Difficulties As the Europeans became more efficient in the 18th and 19th centuries, their textiles and manufactured goods began to flow into the Ottoman empire Since they were inexpensive and high-quality products, they placed pressure on the Ottoman artisans and craft workers Would lead to urban riots to protest foreign imports Ottoman exports were largely raw materials such as grain, cotton, hemp, indigo, and opium Did not offset the import of European manufactured goods Gradually, the Ottoman empire moved towards fiscal insolvency and dependency After the middle of the 19th century, economic development depended heavily on foreign loans European capital financed the construction of railroads, utilities, and mining enterprises Interest payments grew that they consumed more than half of the empire’s revenues In 1882, the Ottoman state was unable to pay the interest on its loans and had no choice but to accept foreign administration of its debts The Capitulations Nothing symbolized foreign influence more than the Capitulations, agreements that exempted European visitors from Ottoman law Provided the Europeans with extraterritoriality Had been in place since the 16th century when the sultans didn’t want the burden of administering justice to foreign merchants By the 19th century, it was considered a humiliating intrusion of their sovereignty Capitulations also served as instruments of economic penetration by Europeans businessmen Established tax-exempt banks and commercial enterprises in the Ottoman emp Permitted foreign gov’ts to levy duties on goods sold in Ottoman ports By the early 20th century, the Ottomans lacked the resources to maintain its costly bureaucracy Expenditures exceeded revenues and the state had a hard time paying its employees in the palace, the military, and the religious hierarchy Declining incomes led to reduced morale, recruitment difficulties, and a rise in corruption Increased taxes designed to offset revenues losses only led to increased exploitation of the peasantry and a decline in agricultural production The Ottoman empire was dying, and it need a major reconstruction to survive III) Reform and Reorganization Intro In response to recurring and worsening crises, Ottoman leaders launched a series of reforms designed to strengthen and preserve the state Reform attempts began as early as the 17th century when sultans sought to limit taxation, increase farming, and end official corruption Reform continued into the 18th century, when Sultan Selim III (r. 1789-1807) embarked to remodel his army along the lines of European forces The establishment of this new fighting force threatened the elite Janissary corps Reacted violently by rising in revolt, killing the new troops, and locking up the sultan When Selim’s successor tried to revive the new military force, the Janissaries killed all male members of the dynasty except Selim’s cousin Mahmud II who became sultan (r. 1808-1839) The Reforms of Mahmud II The encroachment of European powers and the separatism of local rulers persuaded Mahmud to launch his own reform program He made the perception be about restoring the old traditions rather than as dangerous infidel innovations His attempt to create a Euro-style army in1826 brought him into conflict with the Janissaries When the Janissaries mutinied in protest (staged), Mahmud had them massacred by troops loyal to the sultan This cleared the way for a series of reforms that unfolded during the last 13 years of Mahmud’s rule Mahmud’s program remodeled Ottoman institutions along western European lines Number 1 was to create a more effective army European drillmasters, European-style dress, European weapons and tactics Would soon be studying at military and engineering schools that taught European curriculum Created a system of secondary education for boys Tried to transfer power from traditional elites to the sultan and the cabinet by taxing rural landlords, abolishing the system of military land grants, and undermining the ulama Established European-style ministries, constructed new roads, built telegraph lines, and created a postal service By Mahmud’s death in 1839, the Ottoman empire had shrunk in size but was more manageable an powerful that it had been since the early 17th century Legal and Educational Reform Continuing defeats on the battlefield and the rise of separatists movements prompted the ruling class to undertake more radical reforms The tempo of reform increased during the Tanzimat era (1839-1876) The army was a main target of change Legal and education reforms also had wide-ranging implications for the Ottomans The Tanzimat drew considerable inspiration from Enlightenment thought an the constitutional foundations of western European states Tanzimat reformers attacked Ottoman law with the goal of making it acceptable to Europeans so they could lift the capitulations Promulgated a commercial code (1850), a penal code (1858), a maritime code (1863), and a new civil code (18701876) Tanzimat reformers issued decrees designed to safeguard the rights of subjects Key among were laws that guaranteed public trials, rights of privacy, and equality before the law for all Ottomans Marriage and divorce still fell under religious laws Since the state reinforced the new laws, the legal reforms undermined the ulama Enhanced the authority of the state Educational reforms also undermined the ulama, who controlled religious education for Muslims A comprehensive plan in 1846 provided for a system of primary and secondary schools leading to universitylevel instruction Under the supervision of the state ministry of education A more ambitious plan for free and compulsory education started in 1869 Opposition to the Tanzimat Although the reforms strengthened Ottoman society, the Tanzimat provoked spirited opposition from several distinct quarters Harsh criticism came from religious conservatives Argued that reformers posed a threat to the empire’s Islamic foundation Many Muslims viewed the extension of legal equality of Jews and Christians as an act contrary to the basic principles of Islamic law Even minority leaders in some places were upset about the reforms Had power as the intermediary between their minority group and the Ottoman state Criticism also arose from a group known as the Young Ottomans Did not share a common political or religious program, they agitated for: Individual freedom Local autonomy Political decentralization Many desired the establishment of a constitutional gov’t along the lines of the British system Yet another criticism came from within the Ottoman bureaucracy High-level bureaucrats, excluded from power, were determined to impose checks on the sultan’s power by forcing him to accept a constitution and possibly depose him IV) The Young Turk Era Reform and Repression In 1876 a group of radical dissenters from the bureaucracy seized power in a coup Formed a cabinet that included partisans of reform Installed Abdul Hamid II as sultan (r. 1876-1909) Convinced of the need to check the sultan’s power, reformers persuaded Abdul Hamid to accept a constitution that Limited his authority Established a representative gov’t Within a year, the sultan: Suspended the constitution Dissolved parliament Exiled and executed liberals For 30 years he ruled autocratically in an effort to rescue the empire from dismemberment by the Europeans Continued to develop the army and admin according the Tanzimat Oversaw the formation of: Police force Educational reforms Economic development Construction of railroads Abdul Hamid’s despotic rule generated many liberal opposition groups Intended to strengthen the state, reform and reorganization actually undermined the position of the sultan As Ottoman bureaucrats and army officers received a European education, they also became acquainted with the European political, social, and cultural traditions Many of the bureaucrats fell out of favor with Abdul Hamid and spent years in exile Experienced European society firsthand Educated subjects began to believe the problem with the Ottoman Empire was the political structure Gave unchecked power to the sultan For these dissidents, Ottoman society was in dire need of political reform A written constitution that defined and limited the sultan’s power The Young Turks The most active dissidents were the Ottoman Society for Union and Progress, also known as the Young Turks Founded in 1889 by exiled Ottomans in Paris Promoted reform, and its members made use of recently established newspapers to spread their message The Young Turks called for: Universal suffrage Equality before the law Freedom of religion Free public education Secularization of the state Emancipation of women In 1908 the Young Turks inspired an army coup that forced Abdul Hamid to restore parliament Established Mehmed V Rashid (r. 1909-1918) as a puppet sultan Throughout the Young Turk era (1908-1918), Ottoman sultans reigned but no longer ruled While pursuing reform within Ottoman society, the Young Turks sought to maintain Turkish hegemony in the larger empire Worked to make Turkish the official language of the empire Many subjects spoke Arabic or a Slavic language Young Turk policies aggravated tensions between Turkish rulers and subject peoples outside the Anatolian heartland Syria and Iraq were especially active regions of Arab resistance to Ottoman rule In spite of their attempts to shore up the hurting empire, reformers could not turn the tide of decline Ottoman armies continued to lose wars Subject peoples continued to seek autonomy or independence By the early 20th century, the Ottoman empire was surviving primarily because European diplomats could not agree on how to dispose of the empire without upsetting the crucial balance of power The Russian Empire Under Pressure I) Intro Like the Ottomans, the Russian empire experienced battlefield losses that showed their economic and technological disparity against the rest of Europe Determined to preserve Russia’s status as a great land power, the tsarist gov’t embarked on a program of reform The key part of this was the emancipation of the serfs Social reform paved the way for gov’t-sponsored industrialization Transformed Russian society during the last decades of the 19th century Political liberalization did not accompany social and economic reform The tsars refused to yield their autocratic powers The oppressive political environment sparked opposition movements Turned increasingly radical in the late 19th century In the early 20th, domestic discontent reached crisis proportions and exploded into revolutions II) Military Defeat and Social Reform Intro The 19th-century tsars ruled a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multicultural empire that stretched from Poland to the Pacific Ocean Only about half of the pop spoke the Russian language or observed the Russian Orthodox faith The Romanovs ruled through an autocratic regime where all initiative came from the central admin The tsar had the support of the Russian Orthodox church and a powerful class of nobles who owned most of the land and were exempt from taxes and military duty Peasants made up most of the population Most of them were serfs bound to the land they cultivated Serfdom was almost as cruel and exploitative as slavery Most landowners considered it a guarantee of social stability The Crimean War A respected and feared military power, Russia maintained its tradition of conquest and expansion During the 19th century, Russia expanded in three directions East into Manchuria South into the Caucasus and central Asia Southwest towards the Med The movement into the Med led to interference in the Balkan territories of the Ottomans After defeating Turkish forces in a war from 1828 to 1829, Russia tried to establish a protectorate over the weakening Ottoman empire This expansive effort threatened to upset the balance of power in Europe Led to military conflict between Russia and a coalition including Britain France, the kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottomans The Crimean War (1853-56) revealed the weakness of the Russian empire Could hold its own against the Ottoman and Qing armies, but not against industrial Europe Sept 1854, allied forces mounted a campaign against Sevastopol in the Crimean peninsula HQ of the Russian Black Sea fleet Unable to mobilize, equip, and transport their troops, Russia suffered devastating and humiliating defeats within their own territory Russia’s economy could not support the tsars’ expansionist ambitions The Crimean War demonstrated the weakness of an agrarian economy based on unfree labor Military defeat compelled the tsarist autocracy to reevaluate the Russian social order Emancipation of the Serfs The key to social reform in Russia was the emancipation of the serfs Opposition to serfdom had grown steadily in the 18th century While many Russians objected on moral grounds, many believed it had become a real obstacle to economic development Serfdom was also a source of rural instability and peasant revolt Hundreds of insurrections occurred in the first four decades of the 19th century In 1861, Tsar Alexander II issued the Emancipation Manifesto Abolished the institution of serfdom and granted liberty to 23 million serfs Right to full citizenship Right to marry without consent Right to own property The gov’t sought to balance the interests of the lords and the serfs On balance the terms of emancipation were unfavorable to most peasants The gov’t compensated landowners for the loss of their land and serfs While the serfs won their freedom, had their labor obligations canceled, and gained opportunities to become landowners However, the peasants won few political rights and had to pay a redemption tax for the lands they received Many peasants believed that their rulers forced them to pay for land that was theirs by right Complicating things was that many of the peasants held their land in communal ownership within a mir (society) While the mir could divide up the land given by the gov’t, the concept of communal ownership of the land prohibited individual peasants from selling their land Between 1906 and 1914 saw the implementation of agrarian reforms designed to break up the communes and created a class of individual peasant landowners The Stolypin Reforms (named after Prime Minister Stolypin) ended with the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 A few peasants prospered as a result of emancipation, but most found themselves in debt for the rest of their lives Emancipation resulted in little if any increase in agricultural production Political and Legal Reforms Other important reforms came after emancipation To deal with local issues such as heath, education, and welfare, the gov’t created elected district assemblies, or zemstvos in 1864 While everyone elected representatives to the assemblies, they still remained subordinate to the: Tsar, who still remained in charge of national affairs The landowning nobility, who possessed a disproportionate amount of both votes and seats in the zemstvos Legal reform was better than the experimentation with representative gov’t The revision of the judiciary system in 1864 created a system of law courts based on western European models Independent judges Appellate courts Trial by jury for criminal offenses, elected justices of the peace who dealt with minor offenses These reforms encouraged the emergence of attorneys and other legal experts Led to a decline in judicial corruption III) Industrialization Intro Social and political reform coincided with industrialization in 19th century Russia Tsar Alexander II emancipated the slaves partly with the intent of creating a mobile land force for emerging industries The tsarist gov’t encouraged industrialization as a way of strengthening the empire While Russian industrialization took place within a framework of capitalism, it differed from western European industrialization The motivation was political and military The driving force was gov’t policy rather than entrepreneurial initiative Industrialization started slowly at first, but surged during the last two decades of the 19th century The Witte System The main mover behind Russian industrialization was Count Sergei Witte, minister of finance from 1892 to 1903 The centerpiece of his policy was an ambitious program of railway construction, linking the far-flung regions of the Russian empire while stimulating many industries Most important of these new lines was the Trans-Siberian railway, which opened Siberia to large-scale settlement, exploitation, and industrialization To raise domestic capital for industry, Witte remodeled the state bank and encouraged the establishment of savings banks Supported infant industries with high protective tariffs while also securing large foreign loans from western Europe to finance industrialization French and British capital played a key role in developing the steel and coal industries British funds supporting the booming petroleum industry in the Caucasus Industrial Discontent For a decade the Witte system played a crucial role in the industrialization of Russia Peasant rebellions and strikes by industrial workers indicated large groups of the pop were unwilling to tolerate the low standards of living in the Witte system Recently freed serfs did not appreciate factory work Forced them to follow new routines and adapt to the rhythm of industrial machinery Industrial growth began to generate an urban working class Endured conditions similar to those of other industrialized societies Employers kept wages of the overworked and poorly housed workers at the bare minimum Industrial sectors of St. Petersburg and Moscow became notorious for poor working and living conditions of factory laborers In 1897 the gov’t limited the maximum working day to 11.5 hours, but that did little to alleviate the plight of workers The gov’t prohibited the formation of trade unions and outlawed strikes (still continued) Economic exploitation and the lack of political freedom made workers receptive to revolutionary propaganda Underground movements began to develop among them Not everyone was upset with industrialization Besides foreign investors, a growing Russian business class benefited from gov’t policy that protected domestic industries Russian entrepreneurs reaped huge rewards for their role in economic development Had little complaint with the political system In contrast with western European capitalists who had both material and ideological reasons to challenge the power of the absolute monarchs and the nobility, the Russian businessmen did not challenge the tsar IV) Repression and Revolution Protest During the last three decades of the 19th century, antigovernment protest and revolutionary activity increased Hopes aroused by gov’t reforms gave impetus to reform movements Social tension arising from industrialization fueled protests by groups whose aims became increasingly radical Peasants were discontent because they had little to not land Mobile dissidents spread ideas between industrial cities At the center of the opposition were university students and intellectuals known as the intelligentsia Their goals and methods varied, but they all wanted substantial political reform and social change Most dissidents drew inspiration from western European socialism The materialism, individualism, and unbridled capitalism of western Europe was despised Wanted to work towards a system that kept within Russian cultural traditions Many revolutionaries were anarchist, who on principal opposed all forms of gov’t Believed the individual freedom wouldn’t be realized until all gov’ts are abolished Some anarchists relied on terror tactics and assassination They wanted to vest all authority in local governing councils elected by universal suffrage Repression Some activists saw the countryside as the main place for revolution Between 1873 and 76 hundreds of anarchists and radicals traveled to rural areas to enlighten and arouse the H96ytsantry Tsarist authorities sentenced some to prison and banished others to Siberia Frightened by radicalism, tsarist authorities resorted to repression Censored publications and sent secrete police to infiltrate and break up dissident organizations Repression only radicalized the revolutionaries further Encouraged them to engage in conspiratorial activities In the Baltic provinces, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, and central Asia, dissidents opposed the tsarist autocracy on ethnic, political, and social grounds In these areas, subjects spoke their own language Often used schools and political groups as foundations for separatist movements as they sought autonomy or independence Russian officials responded with a heavy-handed program of Russification to repress the use of languages other than Russian Restricted educational opportunities to those loyal to the tsarist state Jews were frequently the target of suspicion The tsar tolerated the pogroms (anti-Jewish riots) by subjects who were jealous of the success of the Jewish neighbors To escape, many Jews migrated to western Europe and the U.S. in the late 19th century Terrorism In 1876, a recently formed group called the Land and Freedom Party began to promote the assassination of officials as a means to pressure the gov’t into reform In 1879, a terrorist faction of the party known as the People’s Will decided to assassinate Alexander II An assassin exploded a bomb under Alexander’s carriage in 1881 The attack brought the era of reform to an end Prompted the tsarist autocracy to adopt an uncompromising policy of repression In 1894, Nicholas II (r. 1894-1917) ascended to the throne A well-intentioned but weak ruler, Nicholas used oppression and police control To deflect attention from domestic issues and neutralize revolutionary movements, Nicholas attempted to expand into east Asia Russia had designs on Korea and Mongolia, which clashed with similar Japanese intentions, leading to war The Russo-Japanese war began with a surprise Japanese attack on Port Arthur and ended in May 1905 with the destruction of the Russian navy The R-+ *volution of 1905 Russian military defeat brought simmering political and social discontent to a head Triggered widespread anger and disturbances In January 1905 a group of workers marched on the tsar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg Wanted to petition Nichols for a popularly elected assembly Gov’t troops met the petitioners with fire, killing 130 The news of the Bloody Sunday Massacre caused an uproar Led to labor unrest, peasant insurrections, student demonstrations, and mutinies in both the army and navy Peasants discussed seizing the property of the landlords Urban workers created new councils known as soviets to organize strikes and negotiate with employers and gov’t authorities Elected delegated from factories and workshops served as members of these soviets Revolutionary turmoil paralyzed Russian cities and forced the gov’t to make concessions Sergei Witte urged the tsar to create a legislative assembly Permitted the establishment of the Duma, Russia first parliamentary institution Although the Duma lacked the power to create or bring down gov’ts, from the Romanov perspective this was a huge concession It still did not end the unrest Between 1905-07 unrest continued and violence flared in the different ethnic and cultural regions Through bloody reprisals, the gov’t eventually restored order, but the hour was late for the Romanovs The Chinese Empire under Siege I) Intro The Qing dynasty experience even more difficulties than the Ottomans and Russians during the 19th century European powers inflicted military defeats on Qing forces Compelled China to accept a series of humiliating treaties The provisions of these treaties undermined Chinese sovereignty Carved China into spheres of influence that set the stage for economic exploitation Handicapped the Qing’s ability to deal with domestic issues As the gov’t tried to deal with outside influence, they also faced heavy internal upheavals Most important of these being the Taiping Rebellion Caught between aggressive foreigners and insurgent rebels, China’s ruling elites developed reform programs to: Maintain social order Strengthen the state Preserve the Qing dynasty The reforms had limited effect, and by the end of the early 20th century, China was in a seriously weakened condition II) The Opium War and the Unequal Treaties Intro In 1759, the Qianlong emperor restricted the European commercial presence in China to the waterfront at Guangzhou At Guangzhou, the Chinese authorities controlled the Euro merchants and the terms of trade Foreign merchants could only deal with specially licensed Chinese firms known as cohongs Bought and sold goods at set prices Operated under strict gov’t regulation Euro merchants also had to deal with a market that didn’t want many European products B/c of this, Euro merchants mostly paid for Chinese goods with silver bullion The Opium Trade Desiring increase profits in the late 18th century, officials of the British East India Company sought alternatives to bullion in exchange for Chinese goods They eventually turned to trading a profitable and criminal product- opium The E. Ind Comp grew opium in India and sent it to China Company officials would then exchange it for Chinese silver coin The silver would then go back to Calcutta and London, where they would use the silver to buy Chinese goods With the help of opium, the Brit E.I.C. was easily able to pay for Chinese luxury goods Trade in opium was illegal, but it continued for decades because Chinese officials did little to enforce the law Many of them even benefited by allowing the trade to go on By the late 1830s, gov’t officials had become aware that China had a trade and drug problem The opium trade was not only draining large quantities of silver bullion but also creating serious social problems in southern China When the gov’t took steps in 1838 to halt the trade, Brit merchants started losing money In 1839, the gov’t gave Lin Zexu the job of destroying the opium trade He confiscated and destroyed 20,000 chests of opium His uncompromising policy ignited a war that ended in Chinese humiliation The Opium War Outraged by the Chinese action against opium, British merchants pressed their gov’t into a military action The goal was to reopen the opium trade The ensuing conflict, known as the Opium War (1839-42) showed the military difference between Europe and China In the initial stages, the British navy demonstrated their superiority Equipped with mostly swords knives and spears, the Chinese coastal defenses were no match Neither the destruction of Chinese war fleets nor the capture of coastal forts and towns persuaded the Chinese to sue for peace British forces struck at the key point of China’s defenses- the Grand Canal Used steam-powered gunboats to project their military advantage on the open seas into the interior regions 1842, a British armada of 70 ships advanced up the Yangzi river The British fleet encountered little resistance By the time they had reached the canal, the Chinese gov’t had sued for peace China would experience similar military setbacks throughout the 2nd half of the 19th century with Britain and France (1856-58), France again (1884-85), and Japan (1894-95) Unequal Treaties In the wake of these losses for China came a series of pacts known as the unequal treaties Beginning with the Treaty of Nanjing at the end of the Opium Wars, these treaties would guide Chinese relations with foreign states until 1943 Nanjing ceded Hong Kong Island in perpetuity to Britain, opened five Chinese ports to commerce and residence, compelled the Qing to extend most-favored-nation status to Britain, and grant extraterritoriality to British subjects (not subject to Chinese laws) While the Treaty of Nanjing was only for Britain, eventually lots of western nations (Fr, Ger, Den, Neth, Sp, Bel, AH, the U.S., and Jap) would all sign their own unequal treaties with China Legalized the opium trade Permitted Christian missions throughout China Opened additional treaty ports To ease sales of foreign goods, various treaties prevented the Qing gov’t from levying tariffs on imports to protect domestic industries By 1900, 90 Chinese ports were under the effective control of foreign powers Foreign merchants controlled much of the Chinese economy Christian missionaries sought converts throughout China Foreign gunboats patrolled Chinese waters Several treaties also released Korea, Vietnam, and Burma from control of China, ending their tributary state empire III) The Taiping Rebellion Intro The debilitation of the Chinese empire was as much a result of internal turmoil as a consequence of foreign intrusion Large-scale rebellions in the later 19th century reflected the increasing poverty and discontent of the Chinese peasantry Between 1800 and 1900 China’s pop rose from 330 million to 475 million The amount of land under cultivation only slowly increased, so population growth strained Chinese resources The concentration of land in the hands of wealthy elites aggravated peasant discontent So did widespread corruption of gov’t officials and drug abuse After 1850, rebellion erupted throughout China The Nian rebellion (1851-68) in the NE The Muslim rebellion (1855-73) in the SW Tungan rebellion (1862-78) in the NW Most dangerous of all was the Taiping Rebellion (1850-64) Raged throughout most of China and brought the Qing to the brink of collapse The Taiping Rebellion Hong Xiuquan provided the inspiration and leadership for the Taiping rebellion His call for the destruction of the Qing dynasty and his program for the radical transformation of Chinese society appealed to millions Many native Chinese despised the Manchu ruling class even though they had assimilated The Taiping reform program contained many radical features that appealed to discontented subjects Abolition of private property Creation of communal wealth to be shared according to needs Prohibition of foot binding and concubines Free public education Simplification of the written language Literacy for the masses Some Taiping leaders called for the establishment of democratic political institutions and the creation of an industrial society Decreed the equality of men and women Taiping regulations prohibited sexual intercourse, but Hong and the leaders maintained large leaders After taking over SW China, they took Nanjing in 1853 and made it the capital of the Taiping kingdom As they passed through the countryside, whole towns and villages would join them (voluntarily sometimes) By 1855, a million Taipings were poised to attack Beijing Qing forces repelled them, but five years later the Taiping were threatening Shanghai Taiping Defeat The radical nature of the Taiping assured that the Chinese gentry would side with the Qing gov’t Wanted to preserve the current system After the imperial army failed to defeat the Taiping, the Qing created regional armies staffed by Chinese instead of Manchu soldiers Commanded by the scholar-gentry class This shift was encouraged by the empress dowager Cixi (1835-1908), a former imperial concubine who established herself as the effective ruler of the Qing dynasty during the last 50 years of the dynasty With the aid of European advisors and weapons, these regional armies gradually overtook the Taiping By 1862 Hong Xiuquan had largely retired from public affairs and would commit suicide in 1864 In the following months Nanjing fell, and gov’t forces slaughtered 100k troops By the end of the year the rebellion was over The Taiping rebellion had claimed 20-30 million lives Caused drastic declines in agricultural Led to famines in war-torn regions IV) Reform Frustrated Intro The Taiping rebellion altered the course of Chinese history Faced with outside invasion and aggressive internal problems, the Qing rulers recognized that changes were necessary for the empire to survive From 1860 to 1895, the Qing tried to create an efficient and benevolent Confucian gov’t to solve social and economic problems Also wanted to adopt foreign tech and strengthen state power The Self-Strengthening Movement Most imaginative of the reform programs was the Self-Strengthening Movement (1860-95) Flourished especially in the 1860s and 70s Given imperial grants of authority that allowed them to raise troops, levy taxes, and run bureaucracies, local leaders promoted military and economic reform Leaders of the movement wanted to blend Chinese cultural traditions and European industrial tech Held on to Confucian values and tried to reestablish agrarian society Movement leaders built modern shipyards, constructed railroads, established weapons industries, opened steel factories with blast furnaces, and founded academies to develop scientific expertise Although it laid a foundation for industrialization, the S-S-M brought only superficial change to the Chinese economy and society Did not introduce enough industry to bring real military and economic strength Encountered obstacles in the imperial gov’t Empress dowager Cixi diverted funds from the navy to build a marble boat in her imperial gardens The movement foundered on an major contradiction Industrialization would bring fundamental social change to an agricultural society Education in Europeans curriculum would undermine Confucian values Spheres of Influence The S-S-M did not prevent continued foreign intrusion into Chinese affairs During the latter part of the 19th century, foreign powers began to dismantle the Chinese system of tributary states In 1885, France incorporated Vietnam into its colonial empire In 1886 Great Britain detached Burma from Chinese control In 1895 Japan forced China to recognize the independence of Korea Also had to cede the islands of Taiwan and Liaodong peninsula in southern Manchuria By 1898, foreign powers had carved China into spheres of influence Powerless to resist foreign demands, the Qing granted exclusive rights for railway and mineral development to the different countries in different regions Only distrust among the foreign nations prevented the dismemberment of the Qing dynasty The Hundred Years Reform Those setbacks sparked the ambitious Hundred Days Reform of 1898 Leading figures were scholars Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao Published a series of treatises interpreting Confucian thought in a way that justified radical change in the imperial system They did not seek to preserve agrarian society and its cultural traditions Wanted to remake China and turn it into a powerful modern industrial society Impressed by their ideas, the young and open-minded Emperor Guangxu launched a sweeping program to transform China Create a Constitutional Monarchy Guarantee civil liberties Root out corruption Remodel the education system Encourage foreign influence in China Modernize their military Stimulate economic development The broad range of reform edicts produced a violent reaction from members of the household, their allies, and the empress dowager Cixi After a period of 103 days, Cixi nullified the reform decrees, imprisoned the emperor in the Forbidden City, and executed six leading reformers The Boxer Rebellion Believing that foreign powers were pushing for her retirement, Cixi threw her support behind an anti-foreign uprising known as the Boxer Rebellion A violent movement led by militia known as the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists In 1899 the Boxers organized to get rid of “foreign devils” and their influence With the empress dowager’s encouragement, the Boxers went on a rampage in northern China Killed foreigners and Christians as well as Chinese who had ties to foreigners Believed foreign weapons could not harm them Some 140,000 boxers besieged foreign embassies in Beijing in the summer of 1900 A heavily armed force of foreign troops quickly crushed the Boxer movement in bloody retaliation The Chinese gov’t had to pay a huge indemnity and allowed foreign powers to station troops in Beijing at their embassies and along the route to the sea Because Cixi had instigated the Boxers’, many Chinese regarded the dynasty as bankrupt Revolutionary uprisings gained widespread public support throughout the country Even among conservative Chinese gentry Cixi died in November 1908, on day after the mysterious death of the emperor In her last act, the empress dowager appointed the 2-yr-old Puyi to the imperial throne Revolution broke out in the autumn of 1911, and the emperor abdicated in 1912 The Transformation of Japan I) Intro In 1853, a fleet of U.S. worships steamed into Tokyo Bay and demanded permission to establish trade and diplomatic relations with Japan Representatives of Europeans nations soon joined in Heavily armed foreign powers intimidated the Tokugawa shogun and his gov’t, the bakufu, into signing unequal treaties Provided political and economic privileges similar to those obtained earlier from the Qing Opposition forces in Japan used the humiliating intrusion as an excuse to overthrow the discredited shogun and the Tokugawa bakufu After restoring the emperor to power in 1868, Japan’s new rulers worked to transform Japanese society Wanted to achieve political and economic equality with foreign powers The changes initiated during the Meiji period turned Japan into the powerhouse of Asia II) From Tokugawa to Meiji Crisis and Reform By the early 19th century, Japanese society was in turmoil Declining farm productivity, periodic crop failures and famines, and harsh taxation contributed to economic hardship and sometimes led to starvation amongst the rural population A few cultivators prospered during this period, but many had to sell their land and become tenant farmers Economic conditions in towns and cities were hardly better Many peasants migrated in search of a better life As the price of rice rose, the urban poor experienced destitution and hunger Even samurai and daimyo faced hardship Fell into debt to a growing merchant class Because of these things, Japan experienced increasing peasant protest and rebellion during the late 18th and early 19th centuries The Tokugawa bakufu responded with conservative reforms Between 1841 and 43 the shogun’s chief advisor wanted to stem growing social and econ decline while also shoring up the Tokugawa gov’t Canceled debts that samurai and daimyo owed to merchants Abolished several merchant guilds Compelled peasants in the cities to return to their land and cultivate rice Most of the reforms were ineffective, and provoked opposition that eventually led to the end of the Tokugawa Foreign Pressure Another problem of the Tokugawa bakufu was the insistence on the establishment of diplomatic relations by foreign countries Beginning in 1844, Brit, Fr, and US ships visited Japan seeking to establish relations Tokugawa officials refused all those requests and stuck to the policy of excluding all Euro and Am visitors except for Dutch merchants In the late 1840s, the bakufu began to make military preparations to resist potential attacks The arrival of a U.S. naval squadron in Tokyo Bay in 1853 changed the situation The American Commodore Matthew Perry trained his guns on the capital at Edo and demanded the shogun open Japan to diplomatic and commercial relations and sign a treaty of friendship The shogun had no alternative and so had to acquiesce to his demands Representatives of Euro countries soon won similar rights Like Qing diplomats a few years earlier, Tokugawa officials agreed to a series of unequal treaties Opened Japanese ports to foreign commerce, deprived the gov’t of control over tariffs, and granted foreigners extraterritorial rights The End of Tokugawa Rule The sudden intrusion of foreign powers led to a domestic crisis in Japan Would result in the collapse of the Tokugawa bakufu and the restoration of imperial rule When the Tokugawa shogun complied the foreign demands, he aroused the opposition of the conservative daimyo and the emperor Resented the humiliating terms of the unequal treaties Questioned the shogun’s rights to rule Japan as “subdue of barbarians” Opposition to Tokuawa authority spread rapidly The southern areas of Choshu and Satsuma became centers of discontended samurai By 1858 the imperial court in Kyoto had become the focal point of opposition The Meiji Restoration The Tokugawa did not yield power quietly The vigorously responded to their opponents by retiring dissident daimyo and executing samurai critics In a brief civil war, bakufu armies suffered defeats by dissident militia units trained by foreign experts and armed with imported weapons On 3 January 1868, the boy emperor Mutsuhito, known by the name Meiji (“Enlightened Rule”) took the reins of power Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) reigned during the most eventful period of Japanese history III) Meiji Reforms Intro The Meiji Restoration returned authority to the Japanese emperor and brought an end to the series of military gov’ts that had dominated Japan since 1185 Marked the birth of a new Japan Determined to gain equal footing with foreign powers, a conservative coalition of daimyo, imperial princes, court nobles, and samurai created a new gov’t dedicated to prosperity and strength Looked to the industrial lands of Europe and the U.S. to obtain the knowledge and expertise to strengthen Japan and revise the unequal treaties Sent many students and officials abroad to study everything from tech to constitutions Hired foreign experts Foreign Influence Among the most prominent of travelers in this era were Fukuzawa Yukichi and Ito Hirobumi Fukuzawa studied English after Perry’s arrival in Japan In 1860, he was a member of the first Japanese mission to the U.S. Later traveled through Europe and reported his observations of foreign lands in a series of publications Lauded the constitutional gov’t and modern education in the west Strongly argued for equality before the law in Japan Ito ventured abroad four times, and his most important was in 1882-83 Traveled to Europe to study constitutions and administrative systems Especially impressed with the recently united Germany, drawing inspiration from them in drawing Japan’s new constitution Development of the Social Order The first goal of the Meiji restoration was to centralize political power Required destruction of the old social order Had to persuade daimyo to yield their lands to the throne in exchange for patents of nobility Then they replaced the old domains with prefectures and metropolitan districts controlled by the central gov’t Reformers then appointed new prefectural governors to prevent the revival of old domain loyalties As a result, most daimyo found themselves effectively removed from power The gov’t also abolished the samurai class and stipends that supported it Gone were also the rights of the daimyo and samurai to carry swords and wear their hair in the topknot that signified their military status When the Meiji raised a conscription army they deprived the samurai of the military monopoly that they had held for centuries Many samurai felt betrayed by these actions The Meiji sought to restore these bonds by giving them gov’t bonds As the bonds devalued in inflation, former warriors had to seek employment or suffer impoverishment Frustrated by these new circumstances, some samurai rose in rebellion The army easily crushed all opposition By 1878 the nat’l gov’t no longer feared military challenges to its rule Revamping the Tax System The next thing Meiji did was revamp the tax system to secure solid financial footing Peasants typically paid taxes in grain Since the value of rice and grain fluctuated in value, so did gov’t revenue In 1873 the Meiji gov’t converted the grain tax into a fixed-money tax Provided the gov’t with predictable revenues and left peasants to deal with mkt fluctuations in grain prices State also began to assess taxes on the productivity of arable land, no matter how much a cultivator actually produced Guaranteed that only those who maximized production could afford to hold on to their land Others had to sell their land to more efficient producers Constitutional Government Reconstruction of Japanese society continued in the 1880s under mounting domestic pressure for a constitution and representative gov’t These demands coincided with rulers’ belief that constitutions gave foreign powers their strength and unity In 1889 the emperor created the constitution as “a voluntary gift” to his people Established a constitutional monarchy with a legislature (the Diet) composed of a house of nobles and an elected lower house Limited the authority of the Diet Reserved considerable power to the executive branch of the gov’t The “sacred and inviolable” emperor commanded the armed forces, named the prime minister, and appointed the cabinet Both the PM and the cabinet were responsible to the emperor as opposed to the lower house Emperor also had the right to dissolve the parliament When the Diet wasn’t in session the emperor had the prerogative of issuing ordinances Effective power laid with the emperor, whom the parliament could advise but never control The Meiji Con recognized individual rights, but it provided that laws could limit those rights in the interest of the state Established the property restrictions on the franchise which meant the lower house represented the most prosperous social classes In the elections of 1890 less than 5% of the adult male pop was eligible to cast ballots Despite its conservatism, the Meiji constitution provided greater opportunity for debate and dissent than ever before Remodeling the Economy The Meiji gov’t created a modern transportation, communications, and educational infrastructure Establishment of telegraph, railroad, and steamship lines tied local and regional markets into a nat’l economic network Removed barriers to commerce and trade by abolishing guild restrictions and internal tariffs Aiming to improve literacy rates, the gov’t introduced a system of universal primary and secondary education This new infrastructure supported rapid industrialization and economic growth While most businesses were privately owned , the gov’t controlled military industries and established pilot programs to stimulate industrial development During the 1880s, the gov’t sold most of its enterprises to private investors Had close ties to gov’t officials The result was a concentration of enormous economic power in the hands of a few, collectively known as zaibatsu, or financial cliques By the early 20th century, Japan had joined the ranks of the major industrial powers Costs of Economic Development Economic development came at a price The Japanese people bore the social and political costs of rapid industrialization Japanese peasants supplied most of the domestic capital that supported the Meiji program of industrialization The land tax of 1873 cost peasants 40-50% of their crop yields Produced almost 90% of gov’t revenue during the early years of the Meiji Restoration Foreign exchange to purchase industrial equipment came from the export of textiles produced in a laborintensive industry staffed with poorly paid workers Peasants anger came to the front with a series of peasant uprisings in 1883 and 84 Aimed at moneylenders and gov’t offices holding records of loans Easily put down by the Japanese gov’t, imprisoning or executing many leaders of the rebellion After this, the gov’t did nothing to alleviate the suffering of the rural pop 100s of thousands of families lived in destitution with malnutrition, starvation, and infanticide Those who escaped rural society to take up work in industrial society learned that the state did not tolerate labor unions that promoted the welfare of workers Meiji law treated the formation of unions and the organization of strikes as criminal activities Gov’t crushed a growing labor movement in 1901 Nevertheless, in a single generation Meiji leaders transformed Japan into a powerful industrial society poised to play a major role in world affairs Political and economic equality with the West was the major goal of the Meiji leaders Sought an end to the treaty provisions Serving as the symbol of Japan’s development was the end of extraterritoriality in 1899, the conclusion of an alliance with Britain as an equal power in 1902, and convincing displays of military power against Russia and China
