Transformations, Strayer 18

10/2/2018

Matthieu Girardet

10/2/2018 11:34:20

MQ1: What accounts for the massive peasant rebellions of nineteenth-century China?

1) Growing pressure on the land
2) Smaller farms for China's huge peasant population
3) impoverishment
4) misery and starvation
5) China's centralized and bureaucratic state didn't enlarge to keep up with growing population
6) China therefor couldn't collect taxes
7) Ineffective food control
8) Ineffective social welfare
9) Bad public security
10) Endemic corruption among provincial officials
11) Harsh treatment of peasants was common
12, 13, 14) European military pressure & economic penetration disrupted internal: trade routes, created substantial unemployment, and raised peasant taxes.
15) Resistance of Qing dynasty because of its foreign Manchu origins
16) (Taiping Uprising) Its posture towards women and gender roles were more progressive

Lia

10/2/2018 17:12:11

I also added the lack of an Industrial Revolution or sufficient agricultural production to support China's growing population, though your #1-4 are related to that.

Bingham

10/2/2018 21:43:52

Wow. That's it, just wow. Of course each point needs an explanation of how it answers the question. (Analysis)

Alyssa Rivera link

11/2/2018 13:13:24

What strategies did China adopt to confront its various problems? In what ways did their strategies reflect China’s own history and culture as well as the new global order?

1. “Self-strengthening” sought to reinvorgorate a traditional China while borrowing cautiously from the West
2. Overhauled examination system which sought “good men” who could handle massive reconstruction china faced in the wake of the Taiping rebellion
3. support for lands and repair of dikes and irrigation helped restore rural social and economic order
4. some industrial factories producing textiles and steel established, coal mines expanded, and a telegraph system initiated
5. Some modern arsenals, shipyards, and foreign language schools sought to remedy deficiency in their weaponry compared with Western firepower
6. Self strengthening was inhibited by the fears of conservative leaders that urban industrial or commercial development would erode powers and privileges of the landlord class, and served to to strengthen local authorities who controlled those industries
7. Educated Chinese (mostly elites) varieties of clubs, study groups and newspapers to explore alternate paths for a rebuilding China

I had a little trouble answering this question so feel free to add on or comment.

Lia

11/2/2018 20:21:51

hey I was also confused on how to approach this question, especially the second half, but here's what I have in addition to yours:

- new industries and factories showed both the influence and power of Europeans at the time, with China dependent on them for machinery, materials, and expertise
- Chinese organizations born out of the failure of "self-strengthening" believed in a "unified nation", an age long Chinese value as seen with their dynasties, which also gave rise to Chinese nationalism

Are these plausible? Please tell me if something's wrong or too vague.

Alyssa Rivera link

11/2/2018 15:00:23

What lay behind the decline of the ottoman empire in the nineteenth century?

1. Ottoman Empire’s regions were shruken considerably at the hands of Russia, british, austrian and french forces
2. An almost independent Egypt pursed a modernizing and empire building program of its own and almost toppled the empire
3. Other parts of the empire achieved independence on their own surging nationalism and support from the british or russians
4. The central ottoman stte weakened (inability to raise necessary revenue as provincial authorities and local warlords gained greater power)
5. The Janissaries list their military edge of being the effective infantry unit of their military forces and became a highly conservative force within the empire, widening the technological and military gap with the west
6. Europeans gained direct oceanic access to Asian commerce diminished previous centrality of the ottoman and arab lands in Afro-Eurasian commerce
7. Capitulations btwn European countries and ottoman empire granted Westerners various exemptions from Ottoman law and taxation, which allowed European penetration of the Ottoman economy, eroding Ottoman sovereignty
8. Along with growing indebtedness, the ottoman empire fell into a postion of dependency on Europe, relying on foreign loans to finance efforts at its economic development
9. Also their inability to pay the interest on those debts led to foreign control of much of its revenue generating system

Lia

11/2/2018 23:23:10

I don't know if this counts, but I also had competition with cheap European manufactured goods that caused discontent among local artisans, which led to internal riots protesting imports.

Lia

11/2/2018 20:40:32

How did Western pressures stimulate change in China during the 19th century?

1. reversed China's ability to attract silver since they expended most of it for opium
2. the Opium Wars...
- restricted Chinese sovereignty
- forced continuation of opium imports and opening of some ports to European traders
- allowed more freedom of travel for Europeans and for them to patrol rivers
- allowed Europeans to buy land
- allowed Europeans to preach Christianity under protection of authorities
- resulted in the loss of Vietnam, Korea, and Taiwan (though the last two were a result of Japan, not Western forces)
3. the influence of Western powers and Japan that made China allow those countries special privileges (can establish military base, can extract raw material, can build railroads)
4. China's increased dependency on Europe because of its weakened government
5. unequal economic restrictions that inhibited China's industrialization

I had some trouble with this question so please comment if I'm missing something!!

Megane

12/2/2018 22:16:17

5. In what different ways did the Ottoman state respond to its various problems?

• launched a program of “defensive modernization”
- reorganized and updated the military
- new administrative structures drawn from European techniques
• Tanzimat sought to provide the economic, social, and legal underpinnings for a strong and newly recentralized state
- factories
- modern mining operations
- reclamation and resettlement of agricultural land
- telegraphs, steamships, railroads, and modern postal service
- western style law codes and courts
- new elementary and secondary schools
• Changes in the legal status of the empire’s diverse community gave non muslims equal rights
• Tanzimat also stimulated modest educational openings for women

Megane

12/2/2018 22:39:50

6. In what different ways did various groups define the Ottoman Empire during the 19th century?
• Supporters of the reform, called the Young Ottomans, defined the empire as a secular state whose people were loyal to the dynasty that ruled it
•Young Turks advocated a militantly secular public life, were commuted to thoroughgoing modernization along European lines, and thought of the empire as a Turkish national state
• oppositions to the nationalist Turkish concept of Ottoman identity helped stimulate Arab and other nationalism (secular nationalism became the most important form of public loyalty)

Does this clearly answer the question?

Eleena Sherman

13/2/2018 16:51:56

I would also add that Sultan Abd al-Hamid (ruled during the time of Young Ottomans) temporarily reverted the empire's identity to a tyrannical state with a pan-islamic identity

Megane

12/2/2018 23:04:27

7. In what ways was Japan changing during the Tokugawa era?
• the samurai evolved into a salaried bureaucratic or administrative class
• centuries of peace contributed to a remarkable burst of economic growth, commercialization, and urban development
• Entrepreneurial peasants grew more rice due to agricultural innovations such as fertilizer
• Japan became the world’s most urbanized country
• Confucianism encourage education, leading to high rates of literacy
• Merchants prospered in the new commercial environment but held little status
- samurai enjoyed high status but were indebt to inferior merchants
- led to social tension
• peasants moved to cities becoming artisans or merchants
• corruption undermined the Tokugawa regime
• mounting wave of local peasant uprisings and urban riots expressed the grievances of the poor

Megane

12/2/2018 23:16:23

9. How did Japan’s relationship to the larger world change during its modernization process?

• persuaded the western powers to revise the unequal treaties in Japan’s favor
• launched its own empire building enterprise
• experiences successful wars against China and Russia which established Japan as a formidable military competitor
• gained colonial control of Taiwan and Korea and a territorial foothold in Manchuria
• was now an economic, political, and military competitor in Asia
• Japan’s defeat against Russia generated widespread admiration, became an inspiration for other subject peoples
-saw Japan as a model for their own modern development and as an ally in the struggle against imperialism

Please comment if I’m missing anything or if something doesn’t answer the question!

Eleena Sherman

13/2/2018 08:36:44

Hey, I would also add that Japan's colonial policies in Taiwan and Korea exceeded the brutality of European practices, leading to less positive view of Japan from those territories

Megane

12/2/2018 23:51:40

8. In what respects was Japan’s 19th century transformation revolutionary?

• genuine national unity required an attack on the power and privileges of both the daimyo and samurai
- replaced the daimyo with governors appointed by and responsible to the national government
- central state now collected the nation’s taxes
- national army was based on conscription from all social classes
• old Confucian based social order was dismantled
- all Japanese became legally equal as commoners and subjects to the emperor
• limitations were put on travel and trade
• knowledge about the West was enthusiastically sought after
- students were sent to study abroad in Europe and the United States
• Japan selectively borrowed foreign, western ideas and combined them with Japanese elements
• a modern education system was put into place

Let me know if there’s anything I should add!

Eleena Sherman

13/2/2018 17:21:04

Hey! So I would add some examples to some of your broader points such as:

1. Japan selectively borrowed foreign, western ideas and combined them with Japanese elements
- Meiji Constitution introduced elected parliament and political parties but was presented by the ultimate power of the emperor

This is what I have in addition to your info:
1. argued that oppression of women was obstacle to country's modernization and family reform was essential to gaining respect from western powers
2. state-guided industrialization program
-gov't established enterprises, later sold off to private businessmen
3. accomplished all of their revolutionary reforms through their own resources, without massive foreign debt
4. was distinctive because no other country outside North America and Europe was able to launch their own Industrial Revolution

hannah h

13/2/2018 20:52:22

BPQ #3: What kind of debates, controversies, and conflicts were generated by European intrusion within each of the socieites examined in this chapter?

-All societies reacted with modernization systems although Japan's modernization program was much more radical and far-reaching than that of China or the Ottoman empire.

-Conflicts generated between conservatives and those who sought modernization

-Issues of idenity formed such as the Nationalist Turkish identity in the Ottoman empire.

-The extent to which ideas should be borrowed from the West was debated.

Bingham

Welcome class of 2020. Some years students collaborate in this space effectively, some years not so much. One thing I know, collaboration significantly enhances learning. If you want access to my thoughts, this is the collaboration space to use. Most people propose an answer to margin questions, big picture question, or anything else related to managing Strayer. Other people can then comment leading to a stronger answer. I'll keep an eye on these pages, and pop in when I think you need me.

Transformations, Strayer 18

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