AP World Ch. 31 – Flashcards

- ottoman empire started losing battles against european powers in late 17th century bc they had worse tactics, weapons, and training. the elite janissary corps was the backbone of the imperial armed ottoman forces and they were falling apart at the time as well. they even executed palace coups and soon became a powerful political force in ottoman empire by 19th century. without military power, the central government was less effective and semi-independent governors and nobles gained more power and started centralizing their own power. - although the ottomans maintained their authority in anatolia and iraq, they lost territory in other places due to invasions by other countries like russia AND because of nationalist uprisings like the ones in greece and serbia. *the loss of egypt was the most important bc napoleon's invasion sparked turmoil in egypt and local elites started battling for power after napoleon left. Muhammad Ali was the general who ended up "winning" and he rose to power and launched a program of industrialization and established himself as the effective ruler of egypt which was the most powerful land in the muslim world. *muhammad made egypt essentially autonomous while also part of the ottoman empire - trade also declined during late 17th and 18th centuries.

- ottoman manufacturers could not keep up with european industrialization and they were under a lot of pressure. artisans and craftsmen led riots. economic development in ottoman empire soon depended on foreign loans (europeans financed construction of infrastructure but interest payments for the ottomans grew very large and they had to accept foreign administration of its debts... basically they lost power bc of their economic weakness) - **important vocab - capitulations are agreements that exempted european visitors from ottoman law and provided european powers with extraterritoriality (extraterritoriality is the right to exercise jurisdiction over their own citizens according to their own laws). - ottomans saw capitulation as humiliating. in 20th century the ottoman state lacked the resources needed to maintain its bureaucracy so it had a hard time paying the salary of government workers. there was a rise in corruption and there was increased taxation - these are all bad things happening

- bc of all the problems happening, ottoman leaders launch a series of reforms. Sultan Selim lll worked to remodel his army based on european model BUT the new fighting force that was trained by european instructors threatened the elite Janissary corps who reacted to this by violently rising in revolt and killing the new troops. they even locked up the sultan and killed all male members of the dynasty except for Selim's cousin Mahmud ll who became sultan - Mahmud had his own reform program in which he established a new european-style army in 1826 that introduced conflict with janissaries who protested. this incident led to a series of reforms during mahmud's reign. his highest priority was a more effective army based on european style. he tried to transfer power from traditional elites to the sultan and his cabinet by taxing landlords, undermining the ulama (islamic leadership), and abolishing the system of military land grants. he even established european style ministries and improved the infrastructure

- tempo of reform increased during the "Tanzimat" ("reorganization") era from 1839-1876 where tanzimat reformers drew inspiration from enlightenment thought and constitutions of european states. tanzimat reformers wanted to fix the ottoman state bc they hated capitulations and wanted ottoman sovereignty again. some key decrees that they issued guaranteed things like public trials, equality b4 the law, etc. legal reform undermined the ulama and enhanced the authority of the ottoman state as did educational reforms.... so ulama was undermined a lot with the reforms. a comprehensive plan for educational reform was introduced in 1846 - reform strengthened ottoman society but there was criticism from several groups of ppl including devout muslims who saw the extension of legal equality to jews and christians as an act contrary to the basic principles of islamic law. the Young Ottomans were also critical of these reforms and they wanted individual freedom, local autonomy, and political decentralization. young ottomans wanted to have a constitutional government similar to the british system. even nobles and high-power bureaucrats opposed these measures bc they were losing power and worked to make sure the sultan did not gain a lot of power

- 1876 radical dissidents from ottoman bureaucracy stage a coup and seize power. they install Abdul Hamid ll as sultan and persuade him to adopt a constitution which he does but then after a year he dissolves the parliament and suspends the constitution. so from here on out he rules autocratically and administered according to tanzimat principles and even created a police force, educational reforms, economic development, and constructed railroads...so not all bad i guess. BUT his rule had an opposition - mainly liberal groups. - what was ironic was that the educational opportunities given to ottoman bureaucrats and officers gave them an education and knowledge to understand the corruption of the sultan and they soon believed that the biggest problem of the ottoman state was the power of the sultan. they urged for a constitution. *the most active dissident group was the ottoman Society for Union and Progress a.k.a. Young Turk Party founded in 1889 by exiled ottoman subjects living in paris. young turks wanted universal suffrage, equality b4 the law, secularization of the state, etc. in 1908 the young turks inspired a coup that forced abdul hamid to restore parliament and the constitution of 1876 and then they dethroned him in 1909 and placed mehmed V rashid on the throne as a puppet sultan. **throughout the young turk era, ottoman sultans reigned but no longer ruled - young turks worked to make turkish the official language but this made ppl aggravated bc most subjects spoke arabic or slavic languages. syria and iraq resisted ottoman rule. ottoman armies lost wars and subject ppls sought autonomy and/or independence.

- the tsars were determined to preserve russia as a great land power so they embarked on a program of reform in which the key was emancipating the serfs. russia stretched from poland to the pacific ocean and only 1/2 of the ppl spoke russian and observed russian orthodox faith so you have a lot of different ethnic groups living here. romanov tsars had an autocratic regime and a powerful class of nobles owned most of the land. peasants made up majority of the population - russia started expanding in 19th century east into manchuria, south into caucasus, and southwest toward mediterranean. russia defeated the turks in war from 1828-1829 and tried to establish a protectorate over the ottoman empire BUT this upset the balance of power in europe so european countries start fighting with russia in the crimean war (1853-1856) in which russia lost since it did not have the industrial power of western europe. in september 1854 the europeans mounted a campaign in sevastopol which was the headquarters of russia's black sea fleet which caused a devastating blow to the russians. the crimean war *demonstrated the weakness of russia's agrarian economy based on unfree labor so this defeat caused the tsars to reevaluate the social order

- *the key to social reform in russia was emancipation of the serfs. many russians saw serfdom as an obstacle to economic development BUT they didn't really have any moral problems with it. - tsar alexander ll emancipated the serfs but government compensated landowners for their loss of land and serfs. serfs won few political rights and had to pay a redemption tax for the land that they received. *some peasants prospered and improved their social position after emancipation but most were in debt and so emancipation really did not lead to an increase in agricultural production. - russian government also created elected district assemblies known as zemstvos in 1864. the zemstvos included all classes but were subordinate to tsars. - the judiciary system was revised in 1864 and it created a system of law courts based on western european models. there was a trial by jury and an emergence of attorneys and legal experts

- tsarist government encouraged industrialization as a way of strengthening the russian empire. Count Sergei Witte was the minister of finance from 1892-1903 and he implemented policies designed to stimulate economic development. he oversaw railway construction which linked the russian empire (trans-siberian railway opens siberia to settlement and industrialization). witte also supported new industries with protective tariffs and secured loans from western european countries - soon peasant rebellions and strikes by industrial workers happened. this shows that ppl are unwilling to tolerate the low standard of living that the industrialization policy entails. freed serfs did not like the industrial rhythm of work and the poor wages. industrial areas of russia became notorious for miserable working and living conditions. russian government prohibited formation of trade unions and they outlawed strikes. - BUT not everyone was unhappy with industrialization. a new growing russian business class benefited from government policy and russian entrepreneurs were making money. russian businessppl generally did not challenge the tsarist autocracy

- last decades of 1800s, there was a lot of protest. peasants were angry bc they had little to no land and many ppl (such as university students and class of intellectuals) wanted political reform and social change. many revolutionaries were anarchists and opposed all forms of government but believed that individual freedom cannot be realized until there is no government. - some activists saw the potential for revolutionary change in the countryside and so btwn 1873-1876 these activists/radicals/anarchists went to the countryside and tried to rouse the peasantry but the peasants did not understand what it was they were advocating and the police (who did understand what was going on) arrested the radicals. tsarist government soon got scared bc of all this radicalism so the tsars got very repressive (censored publications, had secret police break up organizations) BUT this repression only made revolutionary sentiment stronger. in many areas in the baltic, ppl opposed the tsarist autocracy on ethnic, political, and social grounds. tsarists respond to this with a strong program of russification (repressing languages that were not russian, restricting educational opportunities for non-russians). jews were also targeted through pogroms (a pogrom is an anti-jewish riot). ppl were jealous of jews' success in business affairs so to escape the violence, many jews went to USA or western europe

- in 1876 the Land and Freedom Party started promoting the assassination of officials in order to pressure the government towards political reform. in 1879 the People's Will (terrorist faction of the Land and Freedom Party) vowed to assassinate alexander ll and after several unsuccessful attempts they exploded a bomb under his carriage in 1881. while alexander was inspecting the damage a second bomb went off and killed him. - in 1894 nicholas ll took power and used oppression and police control to rule. he embarked on expanding russia through russo-japanese war which began with a japanese attack on a russian naval squadron in port arthur - bc of russian military defeats, there was a lot of discontent. in january 1905 groups marched on tsar's winter palace in st.petersburg to petition nichiolas for an elected assembly but government troops fired on them and this Bloody Sunday massacre caused an angry uproar. *urban workers created new councils known as soviets to organize strikes and negotiate with employers and goverment authorities. the members of these soviets were delegates from factories and workshops - sergei witte urges the tsar to create an elected legislative assembly which he does. it is called the Duma and it is russia's first parliamentary institution BUT unrest did not end. violence was particularly strong in the baltic provinces

- many european powers inflicted military defeats on the chinese and forced them to sign treaties that undermined chinese sovereignty and made china into spheres of influence. in 1759 gianlong emperor restricts european commercial presence to Guangzhou where europeans could only deal with license chinese firms known as "cohongs". cohongs bought and sold goods at set prices and operated under government regulations. chinese markets had little demand for european goods so they mostly just traded for silver bullion - officials in british east india company wanted to trade something besides silver bullion so they turned to opium. **EIC (East India Company) grew opium in india and shipped it to china where company officials exchanged it for chinese silver coin and then the silver coins went back to british controlled areas where company merchants used this silver to buy chinese products in Guangzhou. - trade in opium was ILLEGAL but it still went on. by late 1830s the government started to become aware of the problem and when they started to stop the trade, british lost money. in 1839 the chinese government gave Lin Zexu the task of destroying the opium trade and his policy led to a war with britain

- british were mad that the chinese were trying to stop the opium trade so british commercial agents pressured government to go to war. the opium war (1839-1842) showed the superiority of britain and resulted in chinese defeat. it began as a stalemate but then britain attacked the Grand Canal which linked the Yellow and Yangzi rivers and then in may 1842 british armada advanced up the yangzi and by the time it reached the intersection of the canal and the river, the chinese sued for peace. - during this time there was a series of pacts going on known in china as "unequal treaties". these pacts/treaties were made with foreign powers and upset chinese ppl. Treaty of Nanjing ended the opium war in 1842, it ceded hong kong island to britain, opened 5 chinese ports to commerce, and granted extraterritorial rights to britain (meaning british subjects did not have to follow chinese law). these unequal treaties that followed legalized opium trade and opened additional treaty ports. by 1900 ninety chinese ports were under effective control of foreign powers

- large scale rebellions took place in china in late 1800s reflecting poverty and discontent of the peasantry. concentration of land was in hands of wealthy elites and there was corruption in government and drug addiction among citizens. the most dangerous rebellion was the Taiping rebellion (1850-1864) - Hong Xiuquan was a village schoolteacher who called for the destruction of the qing dynasty. the qing dynasty was made of a Manchu ruling class and many native chinese saw them as "foreigners". taiping reform program (run by Hong Xiuquan) included things like abolition of private property, free public education, etc. Hong and his followers in the Society of God Worshipers took Nanjing in 1853 and made their capital Taiping ("Great Peace") Kingdom. they collected more followers and were getting ready to attack beijing but qing forces ousted them - bc taiping program was so radical, chinese gentry sided with the qing government and was dedicated to preserving the established order. empress dowager Cixi encouraged qing government to create regional armies staffed by chinese soldiers and commanded by the scholar-gentry class. Cixi was a former imperial mistress who established herself as the effective ruler of china during the last 50 years of qing dynasty. these regional chinese armies overcame the taipings and by 1862 hong xuiquan withdrew from public affairs and committed suicide in june 1864. government forces slaughtered many taipings and the rebellion was over BUT the taiping rebellion altered the course of Chinese history since qing rulers recognized that changes were needed in order for the government to survive.

- from 1860-1895 qing authorities tried to create a Confucian government meant to solve economic programs and strengthen state power. *most imaginative of reform programs was the Self-Strengthening Movement which was given imperial grants that it used to raise troops, levy taxes, run bureaucracies, etc. the leaders of this movement sought to blend Chinese culture with European industrial technology. this reform movement laid a foundation for industrialization BUT it did not introduce enough industry to bring real military and economic strength to china. the problem was also that industrialization would end up bringing about social change to an agrarian land (china) and the education in European terms would undermine the Chinese commitment to Confucian values - foreign powers also started to dismantle the Chinese system of tributary states. by 1898 foreign powers carved china into spheres of influence and the qing government was powerless to resist foreign demands so they complied.

- hundred days reform of 1898 was led by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao who published a series of treatises reinterpreting Confucian thought in a way that justified radical changes. they did NOT want an agrarian society but wanted to make china a powerful industrial society. Emperor Guangxu sympathized with these men and he launched a program to transform china into a constitutional monarchy but the broad range of reform created violent reaction from elite Chinese ppl and after 103 days, Cixi nullified the reform decrees, imprisoned the emperor in the Forbidden City, and executed leading reformers. - Cixi supported the rise of the Boxer Rebellion which was a violent movement by militia units calling themselves the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists. they wanted to rid china of "foreign devils" and they killed many foreigners and Chinese Christians. they even attacked embassies which resulted in many foreign countries retaliating. *because Cixi instigated the Boxer attacks on foreigners, many Chinese saw the qing dynasty as corrupt. right before Cixi died she put the 2 yr old Puyi on the throne but he never ruled bc revolution breaks out in 1911 and so the last emperor of qing dynasty abdicates in 1912

- in early 1800s, japan had bad agricultural productivity and harsh taxes which led to economic hardship and famine. the price of goods like rice rose and the urban poor experienced a famine. Tokugawa bakufu responded to the rise in peasant protest and rebellion with reforms. btwn 1841-1843 Mizuno Tadakuni cancelled debts that samurai and daimyo owed to merchants, abolished some merchant guilds, etc. most of his reforms were ineffective and created strong opposition. - beginning in 1844 many foreign countries start visiting Japanese seeking to establish relations but tokugawa officials resist these requests and only traded with a small number of dutch merchants who traded in Nagasaki. *a US naval squadron in 1853 arrived in japan led by Commodore Matthew C. Perry and he demanded that the shogun open japan to diplomatic and commercial relations and sign a treaty of friendship. shogun followed the demand and ended up agreeing to a series of unequal treaties (remember unequal treaties in china?) that opened Japanese forts to foreign commerce and granted foreigners extraterritorial rights. - introduction of foreign rule in japan leads to domestic crisis and collapse of tokugawa bakufu. by 1858 the imperial court in Kyoto became the focal point for opposition and the slogan was "Revere the emperor, expel the barbarians." - tokugawa officials responded to this opposition by executing and imprisoning samurai critics. there was a brief civil war in which bakufu armies suffered defeats by opposition militia units and so once the tokugawa cause was doomed, the shogun resigned and on January 3 1868 a boy named Mutsuhito became emperor. he was known as the "Enlightened Rule" or "Meiji" (yes it is enlightened rule not enlightened ruleR).

- meiji restoration brings an end to the series of military governments that dominated japan since 1185. meiji government looked to lands of Europe and US to get knowledge in order to strengthen japan. they sent many students abroad and hired many foreigners. one of the most prominent meiji travelers were Fukuzawa Yukichi and Ito Hirobumi. fukuzawa studied foreign constitutions and administrative systems and advocated for equality before the law in japan. *first goal of meiji leaders was to centralize political power. in order to do this they created metropolitan districts that replaced the old domains and appointed governors to prevent the revival of old domain loyalties. government abolished samurai class and raised a conscript army in which they effectively deprived the samurai of the military monopoly that they held for centuries. **many samurai felt betrayed by these actions and meiji officials eased this discontent by giving samurai government bonds. BUT the bonds lowered in value at a certain point and some samurai found themselves without a job and so they rose in rebellion BUT the recently created national army crushed this opposition and after this the national government no longer feared military challenges to its rule

- in 1873 meiji government converted the grain tax into a fixed-money tax which gave them predictable revenues. Japan's new leaders were revamping the tax system ;) - there was great pressure for a constitution and representative government. in 1889 the emperor created the meiji constitution as a "voluntary gift" to his people. it was drafted under Ito Hirobumi (mentioned earlier) and it established a constitutional monarchy with a legislature known as the Diet which was composed of a house of nobles and an elected lower house. effective power lay with the emperor. meiji constitution recognized individual rights and established property restrictions to ensure that delegates in the lower house represented the most prosperous social classes.

- the meiji government felt that a powerful economy was a foundation for national strength and so they created modern transportation, communications, and educational infrastructure. they also removed barriers to trade by getting rid of guild restrictions and internal tariffs. they also hoped to improve literacy by introducing universal education. most enterprises were privately owned BUT government did control military industries. in 1880s the government sold most of its enterprises to private investors which resulted in a concentration of great power in the hands of a small group of ppl known as "zaibatsu" or financial cliques. - Japanese peasants supplied most of the domestic capital that supported industrialization and the land tax of 1873 cost them a lot of money since they had to give up 40-50% of their crop yields. a series of peasant uprisings occurred in 1883-1884. meiji government used military police and army units to put down the rebellions. **thereafter the government did virtually nothing to alleviate the suffering of the rural population. meiji law treated the formation of unions and organization of strikes as criminal activities. -the meiji restoration did result in a powerful industrial society. the end of extraterritoriality in japan came in 1899 with the conclusion of an alliance with Britain as an equal power in 1902. japan had successfully gotten rid of the humiliating unequal treaty provisions and was on its way to being a global power.