Iwasaki yataro letter to mitsubishi employees

Reordering the World

1750-1850ce

View of Canton c. 1800, China, unknown artist

Focus Questions

How did global economic integration affection regional economic and political systems?

How did Russia expand in this new, integrated global economy?

How did global trade affect Asian societies?

How did European mercantilism transition into capitalism?

Expansion and Dynastic Change in Russia

During this period, Russia expanded to become world’s largest-ever state

Gained positions on Baltic Sea and Pacific Ocean, as well as borders with Qing and Japan

Principality of Moscow (Muscovy) under Peter the Great expands all across Asia

Absolutist government and serfdom was how Russia maintained its wealth

Russia and its Empire

Alphonse Mucha, The Abolition of Serfdom in Russia (1914)

Russia in the 19th Century

Ethnic diversity contributed to Russian instability in the 19th century

Russia attempted to promote a pro-tsar, pan-Slavic nationalism by encouraging Russian language instruction and religious traditions

In 1861 Alexander II emancipated the peasants from serfdom, but left them in indentured servitude or as communal farmers

The successors, Alexander III and Nicholas II resisted most social reforms

Russian industrialization was mostly state-run, thus the middle-class remained weak and the aristocracy dominated the court and administration

Sergey Vasilievich Ivanov, “Bargaining in the camp of the Eastern Slavs”

Protest and Revolution

Pale of Settlement

Jewish Emigration From Russia

1880 - 1928

A Multi-Ethnic Empire

Asia in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

Global trading networks blossomed as vigorously in Asia as they did in the Americas

Europeans less dominant in Asia, although silver from Atlantic allowed them to penetrate Asian economies

From Ming to Qing in China

Administrative problems – lost control of state bureaucracy because focused too much on court ceremony/ritual

Economic problems – European silver at first stimulated economy, then glut of silver led to economic dislocation, inflationary prices; led some like Japanese to clamp down on foreign traders, both European and Chinese; loss of market control

The Collapse of Ming Authority

Administrative and economic problems led to political crisis

Outlaw armies rose up in rural rebellions at the outskirts of Beijing

In 1644, Beijing bombarded and emperor hanged himself

Despite small numbers, Manchus having secured Mongol and other rural supporters rose to power

Incorporated new territories

Experienced substantial population growth

Significant economic growth

Qing Rule

Flexible policies to promote continuity but were also determined to convey clear sense of own legitimacy

Against “decadence” of Ming court

Taxed peasant households

Created east Asian trading sphere and expanded power and wealth under their rule

Imperialism and Westernization in China and Japan

The Opium Wars (1839-1862)

Lin Zexu, “Letter to Queen Victoria” (1839)

“As this trade has lasted for a long time, there are bound to be unscrupulous as well as honest traders. Among the unscrupulous are those who bring opium to China to harm the Chinese; they succeed so well that this poison has spread far and wide in all the provinces. You, I hope, will certainly agree that people who pursue material gains to the great detriment of the welfare of others can be neither tolerated by Heaven nor endured by men…”

“For every government, past or present, one of its primary functions is to educate all the people living within its jurisdiction, foreigners as ell as its own citizens, about the law and to punish them if they choose to violate it. Since a foreigner who goes to England to trade has to obey the English law, how can an Englishman not obey the Chinese law when he is physically within China? The present law calls for the imposition of the death sentence on any Chinese who has peddled or smoked opium. Since a Chinese could not peddle or smoke opium if foreigners had not brought it to China, it is clear that the true culprits of a Chinese’s death as a result of an opium conviction are the opium traders from foreign countries…just imagine how many people opium has killed! Our purpose is to eliminate this poison once and for all…”

Hong Xiuquan and the “Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace” – The Taiping Rebellion, 1850-1864

The Boxer Rebellion

During the revolt hundreds of foreigners were trapped in the capital city of Beijing and many Chinese and foreigners alike died.

In August of 1900, foreign troops broke the siege and defeated the Boxers

After the rebellion a second Open Door proposal stressed the importance of keeping China independent and respecting its boarders

Trying to expand its own power in Asia, Japan began to ignore the Open Door policy. This led to war with Russia and conflict with the U.S., eventually culminating in the Russo-Japanese War (1905)

Tokugawa Japan

Integration with Asian trading system exposed Japan to external pressures, which they dealt with more successfully than mainland Asian empires

Tokugawa came about after several military leaders tried to unify fragmented Japan under one authority

Tokugawa Ieyasu took power for himself and titled reign “shogun” (military leader)

Authority shifted from Kyoto to Edo (later Tokyo)

Ensured flow of resources from rural to capital

Foreign Affairs and Foreigners

Internal peace and prosperity did not insulate Japan from external challenges

Initially welcomed foreigners, but cracked down on Christian missionaries which bred further resentment of European merchants

In 1690s, expelled all competitors

Created “vassals” or buffer states around it to do trade with foreigners without foreign penetration

“The Road Connecting Edo to Kyoto” in ukiyo-e (“floating world”) - style, Hiroshige, 1850

Japan Joins the Great Powers, 1865-1905

As China resisted western economic influence and became weaker on the global stage, Japan transformed itself along western models to become a major industrial and military power

Before 1853 Japan had been ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate

Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrived in Japan’s harbors with a fleet of steam-powered warships and demanded that Japan open its borders to trade with the United States

This crisis led to a civil war and the overthrowing of the shogunate in 1868

The Meiji Restoration and the Modernization of Japan, 1868-1894

A new ruling oligarchy called the Meiji came to power, replacing local rulers with national prefects

They changed their cultural and social traditions to embrace modernization

Japan had a long tradition of borrowing from Korea and China and they began to readily adopt ideas and cultural traditions from the West by sending samurai officials abroad to study economy, politics and technology in the West

Engineering knowledge, as well as military and industrial technologies, were sold to Japan

Samurai class began entering commercial and political sectors of Japan

Army based upon national conscription

Bureaucracy based on civil service examinations

Constitution of 1889 granted authority to an emperor and lower house (Diet) with power to legislate and approve budgets

The Japanese also embraced western clothing styles and pastimes

The Japanese government encouraged industrialization through the extraction of tax revenue from the rural sector to build state-owned enterprises that were then sold to private entrepreneurs

Sakuma Shozan, Reflections on My Errors (1854)

Mathematics is the basis for all learning. In the Western world after this science was discovered military tactics advanced greatly, far outstripping that of former times…However, since Sunzi’s time neither we nor the Chinese have ceased to read, study, and memorize his teachings, and our art of war remains exactly as it was then. It consequently cannot be compared with that of the West. There is no reason for this other than we have not devoted ourselves to basic studies. At the present time, if we wish really to complete our military preparations, we must develop this branch of study…

In order to master the barbarians there is nothing so effective as to ascertain in the beginning conditions among them. To do this, there is not better first step than to be familiar with barbarian tongues. Thus, learning a barbarian language is not only a step toward knowing the barbarians, but also the groundwork for mastering them…

Iwasaki Yataro, Letter to Mitsubishi Employees (1876)

If we allow the right of coastal navigation to fall into the hands of foreigners in peacetime it means a loss of business opportunities and employment for our own people, and in wartime it means yielding the vital right of information to foreigners. In fact, this is not too different from abandoning the rights of our country as an independent nation.

In competing against the barbarian giants, what methods can we employ? I have thought about this problem very carefully and have come to one conclusion. There is no other alternative but to eliminate unnecessary positions and expenditures…By eliminating unnecessary personnel from the payroll, eliminating unnecessary expenditures, and engaging in hard and arduous work, we shall be able to solidify the foundation of our company. If there is a will there is a way. Through our own effort, we shall be able to repay the government for its protection and answer our nation for its confidence shown in us. Let us work together in discharging our responsibilities and not be ashamed of ourselves…If we succeed it will not only be an accomplishment for our company alone but also a glorious event for our Japanese empire, which shall let its light shine to all four corners of earth.

Japanese Imperialism, 1894-1910

Japan’s “sphere of influence” to include Korea, Manchuria and parts of China

Japan defeated China in a war in 1898

Japan defeated Russia in a war in 1905

Annexed Korea in 1910

Conclusions

Integration of global economy brought true cross-cultural exchange

Nearly one-third of silver from New World ended up in China with opportunities trade that supported new dynasties there and in Japan

Commerce and conflict did not erase conflict. As empires expanded they refused “foreigners” and worked to homogenize their multi-ethnic populations