China
What Chinese dynasty rules from 1644-1912?
Qing Dynasty
What Russian ruler was the next great ruler after Peter the Great
Catherine the Great
Since the emperor did not possess real power and was a symbolic figurehead, who possessed the real power?
Samurais were no longer needed during the Meiji period. What did many of them become? Extra 100 points if you can name a specific family
They became tycoons, masters of industry, etc
Kawasaki is the most famous family
What was the feudal social class structure of Japan?
Shogun
Daimyo
Samurai
Describe the Opium War. How does it relate to Spheres of Influence?
The British were tired of paying silver for Chinese goods and they found a way to infiltrate China’s trading system. They traded opium to the Chinese and got them addicted. A Qing emperor banned the opium trade and for it to be confiscated or destroyed. The British did not like this and so war broke out and Britain won. The treaty of Nanking took place which gave Hong Kong to the British. This was a trading colony and the British had extraterritoriality rights. This relates to the Spheres of influence because the British forced China to trade with them and other powers eventually wanted to also carve out a piece of China for themselves.
What trade did the Russians monopolize?
Fur trade
Tokugawa Japan declined due to ecological problems. What were some of these problems?
-Population grew which lead to food shortages. Since Japan is an island, there is only a certain amount of food that could be produced.
-More floods occurred due to the rivers silting up because of irrigation
-Farmland was strained
After the Opium Wars in China, Japan realized that they were next. Who arrived in Tokyo Bay in 1853?
Commodore Matthew Perry
What were two artistic traditions that emerged during samurai peacetime?
Haiku and kabuki
Describe the downfall of the Qing. Please be specific
The bureaucracy became corrupt. The Qing rulers just fueled their downfall. The tried to lower taxes and labor demands but the gap between the rich and poor kept growing. Public works were not being upheld or completed. The Yellow River then flooded the Shandong peninsula and thousands died from famine or disease. The opium war also screwed China over, leading Britain to gain control of China. Later other powers set up spheres of influence in China which was not popular with the Chinese people. The Taiping and Boxer rebellion set the deal and in 1912 the Republican Revolution toppled Qing China.
What was the Pugachev rebellion?
A Cossack claimed to be Peter III and promised the abolition of serfdom, taxation, and military conscription. This was crushed by Catherine the Great.
Describe European contact during Tokugawa Japan
European contact was limited due to the seclusion edicts. They did trade with the Koreans and Chinese though
The new government was modeled after which country and what department was new?
Germany because there was a parliament and a sort of emperor
The navy was new
Define Cossack. How did Russia utilize them?
The Cossacks were an independent Slavic-speaking group of horsemen from Ukraine and were nomadic. Russia had them secure the Crimean Peninsula and they helped with the Siberian expansion
List 2 continuities and 2 changes that the Qing did during their reign
Continuities: patriarchy, Confucianism, civil service exam, Mandate of Heaven, emphasized agriculture, government had a monopoly on salt and iron trade
Changes: lifted ban on foreign travel and trade, money economy, banking was normal, commercialization and urbanization expanded, emperors spent time outside the Great Wall, clothing making increased, publishing developed
What was Catherine the Great known as and what did this mean?
She was an enlightened despot. She practiced an absolute monarchy and supported the aristocracy greatly but she did practice selective westernization. She picked what Enlightment ideas came into Russia but she had to approve them.
Describe the status of women during Tokugawa prosperity and contrast it with China.
Elite women:
Merchant and artisan wives:
Samurai wives:
Who became the next emperor and what was his goal?
Mutsuhito, Meiji, became the emperor and his goal was to strengthen Japan through any means possible
How did the Qing manage to overthrow the Ming?
The Qing, the Manchus, were often called upon the Ming to defend China. This gave them power and the Manchu thrived and eventually united under a leader. They later stormed the castle of the Ming with their army.
Compare and contrast the Taiping and Boxer rebellions.
Taiping:
-Started because people were not happy with the increased influence of European powers. The defeat in the opium war also did not boost moral.
-The Taiping wanted social reforms, rejected Confucianism and were sort of Christians. They attacked the traditional Chinese culture and elite as well.
-The Taiping we’re defeated and around 20-30 million people died
-Self strengthening movement- Qing officials and elite encouraged Western investments and modernization of army. This showed support for the Europeans from the elite.
-Hong Xiuquan led this
-Center of rebellion was Nanjing
Boxer:
-The Qing were at their weakest point: lost the Sino-Japanese War
-Dowager Empress Cixi did not reform
-Center of rebellion was Beijing
-Righteous and Harmonious fists despised European influence
-Goal was to remove foreign power
-eight nation alliance put it down (Europe+Japan)
-Europe had even more control of Chinese affairs
Why would Russia be behind other world powers going into the 1900s?
95% of Russia was rural and there technology was old and limited. They were quite behind the Europeans in the industrial revolution era. There was only two main classes as well: the aristocracy and the serfs. A huge gap and little mobility existed between these two classes. Serfs were not very motivated because of this. There was also no merchant class because they had foreigners stationed in Russia.
What were shogun Yoshimune’s reforms and were they effective in Japan’s history?
-Efficient tax collection and use of land
-curtailment of unnecessary consumption
-merchant were under greater control
He had good intentions but the ship had already sailed. Japan was already in a downward spiral. The environment was damaged and unrest grew. People starved because of the famine.
Why will Japan succeed to modernize? Be as thorough as possible
-Japan had a homogenous society, also due to having no foreigners
-The Japanese had a very strong sense of identity
-Japan was determined not to be dominated by Western empires
-Had success overseas with Korea and Taiwan
-Won the Russo-Japanese war and the Sino-Japanese war which proved themselves to be a major power
Why was the Russo-Japanese war so important for the Japanese and so detrimental to the Russians?
This win for the Japanese showed the world that they were not to be messed with. This achieved one of their goals of modernization which was to not allow European influence near them. This was also the first time when an Asian power decimated a European power. This was also an opportunity for Japan to show off their new navy which was not as developed as before.
The loss in the Russo-Japanese war was so detrimental to the Russians because they were famous for their navy. This also showed a weakness within Czar Nicholas II’s rule. He was already considered a weak ruler and this war only made it worse. The war costed Russia tons of resources and only lowered Russian’s moral.