Module 3 - Chapter 19

Strayer's Chapter 19, Empires in Collision, talks about the conflicts between the empires in China, Europe, and the Middle East and the impacts that they had on each other.

2. How did Western pressures stimulate change in China during the 19^thcentury?

Western pressures stimulated China during the 19th century dramatically. China was forced to break away from their historical way of operating. There was quite the dramatic shift in the balance of global power that was clearly evident in China's changing relationship with Europe. China was forced to continue to import opium. Additionally, the pressures from the west forced China to set import tariffs at a very low rate. Hong Kong had to increasingly open more ports to Europeans. Foreigners were allowed to live in China and had the right to buy land. Historically, China was not open to accepting Christianity, however China began to open its doors to missionaries. Chinese businessmen mostly served in foreign firms, instead of developing as an independent capitalist class that was capable of leading China's own Industrial Revolution. China also lost control of Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam. Ultimately the western powers along with Japan and Russia had much larger spheres of influence over China than in its historical past. Western powers had control over their water ways and could set up military bases.

5. What lay behind the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the 19^thcentury?

There were ultimately many factors that led to the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. The empire had a great decrease in size due to the expansion of Europe combined with nationalist movements. Additionally, the Ottoman Empire lost power to local authorities and war lords. Their military was greatly weakened and the once effective Janissaries, were no longer effective. Another factor that weakened the Ottoman Empire was that the west kept evolving technology wise, while on the other hand they were not. This created an increasingly larger technology gap. Ottoman artisans could no longer compete with the cheap European manufacturers. This led to urban riots that were protesting against foreign imports. Ultimately the Ottoman Empire became increasingly dependent on foreign loans which led to foreign control and the occupation of Egypt by the British. The situation in the Ottoman Empire was very much like China in which they had fallen into a position of considerable dependency on Europe. 

10. In what respects was Japan’s 19^thcentury transformation revolutionary?

Japan's 19th century transformation was revolutionary in many different ways. Japan's transformation dismantled the old Confusion based order by taking away class restrictions on occupation, residence, marriage, and clothing, while also dismantling limitations on travel and trade. Japan had a government that was now committed to a decisive break with the past. They were ready for great revolutionary change. There were many technological advances which allowed Japan to progress into becoming the world's most urbanized country. This ranges from agricultural advances to advances in technology such as electricity. This transformation was revolutionary for Japan because all of this was accomplished through the use of their own resources instead of through aquiring a massive foreign debt. The is what truly helped them get ahead of other and launch their own Industrial Revolution. Ultimately, Japan was able to grow out of their outdated and traditional ways and truly become acknowledged as one of the Great Powers of the world. 

Ch 18 - Module 2

* Chapter 18 focusses on the second wave of colonialism. This focuses on the colonial encounters in Asia, Africa, and Oceana. 


3. What contributed to changing European views of Asians and Africans in the 19^thcentury?

As the 19th century progressed, European views of Asians and Africans developed to an attitude of superiority over these other races. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Europe played a large role in Europe's 19th century expansion. The new wealth that Europe had come upon led to extreme arrogance of the Europeans that was also combined with the long standing belief that Europeans has religious superiority over Asians and Africans. Additionally, new modern science inflicted racism upon that effected the way Asians and Africans were viewed. This lens of racism was expressed in terms of science, so the belief was widespread. This European belief that they were superior and everybody else was inferior led to ideas that it was the Europeans duty to civilize these other inferior nations. Essentially, with the creation of the industrial age, Europeans became arrogant and looked down on every other culture that was different from them.

11. How did cash crop agriculture transform the lives of colonized peoples?

Cash crop agriculture transformed the lives of colonized people, because the flow of money had never been this prominent before. In some regions like the Burma and Gold Coast, colonial promotion of cash crops for trade benefited the farmers who participated in this crop for trade system. However, in other regions such as the Netherlands East Indies, the process of cash crop agriculture was forced upon the local population by the colonial powerhouses. This was a great burden upon the people and played a part in contributing to a wave of famines. Additionally, cash crop farming in the French-ruled Vietnam had important environmental consequences. It destroyed forests and swamp lands. This took away the fish that supplemented the local diets of people. Ultimately, cash crop agriculture had some benefits for local farmers in certain regions, but in other regions this cash crop agriculture was detrimental to the environment and local populations. 

13. How were the lives of African women in particular altered by colonial economies?

Prior to colonization, African women were responsible for planting, weeding, and harvesting along with food preparation and child care. The were active farmers, also having the responsibility to feed their own families. These women were also sometimes involved in local trading. Women, will still subordinate to men, clearly has some economic responsibility. However, following colonization, the lived of these African women started to become much different than their male counterparts. The men were more focused on cash crop producing while the females took over the role of managing the domestic economy and producing food for subsistence. This is because the role of cash crops forced the men to migrate to the cities, leaving these women to take on tasks that were historically male dominated. African men and African women lived in completely different worlds, with one focused on the cities and working wages, while the other was focused on village life and subsistence agriculture. Women would seek closer relationships with their families of birth instead of with their absent husbands. Overall, the colonial economies greatly changed the women's role in society and increased their role in production for their villages. 

Ch 17 - Module 1

* I already did a blog post on chapter 17, so I will only answer two of the big picture questions

1)  In what ways did the Industrial Revolution mark a sharp break with the past? In what ways did it continue earlier patterns?

The Industrial Revolution marked many new changes for the world as it was known before the early 19th century. A lot of this was directly because of the exponential increase in human population from 375 million people in the 14th century to about 1 billion in the 1800's. The Industrial Revolution marked a sharp break with the past by creating much more jobs, new ideas of socialism that have never been used before, and enormously increased output of goods, and a great increase in technology. All of this was new and completely different from the past. However even though this revolutionary time marked extreme change for the world, many of the patterns that were deeply rooted in society remained the same. It continued earlier patterns by continuing the patriarchy of men as well as keeping Europe at the center of the networks exchange. it also continued the renovation and progress that began during the scientific revolution. 

2) In what respects did the roots of the Industrial Revolution lie within Europe? In what ways did that transformation have global roots?

The roots of the industrial revolution lied within Europe because the political system of Europe definitely favored innovation much more than those roots of other parts of the world. The conquests of the Americas also was beneficial to Europe because it allowed for the Europeans to take advantage of the lack of resources that they had on their home continent. With these new found resources they were able to produce and distribute machine-produced goods. This transformation of Europe had its global roots because ever since the 1500's, Europe was the hub of exchange within the world. This global hub is what allowed for the effects of the industrial revolution to spread globally.

Ch 17 Revolutions of Industrialization

The Industrial Revolution left the greatest significance on Europe in the century and a half between 1750 and 1900. It drew on the Industrial Revolution and was accompanied by the French Revolution. The Industrial Revolution came due to a substantial increase in human population to about 1 million in the early 19th century. The demands for energy were increasingly higher and they were pushing the limits. The nonrenewable fossil fuels such as coal oil and natural gas were replacing renewable energy sources. This left a large impact on the environment.

The Industrial Revolution occurred in Europe because its internal development favored innovation. Additionally, the new European states were in need of some sort of revenue and greatly supported private commerce. Overall, the new phenomenon of highly commercialized and competitive European societies with free markets explain why Europe's Industrial Revolution first began. The Industrial Revolution first started in Britain because it was the most highly commercialized of the larger countries in Europe. Britain was focused on observation, experiments, precise measurements and mechanical devices. This is what played a role in the first major development of the Industrial Revolution, the steam engine.

The laboring class made up 70 percent of Britains population in the nineteenth century. It was this class the suffered the most and benefited the least from the Industrial Revolution. London was extremely over crowded and smokey with their population containing 6 million people. The urban workers worked in terrible conditions and lived in terrible conditions as well.  The young girls and women of the Industrial Revolution were treated the worst of the labor class. They received lower wages than men as well as were kept from joining unions.

The Industrial Revolution was not only confined to Britain. It spread to Western Europe, United States, Russia, and Japan. The different cultures and societies ensured that the revolution unfolded differently in the countries that it spread too. In the United States, this revolution helped turn it into a global powerhouse and in Russia it helped it to be the country with the first global outpost of communism.

The struggle for independence in Latin America lasted so long that it diminished their populations, damaged their natural resources. In these new independent countries, life was extremely unstable.
However, in the later half of the nineteenth century, Latin America was becoming more closely integrates into the world economy due the the products of the Industrial Revolution. The elites in Latin America sought to make their countries more resemblant of Europe or the US. Latin America had economic growth that depended on capital abroad. Ultimately, each region of the world faced its own changes because of the Industrial Revolution.