122 HISTORY MIDTERM Put the number or letter of each question next to your answer. Put your name on each page Put "History 122" on the first page e-mail your completed exam to me by midnight Sunday, March 2 at [e-mail]
I ANSWER TWO OF THE FOLLOWING AS THOROUGHLY AS YOU CAN IN PROPER ESSAY FORM. EACH SHOULD BE ABOUT 2 TO 3 PAGES LONG.
A. The Ottoman Turkish Empire, the Safavid Empire, and the Mughal Empire have been referred to as the "gunpowder empires." This phrase as used by historians conveys the implication that they shared certain features and declined for similar reasons. Do you agree, disagree? Explain. The Mughal Empire gained power swiftly and eventually conquered and controlled most of northern India. An important part to the rise of their power was their leader, Akbar, who gave the empire a reason to expand. He gave Mongols positive social changes such as promoting Hindus in the government and eliminated taxes on Hindus; and this gave him the ability to have an empire that would back him up. The Mughal Empire, and followers and believers in Akbar, gained massive armies that consisted of cavalry, artillery, and gun power. Although the troops were conscripted from the poor and poorly trained, their vast amount in numbers allowed them to conquer as long as they did. The Mughal decline began with drained budgets going into public works, corruption in the central government, and unmatched military technology that European countries had developed. Also the emperor was distract from internal conflicts within the empire, and uprisings and revolts took a backseat while the focus remained on wars and gaining territory. In 1819 the Mughal Empire slowly started to end when the British East India Company came into control of the majority of the
empires economy, and local rulers took on a more nationalist approach of running things. The final collapse of this dynasty was in 1858.
The Safavid Empire gained strength mainly because of religious purposes. The Shiite Muslims rejected traditional Islamic leadership, and united to fight for their own territory that could be ruled under their religious beliefs. They overpowered Ottomans, regaining control and pushing them out of their western lands. Shah Abbas was a key leader during the peak of this empire. He replaced the army of "religious enthusiasts" with a paid army that was trained in a way to overcome any territory that came as a threat. They used huge cannons that they bought from the English, which allowed them to crush any threatening forces. The fall of the empire began like the Ottomans, with an economic decline, due to European invasion and control of resources. The Safavid Empire also had been slowly taken over by Ottoman and Afghanistan forces from 1722 and on. The conservative Shiite Muslim people also grew less tolerate for the leader at the time, who allowed more variety and acceptance to other forms of religion. With the combination of less followers and support for their government, and a dying supply of money to support the empire; the Safavid Empire was pushed eastward until it was inexistent.
The Ottoman Turkish Empire was set in full swing by Othman I, who won many victories and picked up followers. The Ottomans picked up voids that the Mongols had left, enabling them to gain territory easily earlier in its days. Unlike the Mughals, the Ottomans established a Navy early in its days; and this allowed them to ward off the British to some degree. They also had a strong artillery and cavalry army, and at one point in time were
considered as dangerous as China. The Ottomans were one of the first empires to take use of firearms in the Middle East, so they easily defeated their Muslim rivals. For years, the Ottoman Turkish Empire was technology advanced in their area. The decent of the empire came when the call to update their army came into play. Conservative Islamic people focused on tradition and spirituality, and with an army unwilling to change, they began to lose battles. There was also a string of ineffective leaders, and as government decentralization began, the nation started to descend. As with the other "gunpowder empires", the role of European influence in their own behalf caused economic failure. The empire declared bankruptcy, and fell under control of British collectors, it officially fell in 1918.
These three empires had originally had a centralized government. Their power was acquired swiftly, over a vast amount of area. All three empires had amazing periods of economic development, followed by sharp decline. These Islamic societies were generally conservative, and did not wish to conform to the Western ways of politics and culture. The European colonization went hand in hand with the downfall of all three of these empires. Europeans united to control and "westernize" Asia for their own behalf for industrial, commercial, and economic benefits. In my opinion, I agree with the classification of the Safavid, Ottoman Turkish, and Mughal Empires as the "gunpowder empires". For years they conquered the world with somewhat similar beliefs, using artillery as their main weapon. The fall of these empires was also similar; weak rulers, economic and political problems, and a sense of nationalism contributed to their conclusion. They also ended within the same fifty years of each other. These are my
concluding facts on why I believe the classification of the "Gunpowder Empires" is justified.
B. Historians have argued that the decades of the 1840s through the 1860s constitute a significant transition period in World History. What could these historians have been pointing to in order to make that claim? Throughout the 1840s and the 1860s a world wide collaboration and effort towards industrialism began. During this time the first steps to advancement in technologies were invented. Key items like the steam engine, railroad, electric
motor and generators, and textiles were readily available to most of the world; and this lead to a boom in mass production of items and a new demand for a working class. The first factories emerged during this time, providing more quantities and easier made products to society such as clothing, textiles, and other materials. The advancement of the way people or goods commuted was also changed. With railroads connecting major cities, a factory owner could ship its goods faster, cheaper, and further away into other parts of the country. As factory owners made more and more profits from the mass production of goods and the little expense they gave to receive it, the whole economy went up. More people spent money, and more people gained money. People could now afford more luxuries and werent forced to be so tight on their spending. This lead to more people with more of what they want. Previously in time, people may have only owned two or three pairs of clothing at once; with this advancement in more readily available and cheaper clothing, the public now could afford ,,extra outfits. Even with all this machinery making mass amounts of products, there still was a need for people to operate. So job duties went from working at home and on farms to get by to being paid hourly wages and going to jobs outside of the home. Two new classes in society emerged; the factory owners/managers and the factory workers. This industry working class translates into what most of working society is still based off of today. As Europe demanded more raw materials to feed their industrial boom, pressure on Asia grew to supply them or face conquering of territory. European countries colonized in Asia, with intents to direct the distribution of their natural resources. At the same time, the Western European ways rubbed off on them. Ideas that were beginning to get popular in Western Europe such and as
nationalism written constitutions by government; and this swayed the opinions of their own government ruling. Overthrows of the government in Asia began, demanding for a more representative style of ruling. Overall, the descent of world wide change, industrially and politically, swept through and collapsed an era.
II. CHOOSE 6 OF THE FOLLOWING AND FOR EACH ITEM EXPLAIN WHAT IT IS AND ITS HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE. EACH SHOULD BE ABOUT OF A PAGE IN LENGTH. 1. The National Assembly 2. Sans-culottes 3. The Treaty of Paris in 1763
In the late seventeenth century, France and Britain competed to have the most monopolized control over overseas empires. From 1701 t o1763, Britain and France fought each other to decide just who would come out on top and control foreign countries that could be easily conquered and robbed of their natural resources. In 1759, a battle in what in now known as Canada, took place between the two rivaling countries. Even though Britain was outnumbered nine thousand, they came out victorious. France gave in and signed the infamous Treaty of Paris of 1763. The French were forced to surrender Canada and British government quickly took control, but still gave Canadians freedom in their choice of religion and recognized the original French laws.
4. Congress of Vienna in 1815
The Congress of Vienna in 1815 was an international conference that was held to distribute territory after the rein of Napoleon ended. The main goal of the conference was to fairly distribute the land that was conquered and to insure that peace was preserved. The main countries that came into play in decision making were the ones with the most terrain lost which were Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain. Basically the French became deprived of all territory conquered by Napoleon, and the land that distributed was broken up so that Austria, France, and Spain were given back their original land and some. Britain profited undeniably from this conference, they gained several strategic colonial territories and also had control of the seas.
The Dutch Republic was united with the Austrian Netherlands to form a single kingdom of the Netherlands under the House of Orange. Norway and Sweden were joined under a single ruler Switzerland was declared neutral Russia got Finland and effective control over the new kingdom of Poland Prussia was given much of Saxony and important parts of Westphalia and the Rhine Province. Austria was given back most of the territory it had lost and was also given land in Germany and Italy (Lombardia and Venice) Britain got several strategic colonial territories, and they also gained control of the seas.
5. The Decembrist Revolt of 1825 6. The revolutions of 1848
The revolutions of 1848 were a series of revolutions and civilian uprisings led to the collapse of monarchies throughout central Europe. Triggered by the overthrow of the French government, many were inspired by their demands to claim to a written constitution, a representative government, and a focus on
civil liberties. Uprisings by civilians caused monarchies to either buck under and adhere to the demands of the public by providing reforms and a liberal constitution, or risk a complete loss of total control of their empires by execution. Whole countries began a social reform, questioning their authoritarian style regime and the rules they indited. The Austrian Empire began to crumble as Hungary rebellion became overpowering. Most of Europe and Western Asia were forced to adhere to the populations demands for a more representative style of country rule.
7. Otto von Bismarck 8. Nationalism Zionism 9. The Communist Manifesto 10. The "Great Revolt" of 1857 11. Taiping rebellion
The Taiping rebellion started as a revolt by its society against suppressed wages. In 1850, China became the most populous country in the world. This had numerous effects on the nation such as limited farm sizes, conflicts over land, and in increase in unwanted female infants. Since the population was so dense, work was hard to come by, and when it was found wages were low because work owners realized they could easily replace a worker with one of many that desperately needed a job. The nation was still dealing with issues from British and French enforcement, because they claimed the Chinese hadnt laid ground to the amount of raw materials they demanded. They went to Beijing with military force and demanded that China obey and increase their foreign trade. With a combination of a somewhat foreign economic control and overpopulation, peasantry hardships lead to a massive rebellion lead by Hong Xiuquan. He claimed to have religious visions, and claimed he was the younger brother of Jesus. With these beliefs, he soon gathered Christians and others in need of a reason to react to this "Chinese depression" and they swept through China destroying idols and ancestral temples. They established a capital in Nanjing, where he preached word on moralization; trying to stop opium and alcohol use, foot binding, and prostitution. Manchus and Chinese scholar officials came together to try to suppress the uprising of the country. They raised armies, and in the end in 1864, some 20 million people lost their lives do to the insurgent rebels.
12. Boxer rebellion 13. British East India Company
As Europe went through a great industrialization boom, factories demanded more raw materials to sustain their mass production, and pressure on Asia to supply these grew greater. The British East India Company began around the 1600s when British began colonizing and slowly taking control over territories in India. They thought it was crucial to establish territory near China, since they also hoarded materials England found useful. India had resources available that Britain didnt have access to. Some of these resource included precious jewels, handcrafted materials, tea, silk, jute, and coffee. Another key resource Britain found useful was opium. Up until around 1830 China had no use to trade with England. With the discovery for a high demand for the drug opium rising, Britain had finally found some sort of a currency to smuggle into China. Although China outlawed opium, secretly British ships delivered shiploads from India of this drug to Chinese merchants who would trade with them. It was basically a profit Britain was making was made illegally on the Chinese black market. The British East India Company was essentially a monopoly; they had a large supply of opium close in range, that Chinas people craved to settle their addiction. The British East India Company began to slow diminish around 1857-58 when slowly more political control was established by Indians in the government.
14. Dowager Empress Tsihsi 15. "most-favored nation" meant whenever one nation extracted a new privilidge from China, it was extended automatically to Britain
16. Romanticism
Romanticism was a popular idea until around the 1840s. It was somewhat of a response to the Enlightenment movement, which was thorough in the belief of rationality. Romanticism could best be described as a movement that disagreed with the idea of industrialization, and endorsed nature. Rousseau played a key part in encouraging the ideas this sort. He advocated on reacting to "feelings, freedom, and natural goodness". They believed in citing their own histories and cultures. Romantics also reinforced early nationalism. Traces of the "romantic" movement can still be found in historic folk traditions, poems, writings, and music. This movement had a profound impact on the arts and culture during this time period.
17. The Origin of Species 18. Tokugawa Shogunate 19. The Exam System 20. Meiji Restoration 21. The Hundred Days Reform 22. Boycotts and the Committees of Correspondence 23. Social Darwinism 24. The Janissaries