Eastern Eurasia, 1500-1800

1. Eastern Eurasia, 1500-1800 Chapter 22

2. Pre-1500 Eurasia Mongol domination led to increased overland trade in the 13th century Connecting Iran, Southern Russia, and China The Ming dynasty was established after the fall of the Yuan dynasty in the mid 1300s Local leaders fought for control of trade routes After 1500 no single power ruled Central Asia Large empires competed for control, which decreased travel and trade Caravan trade was no longer used too expensive and unreliable

3. Merchants took advantage of new trade connections through the sea Seaborne trade was cheaper, faster, and more reliable Asian ports became more rich through European commerce After Mongol control ended in Russia, they entered a period of depression and isolation They had to expand or they’d be left out of the Pacific trade

4. New Patterns of Contact in Eurasia Land-based empires like Russia and the Ming were more expensive to defend and had few choices for expansion They were vulnerable to attack from Central Asia and maintaining these areas was costly This strengthened the tendencies towards emphasis on agriculture and political centralization Land-based empires were at a disadvantage in competition with sea-based European empires

5. European entry into sea trade and communications in the 16th and 17th centuries was the work of new global organizations Society of Jesuits and East India Companies Jesuits brought Catholicism and European ideas to Japan and China and brought Chinese knowledge back Europe The Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch East India Company, and East India Company opened up new trade between Eastern Eurasia and Europe

6. The Triumph of the Russian Empire After the dissolution of Mongol power, Moscow became the base for a new state, Muscovy The territory of the former Kievan state, Novgorod in the west and the Caucasus region in the east Muscovite ruler, Ivan IV, took the title ‘tsar’ Threats and invasion by Sweden and Poland, as well as internal disputes from the boyars led to the overthrow of Muscovite rulers In 1613 Mikhail Romanov became tsar The Romanovs consolidated their authority by expanding to the east

7. Slavic Russian and Turkic speakers had intermingled for centuries Hostility increased when the Ottoman Empire expanded into the Caucasus and the Balkans Those regions were vital to Russia’s security Divisions between the Russians and Turks represented a division between Christians and ‘infidels’ or between the civilized and ‘barbaric’ Turkish and Russian influences produced the Russian Empire—Cossacks

8. 1689-1725—Peter the Great ruled Russia He fought the Ottomans to secure a port on the Black Sea and to liberate Constantinople—both were unsuccessful 1700-1721—Great Northern War occurred Established contacts between Europe and Russia 1712—St. Petersburg became the new capital Contributed to westernizing Russian elites, demonstrated Russian sophistication to Europe, and decreased the power of the boyars

9. He used European technology and culture to strengthen the Russian state and increase his power as an autocratic ruler Peter is remembered for: Bringing the Russian Orthodox Church under his control Building industrial plants to serve the military Increasing the burdens of taxes and labor on the serfs—Russia was dependent on them for crop production

10. Russia expanded towards the east Siberia—valued for its furs and timber, after 1700 for gold, coal and iron and became a penal colony The Qing and Russians competed for Central Asia, Mongolia, and land along the Amur River Treaties were signed in 1689 and 1727 which had two effects: Weakened the Mongols Focused Russian expansion on the east Dominated the fur and shipping industries of North Pacific and became one of the world’s largest land empires

11. The later Ming and Early Qing Empires, 1500-1800 Cultural and economic achievements of the Ming continued until 1600 Numerous factors led to their decline: Natural disasters associated with climate change New World silver into China caused inflation Internal factors particular to China’s urban industrial sector, stagnant agricultural productivity, and low population growth Increased threats on all of their borders 1644—the Ming were overthrown and the Manchu Qing empire entered Beijing, restored order and took China for its own

12. The Qing Empire was ruled by a Manchu imperial family, who were a minority in China They relied on diverse people for assistance in ruling the empire Early Qing emperors fostered economic and demographic recovery in China: They encouraged foreign trade and revived overland routes of communication Central Asia conquests gave them access to horses, deposits of coal, iron, gold and silver, and eliminated the threat of the Mongols

13. The 17th and 18th centuries in China—specifically the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong—were the most economic, militaristic, and culturally prosperous 1669—at 16, Kangxi took formal control over his government by executing his chief regent He was an intellectual prodigy and successful military commander who expanded his territory and gave it a high degree of stability

14. During Kangxi’s reign the Qing incorporated ideas and technology from Mongolia, Tibet, Korea, and China and European knowledge and technology, taught by the Jesuits The Jesuits were also affected by the contact with China They adapted their religious teachings to cater to Chinese converts’ Confucian ancestor worship Transmitted to Europe Chinese technology including variolation and factory management techniques

15. The wealth and power of the Qing led to enthusiasm in Europe for Chinese things like silk, tea, porcelain, wallpaper, etc. The Jesuit descriptions of China also led European intellectuals to see Qing emperors as benevolent despots or philosopher kings from whom the Europeans could learn

16. The Qing were eager to expand trade, but they wanted to control it in order to tax it more efficiently and to control piracy and smuggling The Qing designated a single market point for each foreign sector Canton was used for people coming from the South China Sea and European traders This system worked until the late 1700s

17. In the late 1700s the British East India Company and other English traders believed that China’s market held potential for unlimited profits “The Canton System” stood in the way of opening up new commerce The British parliament was worried about sending English silver into China Opening markets in China would bring more English merchants into trade and end the EIC

18. 1793-1794—British diplomatic missions were sent to China to revise the trade system This mission was unsuccessful, as were similar diplomatic embassies sent by the Dutch, the French, and the Russians The Russians abandoned land-based imperial expansion and focused on sea exploration and colonization of overseas territories This expansion ended the status quote between the Russians and the Qing

19. In the late 1700s a population explosion occurred due to the introduction of new crops Population growth caused increased environmental stress: Deforestation Erosion Silting up of river channels and canals Flooding This caused migration, increased crime and rebellions to occur

20. The Qing depended on local elites to maintain local order They were unable to enforce tax regulations, control standards for entry into government service, or prevent the declining revenue, increased corruption, and increased banditry To defend themselves against Russia, the Qing conquered a large amount of territory The need to invest in agriculture and transport limited Qing investments and strengthened interests in taxing foreign trade

21. Decentralization and Innovation in Tokugawa Japan, to 1800 In the late 1500s the Ashikaga Shogunate lost control and the country had fallen into a period of chaotic wars between local lords A new shogun brought all the local lords under the administration of his Tokugawa Shogunate in 1600 The Tokugawa gave loyal regional lords rice lands close to the shogunal capital in central Japan Lords who didn’t support the Tokugawa were given undeveloped lands in the north and south

22. The decentralized system of regional lords meant that Japan developed urban centers in all regions The shogun stimulated transportation and commerce by requiring all lords to visit Edo Samurai became bureaucrats and consumers of luxury goods This helped develop the merchant class whose most successful families formed alliances with regional lords and the shogun Wealthy families became politically influential

23. Jesuits came to Japan in the late 1500s and converted a lot of farmers of southern and eastern Japan In the 1630s a rural rebellion was blamed on Christians The Tokugawa Shogunate responded with persecutions, a ban on Christianity, and the closing of the country This closed country policy was intended to prevent the spread of foreign influence

24. A small group of European traders were allowed to reside on a small island near Nagasaki “Dutch studies” was developed so Japanese could learn European knowledge Some of the “outer lords” relied on overseas trade These lords ignored the closed country policy which made them wealthy from their control of maritime trade

25. Population growth and economic growth contributed to the reversal of fortunes between the “inner” and “outer” lords Population growth in central Japan put a strain on the agricultural economy, but in the outer provinces economic growth continued The Tokugawa system was also undermined by changes in rice prices and in interest rates

26. Tokugawa shoguns accepted the Confucian idea that agriculture should be the basis of the state and that merchants should occupy a low social position The decentralized political system made it difficult for the Shogunate to regulate merchant activities Commerce was stimulated causing the economy to grew faster than the population merchants gained new freedoms, influence, and their own culture