Chapter 22 Notes
 After
the Mongols, no single power controlled
Central Asia, and no unified economic policy
protected and promoted trade.
 Also, the sea trade replaced the old overland
trade route through Central Asia.
 Land-based empires of Eurasia (Ottoman,
Russian, Mughal, and Ming) were at a
disadvantage in the competition with seabased empires of Europe.
 Society
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Often preceded traders, explorers, & conquerors
Francis Xavier, Matteo Ricci
Most prominent transmitter of European science
and technology to China and of Chinese
philosophy and literature to Europe
 East
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of Jesus (Jesuits)
India Companies
Dutch East India Company(VOC) secured favor in
China and Japan
East India Company of England was VOC’s biggest
rival
 These
groups became conduits of trade and
knowledge between Asia and Europe.
 After
end of Mongol power in Russia, power
moved from Kiev to Moscow.
 Muscovy prince Ivan IV (the Terrible) took
title tsar in 1547 and extended Russia’s
borders to east and north.
 “Time of Troubles” included internal
struggles as well as external wars.
 Mikhail Romanov started a new dynasty
which lasted until 1917.
 Romanovs saw the east as their only option
for expansion.
 Surrounding
Russia to the north, east, and
parts of south were Turkic people.
 Russian and Turkic peoples cooperated but
were suspicious of one another.
 Hostility increased when Ottomans emerged
as a great power in the region.
 Cossacks demonstrate a way Russia combined
elements considered “Turk” with those
considered “Russian.”
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Military skills of Asian horsemen
Russian-speakers, Christians, helped build
Russian empire
 Ottoman
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Wanted warm-water port on Black Sea
Liberate Istanbul
Protector of Orthodox Christians in Balkans
Failed – but idea remained
 Great
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War
Northern War
Broke Swedish control of Baltic Sea
Established direct contacts between Russia and
Europe
 St.
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Petersburg
Built on land taken from Sweden, became
Russia’s capital
Built in style of Western Europe – Russia’s
“window to the west”
Nobles forced to wear western clothes and
shave, ended seclusion of upper-class women
 Autocracy
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Peter wanted to break power of boyars.
Brought Russian Orthodox Church under state
control
Increased burdens of taxes and forced labor on
the serfs
 Ivan
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IV began Russian exploration of Siberia
Furs & timber first valuable resources
After 1700 gold, coal, & iron became important.
From early 1600s used as a penal colony
 Rivalry
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Treaties finally set official borders
Allowed Russia to expand to the Pacific
 North
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with Qing China
America
Added Alaska
Russian traders active along entire western coast
of North America
 Ming
manufacturers had transformed the
global economy with their techniques for the
assembly-line production of porcelain.
 Europeans loved the blue-on-white porcelain
and traders requested special European
designs.
 This market for porcelain and other Chinese
goods stimulated the commercial
development of East Asia, the Indian Ocean,
and Europe.
 Natural
disasters
 Climate change
 Agricultural distress
 Uprisings
 Inflation (Despite influx of silver, the Ming
government maintained a strict ratio in price
between silver and copper coins.)
 Porcelain factories plagued by disorder and
inefficiency
 Slow introduction of foods from Americas and
Africa
 Under
pressure from powerful Mongol
federations of Central Asia
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Mongols had unified under Tibetan Buddhism.
Khan designated a dalai lama, or universal
teacher to legitimize his rule.
 Japanese
warriors invaded Korea (a Chinese
tributary state)
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
Manchus contributed troops (at a high cost for
impoverished Ming) to help stop invasion
Korea’s “turtle boats” stopped the invasion but
both Korea and Ming were weakened.
 Rebellious
forces captured Beijing.
 Imperial family fled city.
 Ming general invited Manchus to take Beijing
from rebels.
 Qing did this but kept power rather than
restoring Ming.
 Ming imperial family appealed to Pope for
help.
 Dead before Pope’s response arrived.
 The
Qing Empire was ruled by a Manchu
imperial family and Manchus were the
leaders of the military forces.
 While it was a diverse empire, the
overwhelming majority of officials, soldiers,
merchants, and farmers were Chinese.
 Spread into south China and Central Asia.
 Fostered economic and demographic
recovery.
 Foreign trade was encouraged.
 Became
emperor as a child (1662).
 In 1669, at 16, he gained control over the
government by executing his chief regent.
 Intellectual prodigy
 Successful military commander
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Personally led troops in bringing Mongolia under
Qing control.
Battled with and then made peace with Russian
Empire
 Died
in 1722, reign marked by expansion and
stability in the empire
 Part
of the effectiveness of the Kangxi era
was due to Qing willingness to incorporate
ideas/technologies from other regions.
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Mongol system of political organization
Korean and Chinese agricultural practices
Jesuit influence
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Maps in European style
Considered European calendar but faced strong
opposition
Medical expertise
Anatomical & pharmaceutical knowledge
Mathematics, astronomy, European civilization
 To
gain converts among Chinese elite, Jesuits
made compromises in their religious
teaching.
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Most important was toleration of Confucian
ancestor worship
Caused conflict with Catholic rivals in China and
Pope
 Chinese
Jesuits
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knowledge brought to Europe by
Early form of inoculation that eventually inspired
vaccines
Porcelain factories
 Success
of Qing caused admiration in Europe.
 Demand for Chinese goods
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Silk, porcelain, tea
Wallpaper
Chinese produce items especially for Europe
 Admiration

for Chinese philosophy
Voltaire proclaimed Qing emperors model
philosopher-kings and advocated such rulership
 Desire
for communications with China
 Qing
were eager to expand China’s economic
influence but were determined to control
trade very strictly.
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Allowed imperial family to enjoy benefits of
taxation
Limited piracy and smuggling
 To
regulate trade, Qing allowed only one
market point for each trading sector.
 This system worked well for European
traders until the late 1700s.
 British
had become a important presence in
East Asia.
 Tea from China became enormously popular
in Britain.
 English traders felt the Qing system hindered
their opportunities to make money from the
millions of potential Chinese consumers.
 British government was concerned about the
massive trade deficit with China.
 Sent George Macartney to open diplomatic
relations with China and revise the trade
system.
 Maccartney
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mission was a complete fiasco!
Chinese would not allow Maccartney to travel to
Beijing.
Maccartney refused to perform the kowtow, and
Chinese officials refused to bow to a portrait of
the king of England.
The basic issues were unresolvable.
 Dutch,
French, & Russian officials also failed
to achieve changes in trade.
 European attitudes toward China began to
shift.
 Massive
population growth due to new crops
and Qing peace.
 Qing had outgrown government.
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Same number of officials as Ming with twice the
land and four times the population
Couldn’t keep up with repairs and environmental
issues
Led to misery in many parts of interior China
 Qing
fell victim to basic problems of landbased empires.
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Conquered huge stretch of territory to defend
itself against Russia
Costs of maintaining territory was enormous.
 Japan’s
centralized political system had
broken down in the 12th century, when the
first of the decentralized military
governments – the shogunates – had been
created.
 In 1600 a new shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu,
declared victory.
 The emperor of Japan had no political
power; he remained at Kyoto the medieval
capital.
 The
Tokugawa shoguns built a new capital for
themselves at Edo (now Tokoyo).
 The shogun was served by the regional lords,
each of who maintained a castle town, a
small bureaucracy, a population of warriors –
samurai – and military support personnel.
 The shoguns paid the lords in rice, and the
lords paid their followers in rice. Recipients
had to convert a large portion of their rice to
cash.
 This
system led to well-spaced urban
centers.
 Good roads, traffic, and commerce linked
Edo to three of the four main islands of
Japan.
 Rice exchanges developed at Edo and Osaka,
where merchants speculated in rice prices.
 Like
China, Japan was a target of missionary
activity by the Jesuits.
 Converts among the elite were few, and the
shogunal court at Edo was consistently
hostile to Christianity.
 Christianity was more successful among the
farmers in the countryside. The Jesuits had
their greatest success in the southern and
eastern regions of Japan.
 In
the late 1630s, these regions were the
scenes of massive uprisings by impoverished
farmers.
 The rebellions, which were ruthlessly
suppressed were blamed on Christian
influence.
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Hundreds of Japanese Christians were crucified.
Belief in Christianity was banned by law.
It became punishable by death for foreigners to
come to Japan or for Japanese to leave.
 The
purpose of the closing was to prevent
the spread of foreign influence in Japan – not
to exclude from Japan knowledge of foreign
cultures.
 A few Dutch were permitted to trade in
Japan, and a few Japanese were licensed to
provide for them.
 The western knowledge they acquired
spread.
 Population
growth put a great strain on the
well-developed lands of central Japan.
 Government was unable to stabilize rice
prices which weakened the samurai.
 Like other Confucian societies, the Tokugawa
tried to limit the power of merchants.
 The crisis of Tokugawa Japan’s
transformation from a military to a civil
society is demonstrated by the “Forty-seven
Ronin” incident of 1702.