Attempting to Catch Western Europe

Japan – Victims to Imperialists Since sakoku, the Tokugawa shogunate had kept Japan and its trade Closed Europe and the world, except for the Dutch at Deijima While Japan remained closed since the 1630s, in 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy threatened Japan to open trade Under the threat of gunboat bombardment, he gave Japan a year to decide whether or not they agreed to open trade After witnessing the humiliation of China to the British during the Opium Wars, Japan agreed to open up to the US, Britain, and Russia However, this move humiliated the Japanese, and they dedicated themselves To industrializing, and ridding themselves of the failed Tokugawa gov.

Japan – Meiji (emperor) Restoration In 1868, many Japanese leaders rebelled against the weak shogunate for its humiliating surrender to the US and the West and its failure to industrialize Restoring the emperor, Japanese leaders decided adopt and model as much of their society on the West as possible: industrially, politically, and militaristically They reconstructed their government to be more democratic (emperor still at top), and wrote a constitution (rules for the gov) Known as the Iwakura Mission, they also sent out officials and exchange students to the West to learn Western science, manufacturing, and culture Lastly, they hired Western military and economic advisors, and began rapid industrial expansion and the modernization of their military

First Sino-Japanese War 1894-1895 Within 30 years of the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese looked to expand and create an imperial empire like the West and Russia—focusing on China and Korea Seeing China’s weakness in the Opium Wars, Japan went to war with the Qing Dynasty for control of Korea and Taiwan (owned by China) The war only lasted about 6-7 months, with the smaller, more modern Japanese army and navy thwarting all Qing forces easily and took Korea and Taiwan for themselves The alarming success of Japan sent shockwaves through the world, as China was humiliated by a loss of power, prestige, and influence to Japan This also alerted Europeans not only to how strong Japan had becomSelf-Strengthening Movement had failede, how weak China was, and how the

Qing Dynasty – Self-Strengthening Movement In the first half of the 19th century, Chinese leaders and officials opposed The idea of borrowing and learning from European science/military China distinctly felt its methods and culture were superior, and Desired to keep its current society and economy in tact Much of the anti-foreign sentiment came from Empress Cixi, while most of the advocating for change came from Prince Gong After humiliation at the hands of Britain and France in the Opium Wars, most supported the Self-Strengthening Movement Not wanting to draw completely from another culture, the Chinese attempted to industrialize themselves, without any aid or ideas from the West (except military)

Ottoman Empire Like China, much of the Ottoman leadership was opposed to modernizing their economy and military—most of which coming from the Janissaries Like China, the Ottoman Empire had a long, proud history of success, and many saw their losses to Europeans as a temporary setback Selim III (1762-1808) was the first sultan to realize the Ottoman Empire needed to industrialize their military and economy While he attempted to bring French military advisors, the Janissaries staunchly opposed any foreign advice or change They quickly imprisoned and killed Selim III, and hurt any chance of reform in the OE

Khedivate of Egypt – 1867-1914 In Egypt, a man named Muhammad Ali also recognized the need for the Islamic world to industrialize Seeing the failure of Selim III, Ali made sure to move to separate Egypt from the Ottoman Empire and industrialize as a semi-autonomous state To industrialize, he nationalized all the land held by the powerful Mamluk (nobles) elites, and turned most of the land into cotton production Next, he began a European-model centralized gov/bureaucracy He also began state-driven industrial expansion, building factories for arms production, and started a modern navy