...Compare and Contrast Japanese and Western Imperialism in Asia and the Pacific 23 October 2013 at 18:10 The Japanese pursuit for an empire in South East Asia helped changed the balance of world power away from Europe, by taking their most lucrative colonies. Soon after the Japanese defeat in World War II, most of the colonies won their independence from their European masters. This essay will be arguing that despite the vast geographical distance and cultural, racial differences, as well as the different time periods involved, Japanese and European intentions were very similar, and that these similarities contributed to the weakening of Imperialism as a doctrine. To do so, this essay will be examining the reasons for the Japanese conducting policies of imperialism, when they expanded, what methods they use to expand and the systems of government. Japanese Imperialism will be compared to those of a well known European power active in the region, Britain. J.A Hobson’s seminal work Imperialism: A Study puts forward the idea of the ‘Economic Taproot of Imperialism’. A taproot is the largest root in some plants and is the plant’s primary source of nourishment. Military aggression is simply capitalist expansion. He described it as “As one nation after another enters the machine economy and adopts advanced industrial methods, it becomes more difficult for its manufacturers, merchants and finaciers to dispose profitably of their economic resources and they are tempted more and more to...
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...Throughout the 19th century into the 20th century, the west started to have an increasingly great influence on the other parts of the world. Asia, in particular, was faced with the decision of whether to adopt and conform to the western ways or to reject and stick with their traditional ways of life. In the end, Asia adapted to ways of the western “devils”, but most of their efforts seemed unsuccessful while others were quite successful. The main countries that experienced the western influence were China, Korea and Japan. Although all three countries experienced their share of internal and external strife, China and Korea’s modernization efforts were, in comparison to Japan, unsuccessful. The reason for this was because Japan was able to fully utilize their resources and take advantage of the opportunities that they were presented with in Asia, whereas China and Korea were occupied with internal and external conflicts. Although China and Korea weren’t total failures, the Land of the Rising sun overshadowed them. China’s first experience with western imperialism is seen in the 1830’s when they had conflict with the spread of opium and the dwindling of silver within the country. China wished to stop both these events so when they confiscated supplies of opium from British traders, the British government used its newly developed military power to make their dissatisfaction known to the Chinese. This, along with other factors, led to the First Opium War (1839-1842). The result...
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...Description of the event | Significance of the event | 1850 | -Taiping Rebellion-this was against the Manchu which was ruling the Qing Dynasty | -one of the bloodiest military conflicts in history-20 million people died, especially pedestrians | 1 August 1894 | -First sino-japanese war-this war was against China and Japan over the control of Korea -in the first six months China kept on losing which made them call for peace in February 1895 | -Intensification of imperialism -China was seen as weak so many Europeans started to partition China and take land from them which led further on to the Boxer revolution | June 1900 | -Boxer Rebellion to foreign powers and imperialism-Boxers gathered in Beijing protesting against Christianity and their act of taking land under the influence of the church | -Opened the Europeans eyes and saw that China was not as weak and fragile as they thought which made them rethink themselves | October 10, 1911 | -The Manchu Dynasty was overthrown and a republic was created.-Government lost control of the military and many provinces became independent of Beijing | -the key causes of this event would be significant causes for the Civil War that would start 15 years later: imperialism, anti-foreign attitudes, and the central government’s weakness | February 1912 | -Yuan Shikai assumed the role of president.-he was able to achieve so from the role of premier he had during the Qing dynasty and the fact that people in the south recognized him as the man...
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...that starting in the 19th century, Japan ended its traditional isolationist policies while China sought to become isolationist, and that this distinction strongly influenced both Japan and China's political, economic, and social responses to modernization and westernization. Politically, China and Japan's reaction to Western ideas dramatically differed. When President Fillmore sent Commodore Matthew C. Perry to Japan, the ho-shogun and his advisers first resisted the visit, but finally agreed to trade with the United States upon signing the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1858. (Cohen)As a result, Western diplomats soon inundated the Land of the Rising Sun in order to persuade the nation politically, but more importantly to them, economically. The political-diplomatic, cultural-intellectual, and socio-economic relation that followed was christened the Meiji Restoration. In general, the Japanese gradually became very receptive to the concepts of democracy, liberalism, and laissez-faire, but Meiji leaders planned to remain free of Western imperialism by negotiating with Western diplomats. They did not abandon their isolationist policies of over 200 years under the Tokugawa Shogunate only to be absorbed as a European colony; instead, they wanted to learn Western military and industrialization tactics so that they could compete with Westerners politically and economically in the future. (Craig) China, however, was just the opposite. After experiencing the stresses of the Taiping Rebellion...
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...Opium Wars were two trading wars in the mid-19th century in which western nations gained commercial privileges in China. Internationally, these wars changed China’s position in the world. Before the failure of these wars, China was at the center of the world economy as Europeans and Americans sought Chinese goods. Under the influence of the Confucianism for thousands of years, China viewed itself as “the Center of Civilization” and carried out the Tribute System towards other countries who wanted to trade with it. The results of these two wars were that China was forced to sign a series of unequal treaties, which made China cede territory to the UK, pay a great amount of reparations, and opened 16 treaty ports and so on. China gradually became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society and its international status was severely threatened. These wars also mean the end of the Tribute System. Meiji Restoration was a series of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under the Meiji Emperor. It brought about the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and returned control of the country to direct imperial rule under the emperor Meiji and the beginning of Meiji Period. This revolution contributed to the build of a successful modern nation-state, the rapid modernization and westernization of Japan and also it meant the origin of Japan’s economic growth. Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) was the conflict between Japan and China. It marked the emergence of Japan as a major world...
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...Keri Birmingham Professor Jee Yoon Lee UW20 Asian American Experience December 9,2011 Eurasian: The New Face of Asia [ABSTRACT] My project is to prove that Eurasians are becoming the new face of Asia through the entertainment industry and mainstream media. Mixed-race models, musicians, and actors of Asian and Caucasian descent are becoming well known in Asian pop-culture such as Maggie Q, Sirinya Winsiri, and Karen Mok. Although, in the past Eurasians born in East Asia were perceived as children of subjugated Asian women that were shamefully dominated by Western imperialists in history, they are now viewed as internationally ideal. To elucidate, foreign imperialism to East Asia has caused economic ties that have influenced Asian popular culture through mainstream media and entertainment that is based on Western culture and their standard of beauty, which is Caucasian. However, global businesses search for any kind of marketing that will entice their target audience, which is now the European-Asian spokespersons and entertainers that provide an opportunity to reach out to audiences that were once racially divided. Their international appeal by the media has created a beauty standard and has inspired Asians, mostly in East Asia to dye their hair, wear colored contacts, or surgically widen they eyes to resemble more European looking eyes. European and Asian mixes are becoming the role models for Asians in Asia, where multiracial people are hardly found, and therefore portrayed...
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...AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT RELATED TO COMMON PROBLEMS OF CHINA, JAPAN AND NORTH KOREA This paper identifies some common issues that East Asian countries are struggling to deal with and how they are unique in some aspects and similar in others to problems that Western nations face. This paper focuses on the countries of China, Japan and North Korea and look primarily at the issues that arise from these nations’ struggle to shape their national identity on the world stage as well as how these nations are dealing with the ever increasing force of globalization. This paper also looks at the role that the United States plays in shaping or dealing with these issues, as well as how an American citizen might play a role in perpetuating or resolving these dilemmas. Through this work it should be made more clear what problems East Asian nations share and reveal that they must deal with them in a way that is both uniquely domestic but also influenced by factors that arise from the United States and other International actors. Common Problems in China, Japan and North Korea and American Involvement There are two major dilemmas that are addressed in this paper that are shared by these three nations. The first can be identified as an issue of International Sovereignty where these countries all have a vested interest in exerting their will in the international arena but all have limited ways of making this happen. Associated with the issue of establishing their sovereignty ...
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...The Boxer Uprising (1898-1901), also known as ‘Yi Ho Tuan’ Movement, was a major peasant uprising marked by anti-Manchu and anti-foreign sentiments. In the period after the Opium Wars, the nature of Sino-Western relations had changed, leading to a scramble for concessions. This had exposed the inefficacy of the Manchus. Simultaneously, it had intensified the socio-economic crisis already prevalent in the 19th century. This essay attempts to analyze the causes, nature and impact of the Boxer Movement. Causes 1. A study of the traditional Chinese society and economy is imperative to trace the origins of the Uprising. The Chinese society was strictly compartmentalized by the principles of Confucianism. The society was highly stratified and had a rigid and inflexible hierarchical structure. A unique combination of power, wealth and knowledge defined the gentry or the elite class. The peasantry was the ‘exploited’ class, the taxpayers, who despite the theoretical emphasis on ‘career open to merit’ could rarely attain gentry status. The growing tax burden and exploitation caused discontent among them and though they remained placid, the simmering of discontent was always there. However, peasant uprisings, though a frequent occurrence, were spontaneous and scattered and so easy to suppress. The growing unrest culminated into agitation, and found expression in the Boxer Movement. 2. A series of natural calamities in the late 19th century intensified the discontent...
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...Study Guide For Final Examination 1. Examine the process and the transition from the more traditional "putting-out" system to the rise of the factory system. What would be the economic and social implications of this change? (Class notes and Bentley & Ziegler, chapter 29) World population was growing, so there was a demand for more finished products. Before the factories, products were produced out of people’s homes and the process took a lot of time. The factories opened and centralized the materials (and people making the products) getting made to one place. The rise of factories came about with new technologies and new machines. Entrepreneurs worked with scientists (engineers) to make machines to mass produce the goods. Started with the textile industry (imported from India and then British government banned the imports of textiles from India and then the demand became greater) because the demand for textiles was not being met with the “putting out” system. Spinning machines made thread and then the flying shuttle would weave to make cloth. Social implications included opening of schools – even for women on a positive side and as a negative side, it led to overcrowding in the cities (which led to theft and prostitution), unemployment (people traveled to the cities to work in the factories and there weren’t enough jobs to go around), health concerns (sanitation and pollution) and child labor. Economic implications would include the rise of the two different classes –...
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...U.S.-Japanese relations began as economic, geopolitical, and trade tensions, but eventually evolved to include cultural and military aspects. U.S.-Japanese relations has continuously been tense ever since the landing of Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s ships on Tokyo Bay on July 8th, 1853. In order to understand the tense relationship between the U.S. and Japan, there needs to be a historical background. Using Walter LaFeber’s “The Clash” as a basis to this historical background until America’s entrance into World War II. Before jumping into the 1990s, a discussion about Japan’s economy after 1945 and Shintaro Ishihara’s argument that Japan will be first among equals. Shintaro Ishihara argues that Japan’s technological advancement should be used to control over...
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...Apologetics of Imperialism argues that China’s economic and social disruptions are caused by imperialism. However, when one examines the evidence chosen and rhetoric of both sides, one may realize the faults in Nathan’s essay which are not shown in Esherick’s. Esherick, as opposed to Nathan, delivers his arguments and defends his stance in a well-rounded manner along with wise usage of his evidence–forming a more crystalized and convincing argument. The two sides disagree on the fundamental question of whether imperialism brought harm or benefits to China in three aspects: effects on the economy, effects on politics, and the results of imperialism. Nathan focuses on the economic benefits foreign trade has brought, while undermining the arguments that his opponents made (in this case, mainly James Peck and Issac’s arguments.) Nathan explains that “it is difficult to establish a negative relationship between the foreign presence and the success of Chinese enterprise.” He attributes the failure of the Chinese industrialization process to the “failure of that sector as a whole to develop,” and states that the problem can “hardly be explained by the depressing effect of foreign treaty port enterprise on Chinese treaty port enterprise.” He responds that the net drain of wealth is inherently inevitable since “China’s national debt per capita and her foreign trade per capita must have been among the lowest in the world.” He also points out that “the distorting impact of imperialism on China’s...
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...Imperial America EDGE Fall Quarter 2003 Tim Chueh Ambert Ho 12/5/03 What Is Imperialism? “Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism…characterized by monopoly corporations and the compulsion to export capital abroad for higher profits. Unlike capitalism in the earlier stages, in the imperialist stage, capitalism has no more progress to bring the world…the cause of contemporary militarism” – Lenin “The policy, practice, or advocacy of seeking, or acquiescing in, the extension of the control, dominion, or empire of a nation, as by the acquirement of new, esp. distant, territory or dependencies, or by the closer union of parts more or less independent of each other for operations of war, copyright, internal commerce, etc.” – Oxford dictionary The word imperialism derives from “empire.” As such, it is useful to spend a bit of time to define the word. In working towards a minimal definition, Stanford Professor of Archaeology J. Manning in his first lecture on Ancient Empires starts with: “An empire is a territorially extensive hierarchically political organization.” Unfortunately this definition is too vague. All states encountered in human history are by definition hierarchical, and many nations today are vast compared to the...
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...THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS AND RADICALISM Dr. M. LAL GOEL Also known as Dr. Madan Lal Goel University of West Florida lgoel@uwf.edu Abstract. The notion of a clash of civilizations has gained notoriety since the terrorist attack on WTC on 9/11/2001. Professor Samuel P. Huntington has popularized the view that the coming global conflict will be among major civilizations, not among different political ideologies. He identifies eight major civilizations: the Western (Europe and North America), Slavic (Russia and Eastern Europe), Islamic, Confucian, Hindu, Japanese, Latin American, and the African. Of particular focus in the present paper is the threat to civilization from radical Islam. Three factors that foment radicalism are described: the Islamic theology of exclusiveness, the nostalgic memory of a Muslim empire that lasted nearly 1,000 years, and the consequences of oil boom in the Middle East. Population estimates for different civilizations are provided at the end. Introduction The theory of a clash of civilizations has been with us for some time. British historian Arnold Toynbee used the term in a series of lectures he delivered in 1953. The Middle East specialist Bernard Lewis wrote in 1990 that the Muslim rage against the West is “no less than a clash of civilizations” (Lewis, 1990, p 60). Samuel P. Huntington, a Harvard University political science professor, has given new currency to the notion of a clash of civilizations. His 1993 article in Foreign...
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...Meiji Japan. In 1867/68, the Tokugawa era found an end in the Meiji Restoration. The emperor Meiji was moved from Kyototo Tokyo which became the new capital; his imperial power was restored. The actual political power was transferred from the Tokugawa Bakufu into the hands of a small group of nobles and former samurai. Like other subjugated Asian nations, the Japanese were forced to sign unequal treaties with Western powers. These treaties granted the Westerners one-sided economical and legal advantages in Japan. In order to regain independence from the Europeans and Americans and establish herself as a respected nation in the world, Meiji Japan was determined to close the gap to the Western powers economically and militarily. Drastic reforms were carried out in practically all areas. The new government aimed to make Japan a democratic state with equality among all its people. The boundaries between the social classes of Tokugawa Japan were gradually broken down. Consequently, the samurai were the big losers of those social reforms since they lost all their privileges. The reforms also included the establishment of human rights such as religious freedom in 1873. In order to stabilize the new government, the former feudal lords (daimyo) had to return all their lands to the emperor. This was achieved already in 1870 and followed by the restructuring of the country in prefectures. The education system was reformed after the French and later after the German system. Among those...
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...occasion to read them again a few months ago. They seem to me to have lost none of their power or persuasiveness. Macdonald is concerned with the question of war guilt. He asks the question: To what extent were the German or Japanese people responsible for the atrocities committed by their governments? And, quite properly, he turns the question back to us: To what extent are the British or American people responsible for the vicious terror bombings of civilians, perfected as a technique of warfare by the Western democracies and reaching their culmination in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, surely among the most unspeakable crimes in history. To an undergraduate in 1945-46—to anyone whose political and moral consciousness had been formed by the horrors of the 1930s, by the war in Ethiopia, the Russian purge, the “China Incident,” the Spanish Civil War, the Nazi atrocities, the Western reaction to these events and, in part, complicity in them—these questions had particular significance and poignancy. With respect to the responsibility of intellectuals, there are still other, equally disturbing questions. Intellectuals are in a position to expose the lies of governments, to analyze actions according to their causes and motives and often hidden intentions. In the Western world, at least, they have the power that comes from political liberty, from access to information and freedom of expression. For a...
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