Deck 5: F: Society and Inequality in Eurasia

Question 1

In the nineteenth century,how did the experiences of regions that came under direct colonial rule compare to countries that faced imperialist aggression but retained their independence?

Answer 1

•The regions that came under direct colonial rule were most of Africa (with the exceptions of Ethiopia and Liberia),India,the Dutch East Indies,the Philippine Islands,and French Indochina.
oColonial states extracted resources and exploited labor for their benefit through taxation,forced labor,cash-crop agriculture,and other practices.
oThe "civilizing mission" prompted colonial rulers and missionaries to establish schools,creating a Westernized elite that initially supported colonial rule but later became the most vocal critics of colonialism.
•The countries that retained their independence in the face of foreign imperialism were Japan,China,the ottoman Empire,Ethiopia,Siam (Thailand),and the Latin American countries.
oThe ottoman Empire and China were much diminished as the changing balance of global power took hold.Both were semi-colonies within the informal empires of Europe.Both launched programs characterized as "defensive modernization" that sought to strengthen the state and preserve independence.
oEthiopia played the European powers against one another and was able to expand its empire.
oLatin American countries were economically dependent on the industrialized world.
•Whether they were colonized or remained independent,all countries shared the following:
oThe threat posed by the military might and political ambitions of rival European states
oIntegration into networks of trade,investment,and migration generated by the demands of an industrializing and capitalist Europe
oThe influence of European culture (language,Christianity,literature,philosophy)
oEngagement with the culture of modernity (scientific rationalism,technology,optimism about the future,nationalism,socialism,feminism,individualism)
oActive participation in the events of the nineteenth century,whether through resistance,accommodation,or adaptation
oConflicts between old identities and values on the one hand,and new loyalties associated with nationalism and modernity on the other

Question 2

How was the expansion of European influence in the nineteenth century similar to its expansion in the early modern period? What set it apart?

Answer 2

Comparisons:
•The expansion was similar in that European influence continued to have its greatest impact through the oceanic trading routes that European countries had established to conduct trade.
•The establishment of political and military control over other regions continued to be a source of increased European influence.
Contrasts:
•Europe in the nineteenth century drew on immense new resources created by the Industrial Revolution to underpin its expansion.
•European states were more powerful in the nineteenth century and were able to field more military resources in their competition with each other for imperial expansion.
•Europe's influence in India,China,and Japan increased in the nineteenth century.
•To a greater extent than before,in the nineteenth century Europe enmeshed other parts of the world in networks of trade,investment,and sometimes migration,ultimately generating a new world economy.
•Unlike the early modern period,in the nineteenth century,European expansion brought with it a new culture of modernity that was characterized by scientific rationalism and technological achievements,a belief in a better future,and ideas of nationalism,socialism,feminism,and individualism.

Question 3

What were the key developments that propelled Europe to a more central role in shaping world history between 1750 and 1914? Do you think that a Eurocentric approach to this period is warranted in light of these accomplishments? How should other cultures and civilizations be assimilated into the story?

Answer 3

•Identification of the critical developments to come out of the Atlantic revolutions,the emergence of modernity,the Industrial Revolution,and the expanding influence of Europe thanks to its colonial empires and dominance of the global trade network
•An understanding of what Eurocentrism is and what the drawbacks of such an outlook could bring
•A reasoned approach to the incorporation of other regions into the historical narrative
A really good answer will show an awareness of the introduction to Part Five,in which these issues are examined.

Question 4

In what way was the nineteenth century Europe's age of global expansion?