Module 3

What accounts for the massive peasant rebellions of 19th century China?

The main reasons was that the population of China grew rapidly between 1685 and 1853, but agricultural production was unable to keep up with that rapid growth. Leading then to growing pressure on the land, smaller farms for China's huge peasant population, and, in all too many cases, unemployment, impoverishment, misery, and starvation. Peasants frequently embraced rebellion, finding leadership in charismatic figures who proclaimed a millenarian religious message.

How did Western pressures stimulate change in China during the 19th century?

During the 19th century, there was a big change in global power between China and Europe. Opium was illegally imported and soon there were millions of addicts in China which led to it being banned, seized, and expelled from China. Following the war that happened, China gradually became a semi colonial society and foreign powers stepped up their aggression towards China. Later on a massive overflow of silver to pay for the opium reversed the imbalance, causing economic problems. The emperor of China then decided to suppress the debate at court, debating on whether to legalize the drug or crack down on its usage. The British were offended by their acts and sent a naval expedition to China. Their goal was also to teach China a lesson about the virtues of free trade and the proper way to conduct relations among different countries.

In what ways was Japan changing during the Tokugawa era?

Many different things happened during this era. The very famous and notorious samurai disappeared. During this time an economic growth, urban development, and commercialization also grew and developed in a large scale and because of those changes, the consequence was that Japan then became the most urbanized country.