Name Chapter 26 Reading Guide Civilizations in Crisis: The Ottoman Empire, The Islamic Heartland and Qing China 1. Please contrast the directions that the Ottoman Empire and the Qing Chinese Dynasty were heading in the 17th and 18th Centuries. China was enjoying a time of growth and prosperity with a steadily growing population maintained by a matched growth in agriculture and trade. The opposite was true of the Ottoman empires who were enduring a time of political decline and rising economic and social disruption. The empire s boundaries were rapidly shrinking as well. 2. Explain some of the factors that reversed the Chinese fortunes. These good fortunes for the Chinese would rapidly decline due to internal weaknesses and growing pressure from Europe. These specific factors include overpopulation, administrative paralysis, and massive rebellions in combination with European gunboats that disarmed China externally. 3. By the end of the 19th century how had the Ottoman Empire rebounded a little? The Ottoman Empire began to revive itself with new leaders emerging to advance the nation-making process in the Turkish areas of the Empire. FROM EMPIRE TO NATION: OTTOMAN RETREAT AND THE BIRTH OF TURKEY 4. Explain the troubles of the Ottomans Succession of weak rulers by inactive sultans Competition between elite factions Provincial officials colluded with local peoples to cheat the sultan out of taxes Artisan work deteriorated because of competition from Europe- this led to riots Ottomans lost lots of territory they lost Hungary, Russians took land, Greeks and Serbia regained independence 5. Who benefitted the most in Europe from the Ottoman decadence and disruption? Explain why! The Austrian Hubsburg dynasty benefited the most from Ottoman decadence and disruption because they gained lands in the northern Ottoman Empire. IN DEPTH WESTERN DOMINANCE AND THE DECLINE OF CIVILIZATIONS 6. What were some of the problems with the decline in early civilizations? slow and vulnerable communication systems self-serving corruption, pursuit of pleasure influx of nomadic peoples, viewed as barbarians 7. What kinds of advantages did the scientific and industrial revolutions give the Europeans over all other civilized peoples from the 18th century onward? The Scientific Revolution gave Europeans greater understanding of the natural world leading them to invent new sources of power for resource extraction, manufacture, and war. This new found power would help Europe dominate in terms of economics, military, and politics. REFORM AND SURVIVAL 8. Why did Britain have a stake in keeping the faltering Ottoman Empire up?
Because the British wanted to keep Russia from controlling Istanbul. If Russia were to take control of Istanbul, they would gain direct access to the vital trade city and the Russians would also threaten the British naval dominance in the Mediterranean. 9. Explain the Tanzimat Reforms. Tanzimat Reforms were a series of reforms in the Ottoman Empire between 1839 and 1876. These reforms established Western-style University; state postal system, railways, and extensive legal reforms. They resulted in the creation of a new constitution in 1876. 10. Who was hurt most by the Tanzimat Reforms in the Ottoman Empire? There were many groups negatively affected by these reforms, especially the artisans and women. REPRESSION AND REVOLT 11. Explain the dichotomy to Abdul Hamid s rule. Two opposing ideas under Hamid's rule were his nullification of the constitution, restriction of civil liberties, and enforcing a return to absolutism while also pushing for westernization in certain areas. 12. What profession made up the majority of the Young Turks and what was their goal? Did they fix the problems they were concerned with? The Young Turks professed their loyalty to the Ottoman Empire. Their goal was to restore the 1876 constitution and resume far-reaching reforms within the empire, and they were successful in achieving this, the constitution was restored as well as press freedoms, reforms to education, administration and the status of women. WESTERN INTRUSIONS AND THE CRISIS IN THE ARABIC HEARTLANDS 13. Why did Arabs / Muslims of the fertile crescent region come to resent the Ottoman Empire and their rule? The steadily diminishing capacity of the Ottomans to defend the Arab Islamic heartlands left them at risk of conquest by aggressive European powers. MUHAMMAD ALI AND THE FAILURE OF WESTERNIZATION IN EGYPT 14. Explain the importance of Napoleon s invasion of Egypt to the Middle East. Napoleon's invasion went shock waves across the Muslim world because his motives were destroying British power in India, where the French had come out on the short end of earlier wars for empire. 15. Why did Murad underestimate Napoleon? His underestimation came from profound ignorance of events in Europe that was typical of the Islamic world at the time. 16. What did the fall of the Mamluks cavalry signal to the region? Their defeat revealed just how vulneravle even the Muslim core areas were to European aggression and how far the Muslims had fallen behind the Europeans in the capacity to wage war. 17. How did Muhammad Ali adapt Western (French) ideas to help gain power in the area? The weapons and discipline of the French armies impressed Muhammad Ali and he then devoted his energies to update to a European style military force. Within years he put together the most effective fighting force in the Middle East. 18. Ultimately why did his reforms fail?
Many of the reforms fell far short of a fundamental transformation of Egyptian society. European opposition checked schemes to build up the industrial sector. BANKRUPTCY, EUROPEAN INTERVENTION AND STRATEGIES OF RESISTANCE 19. What is the single export issue or problem? Many of the reforms fell far short of a fundamental transformation of Egyptian society. European opposition checked schemes to build up the industrial sector. 20. Detail the significance of the Suez Canal. The canal became a vital commercial and military link between the European powers and their colonial empires in Asia and east Africa. Controlling it became one of the key objectives of their peaceful rivalries and wartime operations through the first half of the 20th century. 21. There has been a great debate in the Islamic world over the last 150 years. What is it and has it been resolved? The west and their interactions have posed a great problem. Some scholars called for a jihad to drive out the infidels from Muslim lands, others stressed the need for Muslims to borrow scientific leaning and technology from the West and to revive their earlier capacity to innovate. These remain central problems in the Muslim world today. 22. Explain how the British help of the Khedive against Ahmad Orabi began the European control of the Islamic heartland The mounting debts of the khedival regime and the strategic importance of the canal gave the European powers, particularly Britain and France, a growing stake in the stability and accessibility of Egypt. JIHAD: THE MADHIST REVOLT IN THE SUDAN 21. Explain the role and importance of Muhammad Achmad. Muhammad Achmad led a jihad proclaimed against both the Egyptian heretics and British infidels and it represented the most extreme and violent response to what was perceived as the dilution of Islam in the African environment and the growing threat of Europe. He led his followers in a violent assault on the Egyptians, whom he believed professed a corrupt version of Islam, and on the European infidels. 22. What social (moral) issues did Khalifa Abdallahi attack? He sought to build a closely controlled society in which smoking, dancing and alcoholic drink was forbidden, and theft, prostitution, and adultery were severely punished. 23. What was the Middle East and the Ottoman Empire realizing by the turn of the 20th Century? It became clear that neither the religious revivalists, who called fora a return to a purified Islam free of Western influences, nor the reformers, who argued that some borrowing from the West was essential for survival, had come up with a successful formula for dealing with the powerful challenges posed by the industrial west. THE LAST DYNASTY: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE QING EMPIRE IN CHINA 24. How did the Manchus take over China In 1644, an official of the Ming government called in the Manchus to help him put down a widespread rebellion. Having allowed the Manchus to pass beyond the wall, the official found the Manchus were an even greater threat than there rebels.
The Manchus boldly advanced on the Ming capital of Beijing which they captured within a year. 25. How long did it eventually take the Manchus to take over China? It took nearly two decades before Manchus found themselves in total control. 26. How did the Manchus rule? The Manchus retained much of the political system of their Ming predecessors. They added to the court calender whatever Confucian rituals they did not already observe. They wanted the scholar-officials to remain in office. They also retained the examination system. ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN THE EARLY CENTURIES OF QING RULE 27. How did the role of women change in this time period? Why might Industrialization lead to more women being born? The lives of women at all social levels remained centered on or wholly confined to the household. 28. Detail some of the ways in which the social classes of Qing China could be visually segregated. Gap between rural peasants and laborers increased. One could see new rich being carried in sedan chairs, decked out in silks and furs, to make social calls to their peers. Gentry class males let fingernails grow long to show they did not have to du physical labor 29. Who were the compradors and what vital part did they play? Profits from overseas trade gave rise to a wealthy new group of merchants, the compradors, who specialized in the import-export trade on China's south coast. In the 19th century, these merchants proved to be one of the major links between China and the outside world. ROT FROM WITHIN: BUREACRATIC BREAKDOWN AND SOCIAL DISINTEGRATION 30. How was the merit system of China being undermined in this time period? The exam system, had done well in selecting able and honest bureaucrats in the early decades had become riddled with cheating and favoritism. 31. What was probably the most critical and dangerous failure of the Qing Empire to keep alloting money and time on? Public works projects were vital such as the dikes on the Huanghe and Yellow Rivers. The lack of money and attention to the dikes lead them to leak and eventually swallow hundreds of miles of heavily cultivated farmland. Millions of peasants were left without livestock or land to cultivate. Thousands died of disease and famine as a direct effect of the lack of attention to the public works such as the dikes. 32. Why was the Chinese practice of predicting the future by looking to the past not going to work with the Manchu Dynasty? A whole new slew of problems confronted the leaders of China that had not been confronted previously. Some of these unpredictable changes were food crops from the Americas, which triggered population explosion, and also China's desperate need for innovations in technology and organization. BARBARIANS AT THE SOUTHERN GATES: THE OPIUM WAR AND AFTER 33. How did Britain overcome their much smaller population in dealing with the Chinese? England with a population of 7 million compared to China's 400 million compensated for a much smaller population against the Chinese with better organization and superior technology. 34. Explain the Opium trade issue between China and Britain.
For centuries the British exported silks, porcelains, tea and other products from the Chinese and they traded this for silver bullion. Eventually the British grew unhappy about the unfavorable trade terms and saw a possible solution from opium which was grown in the hills of eastern India. The British began to trade the Opium with China instead. Opium addiction became a problem in China then. 35. What did Lin Zexu ordered done that really ticked off the British? Lin ordered the European trading areas in Canton be blockaded, their warehouses searched and all the opium confiscated and destroyed. 36. What were the effect on Britain and China from the Opium War? The British victory allowed European powers to force China to open trade and diplomatic exchanges. Hong Kong was established as an additional center of British commerce. European trade was also permitted at 5 other points. Now opium poured unchecked into China. 37. Explain how tariffs could cripple or protect an economy Tariffs could essentially conclude all trading of a good due to a higher price, they can exclude certain countries leaving some strangled. It can protect an economy because it can make the rights to purchase a good exclusive. A CIVILIZATION AT RISK: REBELLION AND FAILED REFORMS 38. What was the Taiping Rebellion? Was it effective? A rebellion led by Honh Xiuquan, this posed a seroius alternative to the Qing Dynasty and Confucian civilization as a whole. The Taipings offered programs for social reform, land redistribution, and the liberation of women. It was not effective in itself but some reforms were made after tp root out corruption and revive the economy. 39. What was the self-strengthening movement attempting to do for China? This movement was aimed at countering the challenge from the West. 40. Explain the Boxer Rebellion. The Boxer Rebellion was a popular outburst in 1898 and was aimed at expelling foreigners form China. The rebellion failed because of intervention of armies of Western powers in China. Defeat of the Chinese enhanced control by Europeans and the power of provisional officials. THE FALL OF THE QING: THE END OF A CIVILIZATION? 41. Who was Sun Yat-sen and what did he see as the future of China? Sun Yat-sen emerged to be very powerful in China, as he supported the idea of reformist leaders who were focused on building a strong nation-state in China patterned after those in the West. 42. What were given for the last time in China in 1905? What was the psychological impact of this? Civil service exams were given for the last time in China in 1905. The mix of philosophies and values that had come to be known as the Confucian system, the massive civil bureaucracy, rule by an educated and cultivates scholar-genty elite all came under increasing criticism in the early 20th century. DOCUMENT: BULDING A NEW CHINA 43. What does the author urge the Chinese to do in order to build a new China. The author urges that they learn from the strategies of the West while preserving the basic features of Chinese society.