Traditional societies, in particular the Ottoman Empire, China, and Japan began to experience difficulties in the nineteenth century. They all found that they are much weaker militarily than European countries or America. Military achievements gave stronger countries power to gain more lands and profit, make deals on their terms, and other advantages. The situation in countries with traditional societies was also complicated by internal shocks, which citizens faced, and rulers’ inability to effectively solve problems. These circumstances allowed more powerful states to exert additional influence and interfere in the internal affairs of countries. In response to adverse events, reform movements began to emerge in the traditional societies, which, however, succeeded only in Japan.
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire had significantly weakened. Its military weakness led to the strengthening of local officials, and parts began to separate from the empire. In the financial sphere, the Ottomans were excluded as intermediaries of trade, and the inexpensive goods from Europe displaced local craft workers. In response, the rulers tried to introduce reforms, particularly the sultans Mahmud II, Tanzimat, and Abdiil Hamid II made changes to the European manner – they changed the army, the education system, and the foundations of law (Bentley et al., 2014). They were mainly resisted by religious conservatives, minority leaders, and the Ottoman bureaucracy itself. The reforms undermined the foundations of statehood – bureaucrats educated in the European manner saw a problem in the sultan’s power. Liberal groups arose, the strongest of which were the Young Turks. Despite all the reforms and their results, the empire survived by the twentieth century only because European states could not decide how to govern it.
China has long been a closed state, but Europeans wanted to gain more from trade with the state. In the nineteenth century, manipulation through the supply of opium made the state especially weak, and many military losses forced China to adopt unequal treaties. Internally, the state was weakened by the Taiping rebellion under the leadership of Hong Xiuquan. As a result, Qing rulers, with the help of reforms, tried to create a government based on Confucian traditions and foreign industrial technologies. These efforts did not stop foreigners from intervening and dividing the state into spheres of influence. In response, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao scientists said more radical reforms are needed and inspired Emperor Guangxu to create a constitutional monarchy, guarantee freedoms, and introduce other changes. These changes were canceled by Empress Cixi, who later contributed to the Boxer rebellion – another failed attempt to eliminate foreign influence. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Qing dynasty had abandoned the board.
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, Japan was also experiencing financial difficulties – the population was starving and had large debts. Tokugawa government reforms in 1841 and 1843 did not solve the problem. By the time, when 1853 Europeans and Americans arrived in the country and intimidated Tokugawa to sign unequal treaties, the population’s discontent was strong. After a short civil war, Emperor Meiji came to power. He decided to borrow the experience of industrialized countries, sending students there to study. His government changed the social order by removing the military from power, banning samurai, and strengthening the economy. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the state had become a strong industrial state, whose opinion was influential in the international arena.
Thus, states with traditional societies were significantly inferior in power to industrialized countries in the nineteenth century. This fact made them vulnerable, which prompted Europeans to take advantage of the situation. To save states, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire, China and Japan introduced reforms. For the Ottomans and Chinese, they did not produce the necessary strengthening effect, as internal contradictions weakened the countries. In Japan, the opposition to the failed government was prevented, making reforms more effective. As a result, Japan became the strongest of the three states by the beginning of the twentieth century, and the remaining two weakened.
Reference
Bentley, J. H., Ziegler, H. F., & Streets-Salter, H. (2014). Traditions & encounters: A global perspective on the past. McGraw-Hill Education.