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Asian Transitions in an Age of Global Change summary

Chapter 28  Asian Transitions in an Age of Global Change

1. Introduction

Vasco da Gama's voyages into the Indian Ocean opened up Asia for European commercial development through the control of the sea. Not sufficiently powerful to conquer the great Asian civilizations, the European nations fit themselves relatively peacefully into the Asian commercial network.
European nations worked along the interstices of Asian civilizations and introduced little external change. When the Europeans posed a threat, the Asian civilizations isolated themselves from the West.

2. The Asian Trading World and the Coming of the Europeans
1. Introduction

Vasco da Gama's initial trip to India revealed one of the most problematic aspects of European trade with Asia, which was that Asian merchants were interested in little from Europe other than bullion. The Portuguese also discovered that Muslim rivals had already established themselves within the Asian markets. One weakness was also discovered. The Asian and Muslim raiders were politically divided.

2. Bonds of Commerce: The Asian Sea Trading Network, c. 1500

The Asian trading network was composed of three main zones: an Arab zone in the west based on carpets, tapestry and glass; an Indian zone in the center based on cotton textiles; and a Chinese zone to the east based on silks, paper, and porcelain. On the fringes of the system lay Japan, the Southeast Asian islands, and East Africa. The most valued of the raw materials within the system were spices, which were traded over great distances. Less valuable products were normally exchanged within each of the subordinate zones.
Because much of the trade was carried along the coasts, it tended to concentrate in certain well-defined ocean straits. These geographical features -- the mouth of the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Straits of Malacca -- the Portuguese rapidly discovered. No single power controlled the Asian trading network, and military force was virtually absent.

3. Trading Empire: The Portuguese Response to the Encounter at Calicut

The Portuguese rapidly decided that exportation of bullion to Asian markets was not desirable and that force could obtain what peaceful trade could not. No Asian fleets were prepared to defend the trading network against European power. The Portuguese defeated a combined Egyptian and Indian naval force at Diu in 1509. It was the last Asian attempt to halt European naval depredations. After 1507, the Portuguese began a program of capturing towns and building fortifications at strategic points along the commercial network. Such fortified trading centers included Ormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, Goa on the western coast of India, and Malacca on the Malaysian peninsula.
The Portuguese sought to establish a monopoly over key trade items within the Asian system, particularly spices. In addition to a trade monopoly over critical commodities, the Portuguese attempted with less success to license all ships trading in the Indian Ocean.

4. Portuguese Vulnerability and the Rise of the Dutch and English Trading Empires

The Portuguese were never able to enforce their monopoly schemes. Corruption, lack of numbers, and resistance among Asian peoples weakened the system. In the seventeenth century, the Dutch and English penetrated the Asian trade system. Initially, the Dutch were more successful. The Dutch captured the Portuguese fort at Malacca and built a new trade post at Batavia on the island of Java in 1620. The English lost the struggle to dominate the spice trade and were forced to retreat to India. Like the Portuguese, the Dutch trade empire consisted of fortified trading centers, warships, and control of the spice trade. More successful than the Portuguese, the Dutch still abandoned forcible monopolization in favor of peaceful incorporation into the Asian trade system. The British adopted the Dutch approach to Asian trade.

5. Going Ashore: European Tribute Systems in Asia

Once away from the sea, the European military advantage rapidly dissipated. Large Asian populations minimized the European technological edge. On the Asian islands, however, Europeans attempted to extend their control inland from the coastal fortifications. On Ceylon and Java, the Dutch were able to reduce local rulers to subservience. In the 1560s, the Spanish invaded the northern islands of the Philippines, but failed to conquer the more unified southern island of Mindanao. In cases where Europeans penetrated inland, they permitted indigenous governments to remain in return for payment of tribute. Tribute was normally calculated in agricultural products, often produced under conditions of coerced labor.

6. Spreading the Faith: The Missionary Enterprise in South and Southeast Asia

The spread of Roman Catholicism was part of the Portuguese and Spanish approach to colonization. Because Islamic missionaries had already appeared in much of Southeast Asia prior to the European arrival, the Iberian powers enjoyed limited success in converting local populations. The only region where wholesale conversion occurred was on the northern islands of the Philippines. Friars sent to convert the indigenous population of the northern Philippines both governed and exposed the Filipinos to Western culture. While many Filipinos were technically converted to Catholicism, they often retained traditional beliefs.

7. Modest Returns: The Early Impact of Europeans in Maritime Asia

The Europeans developed several new routes for the Asian trade network, built trading posts and fortifications, and introduced the principles of sea warfare, which was later abandoned in favor of more peaceful approaches to controlling trade. There were relatively few cultural exchanges. Europeans did introduce New World crops into Asia after 1600, but little else of value was disseminated from one culture to the other.

3. Ming China: A Global Mission Refused
1. Introduction

Zhu Yuanzhang, a peasant, led the armies that overthrew the last of the Mongol Yuan dynasty. In 1368, he declared himself the first emperor of the Ming dynasty. As the Hongwu emperor, he attempted to remove all cultural traces of the Mongol period in Chinese history.

2. Another Scholar-Gentry Revival

The Hongwu emperor restored the social and political dominance of the scholar-gentry. He ordered the civil examination system restored. The examinations became more important than ever before in determining entry into the imperial administration. A tiered system of examinations determined entry into the various levels of the bureaucracy from prefectural to imperial. Those who passed the most difficult imperial exams were the most highly respected of all Chinese.

3. Reform: Hongwu's Efforts to Root Out Abuses in Court Politics

Hongwu abolished the post of chief minister and transferred the formidable powers of this official to the emperor. He instituted public beatings for ministers or bureaucrats found guilty of corruption. To end court factionalism, the emperor declared that wives could only come from humble families and sought to limit the influence and numbers of eunuchs. Certain authors, such as Mencius, were stricken from the imperial exams.

4. A Return to Scholar-Gentry Social Dominance

Hongwu attempted to support public works to make more lands available to the peasantry and to reduce labor demands. Imperial reforms were offset by the growing power of regional landlords, particularly those who belonged to the scholar- gentry. As the gentry began to control much of the land, the gap between them and the peasantry widened. The Confucian social hierarchy was reinforced under the influence of the Ming scholars. Women continued to have subordinate positions in Chinese society. At the court, women continued to exercise some influence behind the scenes, but most women had little status or respect accorded them. Avenues for escape from labor in the fields were limited to becoming courtesans or entertainers.

5. An Age of Growth: Agriculture, Population, Commerce, and the Arts

During the early period of the Ming dynasty, the commercial prosperity and population increase that had typified the Tang and Song periods continued. New food crops from the Americas supported rapid population growth. Both the internal market of China and overseas connections increased during the early Ming period. As a producer of luxury products, China's trade balance with Europe and the rest of Asia was positive. Trade with foreigners was limited to the ports of Macao and Canton. Despite the growth of trade, most commercial profits went to the state in taxes or were invested in land. Ming prosperity was reflected in patronage of the fine arts, which flourished during the dynasty. During this epoch, Chinese authors introduced the novel to literary genres.

6. An Age of Expansion: The Zhenghe Expeditions

During the reign of the third Ming emperor, an imperial eunuch, Zhenghe, led seven major commercial and diplomatic expeditions overseas. The expeditions reached as far away as Persia, Arabia, and Africa. In fact, despite the adventuresome nature of the voyages, they produced little of significance. The scholar-gentry argued that the minimal profits did not justify the expense. The voyages were abandoned in the 1430s.

7. Chinese Retreat and the Arrival of the Europeans

By 1390, the Chinese had begun to embark on an official policy of isolation from the rest of the world. As the Chinese withdrew, the Europeans sought greater access to the Middle Kingdom. Christian missionaries attempted to move from the coastal regions to the imperial court. In particular, the Jesuits hoped to convert China by making inroads within the imperial family. The Jesuits who sought to penetrate the imperial court were aware that scientific and technological knowledge were more highly prized than religious theology. In the sixteenth century, Matteo Ricci and Adam Schall maintained themselves at the court through scientific contributions. Most members of the imperial bureaucracy remained hostile to external cultural influences, including the missionaries. When the Ming were overthrown, a few Jesuits were able to keep their precarious position at the imperial court.

8. Ming Decline and the Chinese Predicament

By the late 1500s, the Ming were in obvious dynastic decline. Under mediocre rulers, the more centralized government structure of the Ming foundered. The deterioration of necessary public works led to widespread famine in China. Despite the problems, the gentry's stranglehold on land was tightened. The Ming bureaucracy was unable to halt internal disorder or Japanese piracy along the coast. Rebel forces overthrew the last Ming emperor in 1644. Without a stable imperial government, China was vulnerable to external attack. The Manchus seized power under Nurhaci and established the Qing dynasty.

4. Fending Off the West: Japan's Reunification (684-687) and the First Challenge
1. Introduction

The centralization of Japan began when Nobunaga, one of the regional daimyo lords, successfully unified central Honshu prior to his assassination in 1582. Nobunaga deposed the last of the Ashikaga shoguns in 1573. Nobunaga's most successful general, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, continued to break the power of other daimyos. By 1590, he became the military overlord of a united Japan. Campaigns launched against Korea were less successful. Following Hideyoshi's death in 1598, the position of military overlord was taken by Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1603, the emperor granted Ieyasu the title of shogun. The new shogun curtailed daimyo independence and imposed political unity.

2. Dealing with the European Challenge

After 1543, Europeans attempted to enlarge their presence in Japan. European traders and missionaries brought cultural change and firearms to the island. The importation of modern weapons revolutionized the civil struggles among the daimyos. Increased commercial contact also drew the Japanese into wider experience in the Asian trade system. Particularly during the period of Nobunaga's dominance, Christianity spread in Japan. Christian acceptance began to diminish following Nobunaga's assassination. Alarmed by the potential threat to the Japanese social hierarchy, Hideyoshi proved less amenable to the spread of Christianity.

3. Japan's Self-Imposed Isolation

Official measures to halt foreign activities in Japan commenced in the 1580s. By the 1590s, Hideyoshi began active persecution of Christians. Persecution continued during the Tokugawa shogunate, and the religion was banned totally in 1614. Christianity was successfully reduced to the status of a minor, underground faith. Ieyasu sought even greater isolation from European cultural influences. By the 1640s, foreign contact was limited to a few Dutch and Chinese ships permitted to dock at the port of Deshima in Nagasaki Bay. Western books were banned. By the eighteenth century, even Confucianism began to be replaced by the school of "National Learning." The school placed greatest emphasis on indigenous Japanese culture. Members of the Japanese elite, however, continued to keep track of Western innovations through the Dutch community at Deshima. As a result, the Japanese were aware of the technological sophistication of the West, when demands came to open Japan in the 1850s.

5. Conclusion: Asia and the First Phase of Europe's Global Expansion

In China and Japan, the West's introduction in the early modern period was brief and largely inconsequential. Trade restrictions and the elimination of Christian influences limited European contacts. Change in these societies was largely generated by internal forces. Even in the Asian archipelagoes, where European commercial intervention was more significant, indigenous elites continued to exist and cultural change was minimal.

 

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Asian Transitions in an Age of Global Change summary

       CHAPTER 22: ASIAN TRANSITIONS IN
AN AGE OF GLOBAL CHANGE
Pages 502 – 529

 

SUMMARY

The Asian Trading World and the Coming of the Europeans

 

Several European seafaring nations were actively involved in South and Southeast Asia in the centuries after the arrival of Vasco da Gama. Most European enterprise was centered on trade and commerce, as the Europeans struggled to find profitable ways to obtain the products they wanted. Some Europeans went to Asia in search of Christian converts. Small numbers of Europeans also settled in the area.

Ming China: A Global Mission Refused

 

With the restoration of ethnic rule and the reunification of the country under the Ming Dynasty, Chinese civilization enjoyed an age of splendor. Renewed agrarian and commercial growth supported a population that was the largest in the world. The Ming’s resources, technologies, numbers of skilled artisans and engineers, and military forces were vaster than any country in the world, and China’s centralized bureaucracy remained the best organized and most efficient in the world. In its earlier decades, the Ming Dynasty also pursued a policy of overseas exploration, but turned inward and removed a formidable obstacle to the rise of the Europeans.

Fending Off the West: Japan’s Reunification and The First Challenge

 
Fortunately for the Japanese, their ability to defend their islands was not tested in the early centuries of European expansion. In the decades before the arrival of the Europeans, the Japanese found leaders who had the skills and ruthlessness needed to restore the shogunate. By the early 1600s, with the potential threat from the Europeans looming ever larger in the Japanese imagination, the new Tokugawa shoguns gained sufficient control to let them gradually shut down contacts with outsiders and envelop the islands in a state of isolation.

Conclusion: Asia and the First Phase of Europe’s Global Expansion

 

The West’s surge in exploration and commercial expansion touched most of Asia only peripherally. This was partially true of East Asia, where the political cohesion and military strength of the Chinese empire and the Japanese samurai blocked all hope of European advance. Strong East Asian rulers limited trading contacts with the aggressive Europeans and confined European merchants to a few ports – Macao and Canton in China, and Deshima in Japan. Change in East Asian states arose mainly from internal factors. Continuity was ensured by the persistence of centuries-old cultural and social patterns for handling alien intruders.

CHAPTER REVIEW

How did the arrival of the Europeans affect the Asian trading network?

 

Describe the Asian sea-trading network?

How did the Europeans establish and maintain their trading empires in Asia?

 

Who challenged the Portuguese in Asia and with what results?

What was the relationship between trade and religion for Europeans in Asia?

 

How did the Ming Dynasty attempt to reform and govern its empire?

Describe the Ming social hierarchy.

 

What evidence is there that the early Ming rule was a revived Golden Age?

What were the motives for the Ming naval expeditions? Why were they ended?

 

What led to the decline of the Ming?

How did the Japanese deal with the European challenge?

 

VOCABULARY

 

Caravel

Asian sea trading network

 

Mercantilism

Ormuz, Goa, Malacca

 

Factories

Dutch trading empire

 

Treaty of Gijanti

Philippine Islands

 

Jesuits in Asia

Friars

 

Ming Dynasty

Macao, Canton, Deshima

 

Tokugawa Shoguns

School of National Learning

MAP EXERCISES

 

Map 22.1: Routes and Products in the Asian Trading Network, c. 1500 (Page 506)

Reading the Map

Identify the three zones?

What elements of geography define the zones? (see maps at back of book)

 

What are choke points?

What are the major ports and where are they located?

 

What religion (see page 158) controlled the Indian Ocean zone?

What products are traded within the zones?

 

Interpreting a Map

To control the trade on the map, what would you need to do?

Which zone would trade with both zones? Why?

 

Map 22.2: Ming China and the Zheng He Expeditions, 1405 – 1423 (Page 530)

Compare Maps 22.1 and 22.2. What conclusions do you reach? Why?

 

PHOTO ESSAY: The Coming of the Europeans

How did the Asians perceive the European (Pages 502-503, 509, and 526):

Ships?

 

Religions?

Merchants and trade goods?

 

Describe Portuguese and European

Naval technology (Page 508).

Missionaries (Page 522).

 

Describe the worlds and perceptions of

Ming Concubines (Pages 518 – 519).

Scholar bureaucrats (Page 516).

 

Japanese shogun (Page 525).

VISUALIZING THE PAST: Intruders (Pages 510 – 511; compare to page 506)

 

Europe in Asia

Name the ports of each European nation.

Portuguese

Spain

Dutch

English

Where did the Europeans locate their imperial capitals?

 

What regions did each power attempt to control?

Portuguese

Spain

Dutch

English

Drawing Conclusions

Which European state had the strongest position in Asia? Why?

 

What nation had the least stake in Asia? Why would this be unimportant?

How did Europe redirect the flow of trade routes?

 

What areas seem least affected by the European presence? Why?

 

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS: Chinese Examination System (Page 515)

Document Analysis

Who wrote the document? (Attribution includes biographical references)

 

What is the author’s point of view?

 

How reliable is the document? Why?

What was the intent or purpose behind the document?

 

Who was the intended audience?

 

What is the document’s tone?

Conclusions

From the exam questions, what can we learn about Chinese society?

 

Where do the Chinese look for models to orient their social behavior?

What types of skills and knowledge do the Chinese value?

 

What are the advantages and disadvantages to the exam system?

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

When the Portuguese arrived in India in 1498, they

found they had little to offer in trade but could get rich by using force.

quickly integrated themselves into the Asian trade system.

exchanged their European goods for Asian luxury items.

were unwelcome.

established cordial relations with the Muslim merchants.

 

The periphery of the Indian Ocean trading network around 1500 C.E., specifically Africa, Southeast Asia, and Japan furnished what items to the network?

slaves

cotton textiles

carpets and tapestries

porcelain and silks

mainly raw materials

The highest prices in the Asian network were paid for

cotton textiles.

spices.

bulk items such as foodstuffs.

silk and porcelains.

gold and silver.

 

Long distance travel and trade in the Asian trade zone was based on

foodstuffs transported to feed the population of India.

Muslim pilgrimages to and from Mecca.

tribute from client states to the Chinese Empire.

products with the highest profit margins, which were easily transported.

transport of slaves.

The largest portion of Asian trade by volume in the Early Modern Era was the trade in

silk from China to the Middle East.

cottons from India to the Middle East.

bulk items, usually foodstuffs, exchanged within each of the main zones.

spices from the East Indies.

slaves from Africa.

 

The Portuguese were able to control trade in Asian waters because

they had endless supplies of gold and silver to buy goods.

states in the area granted Portuguese merchants a trade monopoly.

they had superior weapons and controlled trade through force.

the Chinese had withdrawn from trade in Asia.

the Portuguese captains allied with the Mughals, who controlled the area.

Rather than try to control trade in the Indian Ocean as had Portugal, the Dutch

attempted to monopolize the spice trade from the East Indies.

cooperated with the Muslim and Hindu merchants.

signed trading agreements with local rulers.

abided by the traditional trading practices of the region.

concentrated on trade in India.

The Dutch and Portuguese empires in Asia relied on all of these EXCEPT:

fortified towns and bases.

factories.

migration of thousands of Europeans to settle in Asia.

warships on patrol.

monopoly control of a limited number of products.

 

Europeans learned that the greatest trading profits in Asia could be made by

allying with the Hindus and warring on the Muslim states.

transporting other peoples’ goods and providing services as middlemen.

seizing lands and creating land-based empires.

peaceful cooperation with and integration into existing Asian trade networks.

“turning” pirate and raiding other nations’ merchant ships.

In Asia, European naval technologies and trade practices had little effect against

Ceylon and Java.

Asian states with strong militaries and determined rulers.

the Philippine Islands.

the coasts and peoples of East Asia.

the islands of the East Indies.

 

Europeans learned that the most successful missionary work in Asia occurred by

having missionaries use local languages and become acclimated to cultures.

forcibly converting the Muslims and Hindus to Christianity.

converting the poorest and lowest social classes first.

converting the elites first; the other classes would follow.

converting areas, that had never previously been converted by Muslims.

Following the defeat and expulsion of the Mongols from China,

a legalist regime was established.

the Ming Dynasty arose.

peasants were granted equality with the scholar-gentry and noble classes.

China converted to Buddhism.

the civil service exam system of the Mongols was ended.

 

The first Ming emperors of China attempted to end all of these abuses EXCEPT:

abolishing the position of chief minister, who had too much power.

dishonesty, disloyalty, and laziness.

court factions and conspiracies.

the influence of the Emperor’s wives and their relatives.

the influence of the scholar-gentry.

During the Ming Dynasty, the true power of China resided with

prosperous peasants.

merchants in port cities who administer foreign trade missions.

the eunuch bureaucrats in the capital city.

rural landlord families with relatives in the imperial bureaucracy.

aristocrats and nobles.

The Ming abandoned the naval expeditions for all these reasons EXCEPT:

the Portuguese defeated the Chinese navies on the last voyage.

the money spent on the voyages had little return.

Northern steppe nomads were a greater threat than pirates and sea peoples.

court rivals of Zheng He opposed the voyages.

the last emperors were unenthusiastic about the voyages.

 

When the Europeans reached Japan, the Japanese

were united and strong under an absolute emperor.

were engaged in a cycle of civil wars.

welcomed Christian missionaries and merchants.

refused to admit foreigners to their nation.

population was devastated by diseases.

 The Japanese dealt with the long-term European challenge by

allying with the Portuguese against the other Europeans.

permitting the Jesuits to convert the Japanese to Christianity.

permitting the Europeans to establish a trading monopoly in Japan.

self-imposed isolation and forbidding most European contacts.

adapting European customs and technology.

 

ESSAY QUESTIONS

 

Compare and contrast Japanese and Chinese reactions to the European arrival.

Compare and contrast Portuguese and Chinese maritime expeditions in Asia.

 

Compare and contrast the Indian Ocean trading network before and after the arrival of the Europeans. (Change over time)

Compare and contrast the spread of Christianity in Asia with the spread of Hinduism or Islam throughout Asia.

 

Compare and contrast the Indian Ocean trading network with the Iberian empires in the Americas.

 

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Asian Transitions in an Age of Global Change outline summary

Chapter 22 AP WORLD

 

Asian Transitions in an Age of Global Change

 

Chapter Summary: East and Southeast Asian early modern trends were highly diverse.  Most Asian peoples, except in island Southeast Asia, were only marginally affected by the European arrival.  India, China, and Japan were not fundamentally reshaped by the West.  The peoples of East Asia developed new political and social strengths while following a policy of isolation in response to global trends.   Vasco da Gama's voyage to India had opened the way to the east for Europeans, but it soon became clear that Europeans had little to offer Asians in exchange for their desired products.  Asians were not interested in converting to Christianity.  Asian states were too strong to be conquered by Europeans, but the latter's seapower allowed control of spice exports and regulation of some parts of the Asian trading network.  The Europeans participated in the existing economic and political system rather then attempting to capture it.

The Asian Trading World and the Coming of the Europeans. 

• The first Portuguese arriving in India discovered that their products, apart from bullion, were too primitive for profitable exchange for Asian goods. 
• They saw that Muslim traders dominated Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian commerce and that Islam blocked the spread of Catholic Christianity.
• They also saw that political divisions divided Asians who did not understand the threat posed by the new intruders.

Bonds of Commerce: The Asian Sea-Trading Network, c. 1500. 

• The trading network stretched from the Middle East and Africa to East Asia and was divided into three main zones. 

An Arab division in the west offered glass, carpet, and tapestry manufacturing.  In the center was India and its cotton textiles.  China, in the east, manufactured paper, porcelain, and silk textiles.

• Peripheral regions in Japan, Southeast Asia, and East Africa supplied raw materials.

Among the latter were ivory from Africa and spices from Sri Lanka and Indonesia.  In  the overall system profits were gained from commerce in both long distance luxury items and shorter distance bulk goods.

• Most of the trade passed along safer coastal routes, converging in vital intersections at the openings of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, and the Straits of Malacca.  The system had two critical characteristics: central control and military force were absent.

Trading Empire: The Portuguese Response to the Encounter at Calicut. 

• Since they did not have sufficient acceptable commodities for profitable trade to Asia, the Portuguese used force to enter the network.  Their superior ships and weaponry were unmatched except by the Chinese.  Taking advantage of the divisions between Asians the Portuguese won supremacy on the African and Indian coasts. 
• They won an important victory over an Egyptian-Indian fleet at Diu in 1509.  To ensure control, forts were constructed along the Asian coast: Ormuz on the Persian Gulf in 1507, Goa in western India in 1510, and Malacca on the Malayan peninsula in 1511.
• The Portuguese aimed to establish a monopoly over the spice trade and, less successfully, to license all vessels trading between Malacca and Ormuz.

Portuguese Vulnerability and the Rise of the Dutch and English Trading Empires. 

• The Portuguese had limited success for some decades, but the small nation lacked the manpower and ships necessary for enforcement.  Many Portuguese ignored their government and traded independently, while rampart corruption among officials and losses of ships further hampered policies.
•  Dutch and English rivals challenged the weakened Portuguese in the 17th century.  The Dutch captured Malacca and built a fort at Batavia in Java in 1620.  They decided to concentrate on the monopoly control of some spices. 
• The English were forced to fall back to India.  The Dutch trading empire resembled the Portuguese, but they had better armed ships and controlled their monopoly with ruthless efficiency. 
• The Dutch discovered that the greatest long-run profits came from peacefully exploiting the established system. 
• When the spice trade declined, they relied on fees charged for transporting products from one Asian place to another.  They also bought Asian products and sold them within the system.  The English later adopted Dutch techniques.

 

 

 

 

AP WORLD CHAPTER 22 PAGE 2

Going Ashore: European Tribute Systems in Asia.

• Europeans were able to control Asian seas, but not inland territories.  The vast Asian armies offset European technological and organizational advantages.  Thus Europeans accepted the power of Asian rulers in return for permission to trade.  Only in a few regions did war occur. 
• The Portuguese and Dutch conquered coastal areas of Sri Lanka to control cinnamon.  In Java the Dutch expanded from their base at Batavia to dominate coffee production.  By the mid-18th century they were the paramount power in Java. 
• The Spanish in the Philippines conquered the northern islands, but failed in the Islamic south. 
• The Europeans established tribute regimes resembling the Spanish system in the New World.  Indigenous peoples lived under their own leaders and paid tribute in products produced by coerced labor under the direction of local elites.

Spreading the Faith: The Missionary Enterprise in South and Southeast Asia. 

• The Protestant Dutch and English were not much interested in winning converts.  Catholic Portugal and Spain were, but success in Asia was minimal.  The world religions of Islam and Hinduism were difficult foes.
•  Italian Jesuit Robert Di Nobli during the 1660s unsuccessfully attempted to win converts among upper-caste members through study of Sanskrit and Indian culture. 
• General conversion occurred only in isolated regions like the northern Philippines.  Once conquered the government turned indigenous peoples over to missionary orders. 
• Converted Filipino leaders led their peoples into European ways, but traditional beliefs remained strong within the converts' Christianity.

Modest Returns: The Early Impact of Europeans in Maritime Asia.

• By 1700, following two centuries of involvement, Europeans had made only a minimal impact on the peoples of south and southeast Asia.  Important new trade routes linking Europe, the Indian Ocean world, the Philippines, and the Americas had opened. 
• The Europeans also had established commercial centers, such as Goa, Calcutta, and Batavia, and introduced the concept of sea warfare into a once peaceful commercial world.  Still, the Asian system survived and Europeans decided to accept rather than destroy existing arrangements.
•  Because of the long contacts between Europe and Asia, the level of exchanges did  not match the New World Colombian exchange, although American food plants introduced by Europeans were important.  European ideas, not impressing Asians, had minimal impact.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ming China: A Global Mission Refused. 

• The Ming dynasty (1368-1644) ruled over the earth's most populous state.  China possessed vast internal resources and advanced technology.
•  Its bureaucracy remained the best organized in the world and its military was formidable.  The return to the examination system ensured the presence a numerous educated elite.
• The dynasty emerged when Zhu Yuanzhang, a military commander of peasant origins, joined in the revolts against the Mongols and became the first Ming emperor, with the name of Hongwu, in 1368.  Zhou strove to drive out all Mongol influences and drove the remaining nomads beyond the Great Wall.

Another Scholar-Gentry Revival. 

• The poorly educated Zhou was suspicious of the scholar-gentry, but he realized that their cooperation was necessary for reviving Chinese civilization.  They were given high government posts and imperial academies and regional colleges were restored. 
• The civil service exam was reinstated and expanded.  Although family connections remained important, the examination played a greater role than ever before in determining entry to public service. 
• The highly competitive examination system became more routine and complex, allowing talented individuals to become eligible for the highest posts.

 

Reform: Hongwu's Efforts to Root Out Abuses in Court Politics.

• Hongwu sought to limit the influence of the scholar-gentry and to check other  abuses at the court.  He abolished the post of chief minister and transferred to himself the considerable powers of the office. 
• Officials failing in their tasks were publicly and harshly beaten. 
• Other reforms included choosing imperial wives from humble families, limiting the number of eunuchs, and exiling all rivals for the throne to provincial estates. 
• Writings displeasing to the ruler were censored.  Later rulers of the dynasty let the changes lapse.

 

CHAPTER 22 AP WORLD PAGE 3
A Return to Scholar-Gentry Social Dominance. 

• Hongwu sought to improve the lives of the peasantry by agriculture-aiding public works, opening new and untaxed lands, lowering forced labor demands, and promoting handicraft industries supplementing household incomes. 
• The beneficial effects of the measures were offset by the growing power of rural landlords allied with the imperial bureaucracy.  Peasants were forced to become tenants or landless laborers. 
• The Ming period continued the subordination of women to men, and youths to elders.  Draconian laws forced obedience.  Opponents, including women, had to go underground to improve their situations. 
• Imperial women continued to be influential, especially with weak emperors.  Outside the court, women were confined to the household; their status hinged on bearing male children. 
• Upper class women might be taught reading and writing by their parents, but they were barred from official positions.  Non-elite women worked in many occupations, but the main way to gain independence was to become a courtesan or entertainer.

An Age of Growth: Agriculture, Population, Commerce. 

• The early Ming period was one of buoyant economic growth and unprecedented contacts with overseas civilizations.  The commercial boom and population increase of late Song times continued. 
• The arrival of American food crops allowed cultivation in marginal agricultural areas. 
• By 1800 they were over 300 million Chinese.  Chinese manufactures were in demand throughout Asia and Europe, and Europeans were allowed to come to Macao and Canton to do business. 
• Merchants gained significant profits, a portion of them passing to the state as taxes and bribes.  Much of the wealth went into land, the best source of social status. 
• The fine arts found generous patrons.  Painters focused on improving established patterns. 
• Major innovation came in literature, assisted by an increase in availability of books through the spread of woodblock printing, with the full development of the novel.

An Age of Expansion: The Zhenghe Expeditions. 

• Under Emperor Yunglo the Ming sent a series of expeditions between 1405 and 1423 to Southeast Asia, Persia, Arabia, and East Africa under command of Zhenghe. 
• The huge fleets of large ships demonstrated a Chinese potential for global expansion unmatched by other contemporary nations.  But the Chinese were ambivalent about the voyages' worth. 
• Few tangible returns resulted from the costly ventures.  national resources, it was argued, were better spent in defending Chinese borders.  The voyages were abandoned in the early 1430s.

In Depth: Means and Motive in Overseas Expansion: Europe and China Compared.  Why did the Chinese, unlike Europeans, withdraw from overseas expansion?  The small nation-states of Europe, aggressively competing with their neighbors, made more efficient use of their resources.  European technological innovations gave them an advantage in animal and machine power that helped overcome overall Chinese superiority.  One answer to the differing approaches can be seen in the attitudes of the groups in each society favoring expansion.  There was wide support in general European society for increasing national and individual wealth through successful expansion.   Christian leaders sought new converts.  Zhenghe’s voyages were the result of an emperor’s curiosity and desire for personal greatness.  Merchants, profiting from existing commerce, were little interested.  The scholar-gentry opposed the expeditions as a danger to their position and as a waste of national resources..

 

Chinese Retreat and the Arrival of the Europeans. 

• The Chinese after the end of the Zhenghe expeditions developed a policy of isolation.  In 1390 the first decree limiting overseas commerce appeared and the navy was allowed to decline. 
• Europeans naturally were drawn to the great empire.  Missionaries sought access to the court.  Franciscans and Dominicans worked to gain converts among the masses; the Jesuits followed the Di Nobili precedent from India in trying to win the court elite.
• Scientific and technical knowledge were the keys to success at the court.  Jesuits like Matteo Ricci and Adam Schall displayed such learning, but they won few converts among the hostile scholar-gentry who considered them mere barbarians.

Ming Decline and the Chinese Predicament. 

• By the late 1500s the dynasty was in decline.  Inferior imperial leadership allowed increasing corruption and hastened administrative decay. 
• The failure of public works projects, especially on the Yellow River, caused starvation and rebellion.  Exploitation by landlords increased the societal malaise. 
• The dynasty fell in 1644 before Chinese rebels.  A political vacuum followed that ended when northern nomads, the Jurchens, or Manchus, seized control. 
• Their leader, Nurhaci, established the last of the imperial dynasties, the Qing. 

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AP WORLD CHAPTER 22 PAGE 4

Fending Off the West: Japan's Reunification and the First Challenge. 

• During the 16th century an innovative and fierce leader, Nobunaga, one of the first daimyos to make extensive use of firearms, rose to the forefront among the contesting lords. 
• He deposed the last Ashikaga shogun in 1573, but was killed in 1582 before finishing his conquests.  Nobunaga's general Toyotomo Hideyoshi continued the struggle and became master of Japan by 1590.
•  Hideyoshi then launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea.  He died in 1598.  Tokugawa Ieyasu won out in the ensuing contest for succession.  In 1603 the emperor appointed him shogun. 
• The Tokugawas continued in power for two and one-half centuries.  Ieyasu, who ruled from Edo (Tokyo) directly controlled central Honshu and placed the remaining daimyos under his authority.
• Outlying daimyos over time also were brought under Tokugawa rule.  The long period of civil wars had ended and political unity restored.

Dealing with the European Challenge. 

• European traders and missionaries had visited Japan in increasing numbers since 1543.  The traders exchanged Asian and European goods, the latter including firearms, clocks, and printing presses, for Japanese silver, copper, and artisan products.  The firearms, which the Japanese soon manufactured themselves, revolutionized local warfare. 
• Roman Catholic missionaries arrived during Nobunaga's campaigns.  He protected them as a counterforce to his Buddhist opponents.  The  Jesuits by the 1580s claimed hundreds of thousands of converts. 
• Hideyoshi was less tolerant of Christianity.  The Buddhists had been crushed and he feared that converts would give primary loyalty to their religion. 
• Hideyoshi also feared that Europeans might try to conquer Japan.

Japan's Self-Imposed Isolation. 

• Official measures to restrict foreign influence were ordered from the late 1580s.  Christian missionaries were ordered to leave; persecution of Christians were underway during the mid-1590s.  Christianity was officially banned in 1614.
•  Continued persecution provoked unsuccessful rebellions and drove the few remaining Christians underground.  Ieyasu and his successors broadened the campaign to isolate Japan from outside influences.
•  From 1616 merchants were confined to a few cities; from 1630 Japanese ships could not sail overseas.  By the 1640s only Dutch and Chinese ships visited Japan to trade at Deshima island.  Western books were banned. 
• The retreat into isolation was almost total by the mid-17th century.  The Tokugawa continued expanding their authority.
• During the 18th century the revival of neo-Confucian philosophy that had flourished under the early Tokugawas gave way to a school of "National Learning" based upon indigenous culture.  Some of the elite, in strong contrast to the Chinese scholar-gentry, continued to follow with avid interest Western developments through the Dutch at Deshima.

 

Conclusion: Asia and the First Phase of Europe's Global Expansion.  Western exploration and commercial expansion only touched most of Asia peripherally.  In east Asia Chinese and Japanese strength blocked European domination of their lands.  In south and southeast Asia, where European impact was stronger, most Asians retained control of their destinies.  Asian change came from indigenous factors which maintained old cultural and social influences.  Even in commerce and seafaring, where their influence was greatest, Europeans found it better to became part of existing networks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEY TERMS CHAPTER 22

Asian sea trading network:divided, from west to east, into three zones prior to the European arrival; an Arab zone based upon glass, carpets, and tapestries; an Indian with cotton textiles; a Chinese with paper, porcelain, and silks.

Goa:Indian city developed by the Portuguese as a major Indian Ocean base; developed an important Indo-European population.

Ormuz: Portuguese establishment at the southern end of the Persian Gulf; a major trading base.

Malacca: city on the tip of the Malayan peninsula; a center for trade to the southeastern Asian islands; became a major Portuguese trading base.

Batavia: Dutch establishment on Java; created in 1620.

Treaty of Gijanti (17570: reduced the remaining independent Javanese princes to vassals of the Dutch East India Company; allowed the Dutch to monopolize Java's coffee production.

Luzon: northern island of the Philippines; conquered by Spain during the 1560s; site of a major Catholic missionary effort.

Mindanao: southern island of the Philippines; a Muslim area able to successfully resist Spanish conquest.

Francis Xavier: Franciscan missionary who worked in India during the 1540s among outcast and lower caste groups; later worked in Japan.

Robert Di Nobli:Italian Jesuit active in India during the early 1600s; failed in a policy of first converting indigenous elites.

Hongwu: first Ming emperor (1368-1403); drove out the Mongols and restored the position of the scholar-gentry.

Macao and Canton:the only two ports in Ming China where Europeans were allowed to trade.

The Water Margin, Monkey, and The Golden Lotus: novels written during the Ming period; recognized as classics and established standards for Chinese prose literature.

Zhenghe:Chinese admiral who led seven overseas trade expeditions under Ming emperor Yunglo between 1405 and 1423; demonstrated that the Chinese were capable of major ocean exploration.

Matteo Ricci and Adam Schall:Jesuit scholars at the Ming court; also skilled scientists; won few converts to Christianity.

Chongzhen:last of the Ming rulers; committed suicide in 1644 as rebels invaded the Forbidden City of Beijing.

Manchus: Jurchen people from region to the northeast of the Chinese empire; seized power and created the Qing dynasty after the collapse of the Ming.

Nobunaga: the first Japanese daimyo to make extensive use of firearms; in 1573 deposed the last Ashikaga shogun; unified much of central Honshu; died in 1582.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi: general under Nobunaga; succeeded as a leading military power in central Japan; continued efforts to break power of the diamyos; became military master of Japan in 1590; died 1598.

Tokugawa Ieyasu:vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi; succeeded him as the most powerful military figure in Japan; granted title of shogun in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate; established political unity in Japan.

Edo: Tokugawa capital, modern-day Tokyo; center of Tokugawa shogunate.

Deshima:island port in Nagasaki Bay; the only port open to foreigners, the Dutch, after the 1640s.

School of National Learning: 18th-century ideology that emphasized Japan's unique historical experience and the revival of indigenous culture at the expense of Confucianism and other Chinese influences.

 

 

AP WORLD CHAPTER 22 PAGE 5

ESSAY  SUGGESTIONS

1.  Compare and contrast the European intrusion into the African commercial system with their entry into the Asian trade network.  Among the similarities were limited colonization, use of coastal and island trading forts to enter trade systems, inability to affect political development by conquest, and introduction of firearms that influenced political development (Africa and Japan).  The Portuguese initiated the contact in Africa and Asia and in both attempted missionary work with limited success.  Among differences was the role of slavery; it was a major feature of the African trade; Asian regions produced raw materials, spices, and manufactured goods.  Asian civilizations opted for isolation while many African states concluded commercial alliances with the West.

2.  Discuss the European impact on Asian civilization during the period of early modern Western expansion.  The greatest impact was on the periphery of Asian civilizations, especially in islands (Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines) where European tribute systems were established.  Another significant influence was the introduction of firearms to Japan during its period of political centralization.  Otherwise, the impact was minimal.  Europeans lacked goods desired in the Asian trade network; they basically acted as shipping agents for Asian products.  Christianity had minimal success against Hinduism, Islam, or Buddhism.  The only exception was the northern Philippines.  Some initial influence was felt in Japan, but later rulers suppressed Christianity.  China and Japan opted for isolation from the Europeans and their fundamental structures remained unchanged.  China allowed a few Christian visitors out of intellectual curiosity.

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What was the nature of the Asian sea trading network?

2. What did the Portuguese discover when they arrived at Calicut and how did they
respond?

3. How were the Dutch able to displace the Portuguese and how did their participation in
the Asian trading network differ from the Portuguese?

4. Where did the Europeans establish tribute systems?

5. How successful were European Christian missionary efforts by the early 1660s?

6. How did the Ming restore the traditional Chinese forms of government?

7.  Why did the Chinese withdraw from commercial expansion?

8. What steps led to the restoration of the Japanese shogunate?

9. Why did the Japanese resort to isolation as a response to European expansion?

 

 

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