Japan 1500-1800• Daimyo = Regional warlords who
gained control of Japan– Invasion & Occupation of Korea (1592-
1606)
• Tokugawa Shogunate (1600) takes over
– Loyal Lords = Farm lands in Central Japan
– “Disloyal” Lords = Undeveloped lands in the North / South
– Emperor has no political power
• Decentralized Govt. has direct effect on economy
– Regional Lords = Development of many Urban centers
– Shogun Req. Visits = Transportation & Commerce
– Samurai = Creation of Wealthy Merchant class
Fall of the Shogunate• Japan “Closed”
– 1649 after a rebellion was blamed on Christians (Jesuits)
– Intended to prevent the spread of foreign influence
– Dutch given limited access / “Dutch Studies” allow access to European knowledge
– “Outer Lords” of North / South ignored this ban & traded with Korea, China, SE Asia = Wealthy maritime system
• Population & Economic Growth Changes Political Power
– Inner Lords = Pop. Growth strains agricultural economy
– Outer Lords = Econ. Growth exceeds Pop. Growth
– Rice Prices Rise = Samurai dependent on loans from merchant class
– Merchant class gains power in the 1700’s
• Forty-Seven Ronin Incident (1702) = Illustrates transformation from military to civil society
The Russian Empire• Former Mongol Controlled Areas /
Diverse Populations make up “Russia”– Cossacks = Independent, close-knit,
“guns for hire”– Boyars = Russian Aristocracy– Russian Peasants legally made serfs in
1649– Siberia = Furs, Timber, Gold, Coal, Iron
(Eventually becomes prison colony)
• Peter the Great Ruled Russia (1689-1725) Romanov Royal Family
– Goal = Use European Tech / Culture to make Russia a European Power
• Actions– Well educated and well traveled– Modernized (Westernized) Russia’s
Economy, Military, and Education system– Reduced power of nobles– Built St. Petersburg (110,000 people died
in construction)– Had a violent temper– Heavily taxed Russian people
Peter’s Legacy & Catherine the Great
• Impact of Peter’s Rule– Russia became a powerful
European country– Advanced the role of women in
Russia– Fought in expensive and costly
wars against Swedes & Ottomans– Destroyed many Russian traditions
in order to modernize
• Catherine the Great Ruled 1729-1796– Russia = Largest Empire in the
world– Continued policies of Peter (very
harsh on serfs) – Friend of the Enlightenment =
Western European Law, Art, architecture
– Economy built on territory, agriculture, logging, fishing, furs