AP World Unit 3

Period of cultural rebirth in Europe from the 14th to 17th centuries. Marked by a renewed interest in art, science, literature, and humanism. Led to significant advancements in various fields and the rediscovery of classical Greek and Roman knowledge.

1. Mini-industrial powerhouses

2. Cities of Venice and Genda got rich from trade (specifically with the Ottoman)

Their colors remained vibrant thanks to alum

• Tribute collection

• Tax farming

• Tax-collection systems

  • Mughal zamindar tax collection

  • Ottoman tax farming

  • Mexica tribute lists

  • Ming practice of collecting taxes in hard currency

• Conquered by Mongols in 1230s and originally ruled by Ogodei

• Established the Yuan Dynasty

• Kublai Khan created an oppressive tax-farming system instead of the traditional fixed-rate method of taxation

• Also brought benefits: secure trade routes, exchange of experts between east and west, transmission of skills, ideas, information

• Made Beijing their capital

  • Eastern terminus of caravan routes

  • Began the Forbidden City

• Established social hierarchy where Mongols were at the top, followed by Central Asians, Middle Easterners, Northern Chinese, and finally Southern Chinese

• Some Confucian scholars were involved in the government, but they were largely displaced by Mongols who appointed merchants and outsiders with government positions

  • For example, a Muslim governor from Central Asia (Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din) was placed in charge of a Chinese province

• Persian, Arab, and Uighur administrators staffed the offices of taxation and finance

• Muslim scholars worked at calendar-making and astronomy

• Merchants (previously despised by Confucian elites and scholars) were a privileged group under Mongol rule

• Civil service exam lost importance 

• Elite families turned to new professions and opportunities since government positions were no longer available to them

• Led to business and merchant class boom

• Agricultural base was damaged by war, over taxation, and passage of armies 

• Tried to use paper money but there was little faith in the system

• 1340s, fights among Mongol princes broke out

• In 1368 a charismatic Chinese leader (Zhu Yuanzhang) also known as the Hongwu Emperor destroyed the Yuan Empire and brought China under the control of the new Ming Dynasty

• Many Mongols, as well as Muslims, Jews, and Christians, remained in China

• Many other Mongols returned to Mongolia and welcomed back refugees from the Yuan collapse

• Ming did not dominate all the Mongols, but participated with the remaining tribes using the tribute system

• Some become a continued threat along the Ming borders

• Chinese culture & civilization had been disrupted by a century of Mongol rule

• Population had been reduced by the plague

• Early decades of Ming Dynasty = efforts to eliminate all signs of foreign rule (i.e. Mongol names and dress) while promoting Confucian learning based on models from the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties

• Emperor Yongle (reigned 1402-1422) sought to compile all previous writing on history, geography, ethics, government, and more

• China was looking to its past for inspiration and guidance

• Initially moved capital to Nanjing (“southern capital”) on the Yangzi River

• Used Confucianism to legitimize his rule

• Initially, ended all relations with Central Asia and the Middle East

• Imposed strict limits on imports and foreign visitors

• Silver replaced paper money (not a good choice)

• Emperor Yongle (1403-1424) moved capital back to Beijing 

  • Added to the Forbidden Palace, making it what it is today

• Reestablished the civil service examination system that had been neglected under Mongol rule

• Created highly centralized government

• Power concentrated in the hands of the emperor while a cadre of eunuchs (castrated men) personally loyal to the emperor  exercised great authority

• Restored millions of acres of land to cultivation of crops

• Built canals, reservoirs, and irrigation works & planting a billion trees to reforest China

• Under Yongle, the economy rebounded & international and domestic trade flourished = population growth

• During 15^th century, China had recovered and was the best-governed and most prosperous of the world’s major civilizations

• One of the best-known products of Ming technological advance was porcelain

• Created “Ming ware” a blue-on-white style developed in the 1400s from Indian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern motifs

• Also known for: furniture, lacquered screens, and silk

• Since 11^th century, Chinese sailors and traders had been a major presence in the South China Sea and in Southeast Asian port cities

• Emperor Yongle launched an enormous fleet in 1405 which participated in seven expeditions in 28 years

• Captained by the Muslim eunuch Zheng He (Jung Huh) 

• 300 ships, crew of 27,000

• Visited ports in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, India, Arabia, and East Africa

• Wanted to enroll distant peoples into the Chinese tribute system where they presented tribute, performed the required rituals of submission, and received gifts in return as well as titles and trading opportunities

• Zheng He’s expeditions were officially described as “bringing order to the world” 

• Also: established Chinese power & prestige in the Indian Ocean while exerting Chinese control over foreign trade in the region

• Part of China’s legacy of utilizing the tribute system as part of their foreign policy

• Chinese DID NOT: 

  • Seek to conquer new territories

  • Establish Chinese settlements

  • Desire to spread their culture

Dhow→moderate-sized ship used in the western Indian Ocean usually with a lateen (triangular) sail and sewn with timber hull

Junk→Chinese (Tang, Song, & Ming) transport/trade ship designed for long-distance commercial trade; flat-bottomed

Caravel→small Portuguese sailing ship – easily maneuverable, could use square or lateen sails, strong enough to weather ocean storms & carry lots of goods

• After 1433 Chinese authorities stopped such expeditions and allowed the expensive fleet to deteriorate in the ports

• Partly because of the death of Emperor Yongle who had been the patron of the enterprise

• Many high-ranking officials had seen the voyages as a waste of resources because they thought of China as being self-sufficient, requiring little help or assistance from the outside world. 

• Saw expeditions as the hobby of eunuchs, who government officials despised

• Saw real threats as coming from the north where nomadic barbarians still troubled the borders

• Problems defending borders

  • Nomadic groups successful forays across Great Wall

• Weak emperors

  • Corruption (particularly among the long-resented eunuchs)

  • Court factions bickering for the emperor's favor 

• Peasant rebellions

• Manchurians (foreign nomads from beyond the Great Wall) won the Mandate of Heaven

  • Renamed empire the Qing (pure) Dynasty

  • Not Han Chinese

  • Manchus (considered “barbarians” from the north) 

• Founded and maintained a new era for China

• Manchu gained control of Beijing and began campaign to conquer rest of Ming territory

• By late 18^th century China reached largest size in history; largest country in the world

  • Transition from Ming to Qing not as difficult as transitions between dynasties in earlier periods

    • Manchu had been close to Chinese civilization and had adapted many Chinese customs and attitudes

    • Some gave their support to Manchu in taking over government

• Qing encouraged separation between Manchu and Chinese (Han)

  • Highest posts filled by Manchu

  • Confucian scholar-gentry kept most positions in bureaucracy

• Manchu rulers wanted to preserve ethnic identity

  • Forbade intermarriage (between Han Chinese and Manchus)

  • Chinese men forced to shave front of heads and grow queue as a sign of submission to dynasty

• Civil service exams became more competitive with tests given on district, provincial, and metropolitan levels

• State tightly controlled at center; Son of Heaven  view clearly in place

• Emperor led secluded but privileged life in Forbidden City

• “Theatre state” apparent 

  • Sumptuous palace and customs

  • Emperor’s clothing

  • Kowtow (bowing/deference shown during tribute)

• Manchu dynasty strengthened by two strong emperors

• Kangxi and Qianlong

• Together rule spanned 130 years

• Cemented prosperous, powerful, culturally rich empire

• Both sophisticated Confucian scholars

• Managed Chinese economy efficiently

  • Kangxi a talented military leader

  • Qianlong brought such prosperity that he cancelled tax collections four times

• Late 18^th c. China a well-organized empire; its influence firmly established in most parts of east Asia

• Prosperity based upon

  • Agriculture; high yields from new methods 

  • Rice, wheat, millet

  • New foods from Americas 

    • Maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts raised on soil not appropriate for previous crops

    • New foods sustained rapid increase in population

• Population outpaced food supply but not evident before 1750

  • Population growth supported by trade and influx of American silver

  • Chinese workers produced silk, porcelain, and tea

• New silver supplies generally helped Chinese economy

• Patriarchal society

  • Control over women probably increased late Ming to Qing

  • Confucian ideals strong

• Preference for male children clear (only males could take civil service exam which could boost family status)

• Women encouraged to commit suicide after husbands died

  • Foot binding popular

  • Women could not divorce husbands

  • Men could put wives aside for disobedience or adultery

• High status of scholar bureaucrats

  • Distinctive clothing

  • Income from government service

  • Lived in urban areas

  • Owned land that brought additional income 

• Below gentry were peasants, artisans, and merchants

  • Merchants with the lowest status since peasants more worthy; considered honest work

  • Merchants did not create any tangible products

• Lower classes often called ‘mean people’ which included slaves, indentured servants, and beggars

• Beyond Neo-confucianism a rich cultural life emerged in philosophy, literature, and history

• Emperors supported printing and distribution of materials 

  • Yongle sponsored Yongle’s Encyclopedia 

  • Kangxi’s Collection of Books

• Popular novels circulated two often best know to novels are the Book of the Golden Lotus and the Dream of the Red Chamber

• Porcelain became major art form during Ming and Qing

  • Vases, decorative bowls, painted scrolls and screens in demand

  • Prices rose and production increased

  • Prosperous Chinese also filled homes with goods; many items did not go to international trade

• By 1700’s many Chinese could read and children went to to schools and academies

  • Calligraphy, painting, and poetry more prized than math and science

• Members of the scholar-gentry led refined, comfortable lives

The Kangxi Dictionary was the standard Chinese dictionary during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Kangxi Emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty ordered its compilation in 1710. It used the earlier Zihui system of 214 radicals, today known as 214 Kangxi radicals, and was published in 1716. The dictionary is named after the Emperor's era name.

The dictionary contains more than 47,000 characters, though some 40% of them are graphic variants. In addition, there are rare or archaic characters, some of which are attested only once. Fewer than a quarter of the characters it contains are now in common use.

• From the Crusades onward, Western elites had become used to increasing consumption of Asian luxury products, including spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, silks, sugar, perfumes, and jewels. 

• In exchange for luxury items, Europeans mainly had cruder goods to offer: wool, tin, copper, honey, and salt

• The resulting unfavorable balance of trade had to be made up in gold, but western Europe had only a limited supply

• By 1400, the constant drain to Asia was creating a gold famine that threatened the whole European economy with collapse 

• Until the Spanish discover silver in the New World (U4)

• Ottoman devshirme

• Salaried samurai

• Mexica practice of human sacrifice

• European notions of divine right

• Songhai promotion of Islam

• Qing imperial portraits

• Incan sun temple of Cuzco

• Mughal mausolea and mosques

• European palaces, such as Versailles

Develop a navy, invest in exploration, and establish colonies in newly discovered or conquered lands.

Develop armies, expand territory, invest in domestic expansion without developing strong navies and colonies and in come cases, practice isolationist policies.

• Sea-based empires as one major theme but also traditional land-based empires that continued to dominate the Middle East and Asia (and a new land-based empire: Russia)

• The era after 1450 is commonly called the Age of Gunpowder Empires due to the use of guns to subjugate enemies and build control

  • Land-based empires continued to rely on armies, roads, and inland urban areas

  • Both sea-based and land-based  powers made use of guns, cannons, and musket

• Islamic

• Represent the height of Muslim political and military power in world history

• Countered the growing European global influence

• All three on decline by 1750; sea-based powers were still on the rise

• Were not competing for overseas territories like the Europeans

• Began as small Turkic warrior group that slowly migrated into Anatolia

  • Named for Osman

  • Lasted from the 14th to early 20th century

• Ottomans successfully conquered territory in eastern Europe, stopped at the gates of Vienna

• Very diverse, culturally and politically sophisticated empire

• One of the most powerful empires of its time along with the Inca and Qing China

Modern day Turkey

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  • Ottomans Captured Constantinople in 1453

    • Ended the Christian Byzantine Empire

  • Hagia Sophia became a mosque

  • Reached its height under Suleiman the Magnificent

    • Conquered Belgrade

    • Controlled the water traffic between the Black and Mediterranean Seas

    • Venice as a tributary state

    • Ottoman army continued to expand and defend frontiers

  • Ottoman sultans had large bureaucracies centered in Istanbul

  • Ottomans plagued by problems of succession

    • Common for sons to go to war with each other

  • The empire was diverse (cosmopolitan) 

  • The rulers (sultans) combined roles of Turkic warrior prince, Muslim caliph, and conquering emperor

  • Referred to as the “sword of Islam” 

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  • Initially Turkic women had more rights (because they were pastoral) but gradually adopted Islam and were then veiled and secluded

  • Official census did not count women

  • However, women in the royal court maintained power and influence in politics

  • Women had property rights

  • Could protect legal rights in matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance 

  • Roxelana (seen to the right) was the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent 

  • Was a controversial member of the “Sultanate of Women”

    • A time when the wives and mothers of the sultan exercised power of the Sultan and made decisions for the empire

  • Known as the most powerful and influential women in Ottoman history

• New elite military group, Janissaries, checked their power

• System known as devshirme required Christian boys to become slaves of sultan

• Given guns and heavy artillery (too heavy for cavalry)

• Came to control the weapons that ensured the Ottomans continuing military success

• Gave them political and economic power

• Old aristocrats found themselves out of military power just as economic weaknesses greatly reduced incomes from their lands

• Janissaries had a say in the sultan’s decisions by the mid-16^th century

• Istanbul

  • Wealthy

  • Cosmopolitan, Controlled trade routes, Primary seaport, Bazaars

• Economic decline set in by the mid 17^th century

  • Empire probably reached the limits of expansion

• Empire too large to be maintained

  • Corruption among local governments

• High taxes for peasants

  • Peasants revolts

• Succession issues –sons of sultans held as hostages to prevent coups 

  • Led to sheltered, pleasure loving less competent rulers

• Demands by Janissaries not only for political power but also for high salaries

  • Sultan began to reduce the number of landholding cavalrymen, causing unrest among displaced cavalrymen

• Inflation caused by increasing amount of New World silver – negative global effect

• Ottoman sultan collected taxes according to legally fixed rates

  • as value of silver declined, tax revenues stayed the same

• Ottomans were at a disadvantage when trading in the world market

  • Religious law limited the government ability to reform tax laws

  • When bureaucrats came up with special surtaxes, met with resistance 

• Majority Sunni Muslims

  • As a result of expansion; large numbers of Christians and Jews

  • Also, remember they conquered the Byzantines who had been Greek Orthodox Christians

• Istanbul was cosmopolitan

  • Crossroads of trade & sultans supported public works

• Invited religious scholars, artists, poets, and architects

  • Hagia Sophia restored as a mosque, aqueducts built, city walls repaired

• Suleymaniye Mosque with impressive domes

• Social structure 

  • Large numbers of merchants and artisans

  • Artisans organized into guilds

• Conservative religious leaders in the empire insulated the empire from new cultural and technological developments in Europe

  • Saw European societies as backwards and own civilization as superior

  • Similar to China’s attitude about the West

• Prevented the Ottomans from adopting western technology and ideas

  • Printing press brought by Jews after being expelled from Spain; not allowed to print anything in Turkish or Arabic

  • As a result, the empire virtually untouched by the print revolution

• Grew from Turkish nomadic group (similar to Ottomans)

• Shi’ite Muslims 

  • True heirs of Islam were the descendants of Ali

• Ismail led army who united large area south of the Caspian Sea

• As Safavids expanded they came into conflict with Ottomans

• Hostilities intensified by Shi’ite Sunni split

• Met at Chaldiran in NW Persia

  • Religious conflict at the heart

  • Illustrated the importance of the new gunpowder technology

  • Ismail sent cavalry armed with sword and knives to fight Janissaries with their cannons and muskets

• Safavids slaughtered, Ottomans won decisive victory but didn’t follow up due to approaching winter

• Safavids recovered, built up artillery, and continued to fight Ottomans for two centuries

• Battle at Chaldiran a marker event

  • Set the limits for Shi’ite expansion with consequences still apparent today

  • Iran is in the midst of predominantly Sunni countries conflicts continue

• Shah Abbas I – Safavids at peak

  • Captures boys in Russia and educated to be soldiers; converted to Islam  (similar to Janissaries)

  • Slave infantrymen trained to use firearms

  • Gave increasing power at the expense of the traditional qizilbash

• Abbas brought in European advisors to assist in wars with Ottomans

  • Improved cannons and musket

  • Army swelled in size and efficiency, but no Safavid navy built to compete with the sea-based trade that was transforming the world

• Safavid rulers based authority on military prowess and religious authority

  • Traced authority to Sufi religious order

  • Expansion seen as extension of Islam to new lands

• Saw the Europeans as infidels

  • Also believe that defeating the Sunni was an act of faith

• Persian traditions shaped by Safavid political system

  • Sumptuous palaces

  • Highly ritualized court

• Local mosque officials, mullahs, supervised and supported by state

  • Gave government the upper hand

• Turkish chiefs challenged early shahs

  • Chiefs gradually transformed into warrior elite (similar to cavalry elite in Ottoman Empire)

  • Supervised farms, asserted political power, captured powerful positions in the imperial bureaucracy

• Shahs appointed Persians to fill other bureaucratic positions

  • Gave authority to slave infantrymen

Economic→

• Shahs supported trade

• Isfahan (capital) major center of international trade

  • Network of road and workshops to manufacture textiles and rugs

  • Inland – not as many traders as Istanbul (why?)

  • Guilds

    • Silk production

    • Carpets – signature business

• Also negatively impacted by inflation caused by flood of silver

Social→

• Not cosmopolitan

• Armenians kept in suburbs across river; most people in city were Shi'ite

• Majority of people lived in rural areas, farming

• Nomadic groups 

• Mixture of Turkish and Persian

  • Iranian scholars more likely to use  Persian

    • In other Islamic lands more likely to read and write in Arabic

• Cultural traditions like poetry, history, drama, and fiction kept Persian identify strong

  • Gradually separate identities  seen by the time the Mongols invaded

  • When Ismail created Iran as a Shi’ite state reinforced differences

• Architecture

  • Mosques in Islamic world relied on domes

    • Safavid domes decorated in brightly colored floral patterns that resemble Persian carpets 

    • Istanbul known for massive simplicity

• Blended Sufi mysticism with militant political objectives

• Safavids traced ancestry to Safi al-Din, leader of Sufi religious order in NW Persia; empire founded on Sufi beliefs

• Ismail deployed armies to spread Shi’ism w/an emphasis on mystic union w/God

  • Later Safavid shahs banned Sufi orders from the empire but Sufism continued to thrive

• Like the Ottomans, Safavids gradually lost vigor

  • Collapsed in the 1720s

  • Victim of 

    • Islamic infighting

    • Ever-growing dominance of sea-based powers

• 1450 – much of Indian subcontinent tenuously controlled by the Delhi Sultanate

  • Muslim leaders presided over a  population that remained primarily Hindu – religious frictions (continues today)

• 1523 Babur founded Mughal Empire

  • Descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan

• Dominated until the early 1700s (continued to rule in name until 1858 when the British were establishing greater colonial control over the subcontinent)

• Babur’s invasion motivated by

  • Loss of ancestral homeland through inter-tribal warfare

  • Dreams of living up to reputation of ancestors

• Military strategies responsible for success in capturing Delhi

  • Family’s control challenged after his death but son Humayan recaptured northern India and expanded the empire

• The empire reached its height in power and influence under Babur’s grandson Akbar 

• Autocratic (like Ottoman and Safavid)

  • Power based on military might and religious authority

  • No navy (like Safavids), relied on army

• Fought the infidels (the Hindu) spreading Islam

  • Some more tolerant (Akbar)

• Succession issues (like Ottomans and Safavids); Mughal princes fought each other to become heir

• Akbar incorporated rajas (regional Hindu leaders) into military and bureaucratic positions to alleviate tensions

  • Policy of cooperation and encouraged intermarriage

  • Abolished jizya

  • Ended ban on the building of new Hindu temples

  • Ordered Muslims to respect cows

  • Built strong bureaucracy modeled on a military hierarchy for collecting taxes

• Each region surveyed and tax rates based on the region's potential for wealth

• Most local officials (usually Hindu) kept positions if swore allegiance to Mughals and paid taxes

  • Reforms encouraged cooperation; great grandson Aurangzeb reinstituted many restrictions on the Hindus

• Land revenue granted to military and government officials in exchange for service (also in the Ottoman and Safavid)

  • Grew wealthy

• As Mughal empire expanded, controlled commercial networks based on cotton, indigo, and silk

  • By 17^th c overland trade with Europe going strong

• Indian merchant ships were privately owned; many Indian goods carried into the Indian Ocean trade circuit were on Dutch and English vessels

  • Europeans brought trade goods from throughout Asia to trade for Indian cotton cloth and clothing due to growing demand in Europe

• Patriarchal (same as Ottoman and Safavid)

• Wives of rulers played key roles in all three empires

  • Suleiman the Magnificent’s wife convinced him to execute his eldest son so her son could succeed to the throne (Ottoman)

  • One Safavid ruler’s wife so enraged the qizilbash that they murdered her

  • Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Mughal Shah Jahan also amassed power. Taj Mahal built for her but plans for a black marble monument ended when Shah was imprisoned by his sons in a struggle for succession

• Status of women overall low in Indian society

• Child marriage common (brides as young as nine)

• Sati spread even though outlawed

• Seclusion (purdah) strictly enforced for upper class women

• Women veiled

• Religious conflicts permeated society

• Akbar tried to reconcile the two with new Divine Faith 

  • Combined M

  • uslim, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Christian, and Sikh beliefs

  • Wanted to unite under one realm and cement loyalty to the emperor

  • Didn’t catch on

• Before Babur invaded, Nanuk (1469 – 1539) stressed meditation as a means of seeking enlightenment; drew upon both religions

  • Became guru of Sikhism

  • People formed a community free of caste distinctions

• Mughal Shah Aurangzeb changed the nature of Sikhism when ordered the ninth guru beheaded because he refused to convert to Islam (1675)

• Jahangir and Shah Jahan followed Akbar but less interest in military conquests and politics

  • Patrons of the arts

  • Promoted paintings of miniatures depicting life at court, battles, animals, and plants

  • Built public buildings

    • Blend of Persian and Hindu influence with lavish ornamentation

      • Ornamented tiles with semiprecious stones in lavish patterns (Ex: Taj Mahal)

      • Fatehpur Sikri – Akbar built an entirely new capital city

  • Abandoned after his death

  • Beauty famous throughout Islamic world

  • Library contained largest collection of books in the world

  • Scholars of all religions came

  • Akbar illiterate but loved to be read to

• Akbar’s reputation as an important leader is based partly on his ability to revive a sense of political and cultural unity in the subcontinent (since Gupta)

• Jahangir and Shah Jahan neglected political, economic, and military issues; loved pleasure

• Aurangzeb tried to restore the empire but also to rid India of Hinduism; stirred up resentment

  • Conquered more land but the expenses of war left treasury empty

  • Local leaders plotted against him

  • Rolling back Akbar’s reforms undermined his government

  • After he died the empire was larger than ever but unstable

• Europeans took advantage

  • Dutch, British, and French joint-stock companies eagerly sought to expand profitable trade in India

Developed in South Asia in a context of interactions between Hinduism and Islam

• Began in West Africa in the 15th century

• Mali began to collapse in the 1460s

  • Civil wars and competing trade routes caused decline

• Songhay took over from the Mali Empire

• Gained access to gold mines

• Capital at Gao

• Ruler was an absolutist authority over a centralized state

• Lots of political violence as kings were overthrown by relatives

• Important location on the trans-Saharan trade routes

  • Took over key trade cities: Timbuktu and Jenne 

• Major Islamic center of learning and commerce

• Islam was only popular in the cities with rural areas keeping their traditional animist beliefs

• The Songhay Empire was invaded by fellow Islamic state of Morocco in the 16th century

• Morocco was in need of resources and money after fighting (and winning) wars against the Portuguese

• Morocco was on the verge of bankruptcy and was looking for money

• Morocco decided to invade the Songhay Empire because they believed gold mines were located there

• Broke laws by attacking a fellow Muslim state

• Songhay army outnumbered the Moroccans, but the Moroccans had superior gunpowder weapons and won the battle

• Goa, Timbuktu, and Djenne were sacked by the Moroccans seeking treasure

• Weakened the Songhay Empire which never recovered and eventually collapsed

• Japan organized politically and economically into feudalistic hierarchies

  • Emperor ruled in name only

  • Shogun (top military authority) wielded most real power

  • Powerful territorial lords, daimyos, had great deal of local control

• Political power fragmented as a result

  • Each daimyo pledged allegiance to the shogun as overlord

• Late 1500’s civil war

  • Toyotomi Hideyoshi broke power of warring daimyos and unified Japan under his authority

  • Dreamed of ruling Korea, China and India

  • Died before fulfilled ambitions but his actions sparked the unification for the first time in history, as step that was a crucial in the country’s rise to world power three centuries later

• Bushido - “way of the warrior” 

• unwritten law code for samurai

• Began in 9th century CE

• stressed frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and honor until death

• born from Neo-Confucianism and Confucian texts during the Tokugawa-era 

  • also influenced by Shinto and zen Buddhism

  • Seven virtues: rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor, loyalty 

• Social hierarchy influenced by Confucianism

  • Obedience and responsibilities of people of unequal ranks

• Ruling elites included

  • Shogun, Daimyos, Samurai

• Middle class

  • Peasants and artisans

• Merchants at bottom

• As peace settled and trade flourished, merchants became more prosperous and were among wealthiest

• Samurai left with nothing to do in times of peace

  • Strict social hierarchy prevented samurai from other professions; many fell into debt

• Daimyos met under leadership of Tokugawa Ieyasu to establish centralized government in 1603

• Lasted from 1603-1868

• Also called Tokugawa bakufu; tent government

  • Implied that it was a temporary replacement for the power of the emperor (it wasn’t)

• Tokugawa controlled Japan until 1868

  • Daimyos still retained power and authority

• The Shogun’s authority was based on military might

  • Daimyos had to spend every other year at Tokugawa court (a way to keep their power in check)

• Weakened daimyos in two ways

  • Expensive because they had to maintain two households

  • Daimyos absence from lands impaired ability to establish power base at home

• Political unification encouraged economic growth

• Growth rooted in agriculture

  • Water control

  • Irrigation

  • Use of fertilizer

• Similar to China

  • Yields of rice and other foods meant rapid population growth

• Curbed population growth by using birth control, late marriage, abortion, infanticide

  • Japan had limited space available

    • Limited geography , mountainous land, poor soil

• Culture shaped by Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shintoism

• Elite influenced by Neoconfucianism

• Buddhism and Shintoism more influential among common people

• Shintoism promoted as important source of Japanese identity

• Literacy rates high (less characters than Chinese)

• Wood-block printing and moveable type made mass production of reading materials possible

• Poetry, novels, social satires, and kabuki plays most common forms of urban literature

• Kabuki 

  • Drama with  singing, dancing, and elaborate staging

  • Setting for plays often the ‘floating worlds’

    • Teahouses

    • Public baths

    • Brothels

  • Allowed people to escape rigid public decorum

• Bunraku; puppet theatre also popular

• Portuguese traders and missionaries (mainly Jesuits) arrived in Japan in the 16th century (1700s) 

  • Followed by Dutch, Spanish, and English merchants

• Japan was decentralized at the time, in constant internal conflict, and the Japanese welcomed European gunpowder weapons and knowledge

• Led to growth of Christianity in Japan (300,000 converts) 

• But things changed when Japan became unified under the Tokugawa Shogunate

• Shoguns and government officials began to view Europeans as a threat

  • Threatened Japanese culture and the power of the shoguns

• Expelled Christian missionaries

• Violently suppressed Christians and practicing Christianity

  • Executed missionaries and Japanese who would not give up practicing their faith

• Banned Western books

• Shoguns forbade Japanese from traveling abroad

• Banned European merchants and travelers

• Only the Dutch could trade and at only ONE port

• For 200 years (1650-1850) Japan practiced isolationism 

• Continued to trade with China, Korea, and SE Asia

• Powerful Italian family 

  • Economic power: Controlled large bank

  • Political power: Various family members served as Popes, Dukes, and Queens

• Patrons of artists (Da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo) and scientists (Galileo)

Renaissance artists discovered perspective,
a mathematical tool that allowed them to represent a 3D object in a 2D painting. 

• A true “Renaissance Man”

• Inventor, painter, artist, mathematician, etc., etc.