What is this about?
What were the causes and effects of the economic strategies different governments adopted?
Ottoman Empire
- Was in a rough position in the 1800s
- Their nickname was the “Sick man of Europe”
Reasons for the Ottomans’ “Sickness”
- Powerful European countries like Britain, France, Russia were starting to eat up pieces of land from the empire
- Growing nationalist sentiments threatened to tear the empire apart
- As power and wealth shifted to industrialized nations, Western Europe got richer while non-industrialized nations like the Ottomans saw their power and wealth decline
- Ottomans plagued with a string of weak and ineffective leaders
Ottoman Industrialization
Rise of Muhammad Ali
- Muhammad Ali became the governor of Egypt in 1805
- Because of the weak Ottoman sultans, he could do what he wanted to
- Under him, Egypt rapidly industrialized and modernized
- Textile factories, arms factories and shipyards were built
- Reformed military to make it look more like a European military
- Good example of state-sponsored industrialization
Japan
- From 1639 to 1853, Japan isolated itself from the outside world
- Developed a rich culture and wanted to protect it from outside influence
- However, Western Europe wanted to sell their goods to Japan
Japan Confronts Foreigners
- In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry, by showing up with his big military ships with the guns, forced Japan to reluctantly open up
- However, Japan didn’t want to become the next China,
- They witnessed the humiliation of China and the British forcing the acceptance of opium imports through war
- So Japan decided to take steps to protect their culture through limited modernization to fend off the Westerners
- In 1868, the shogun was overthrown and the emperor was reinstated, leading to the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
- Japan paid for these reforms through a very high agricultural tax
- Government played a significant role in promoting and supporting industrial development
- However they also encouraged some private investment
- Sometimes flourishing industries would be sold to zaibatsu, powerful Japanese family business organizations
- The zaibatsu, along with the government, played a crucial role in the industrialization of Japan
Examples of Reforms
- Formally abolished feudalism in 1868
- Built railroads and regular roads
- Established a constitutional monarchy
- Subsidized industrialization