People in Japan started a revolt against foreigners in 1860s. The samurai defeated the shogun´s army and showed the supremacy of western military technology. Japan borrowed many things from the foreigners, but still maintained its own identity. Japan incorporated business leaders into its new government structure, while Russia could not break the hold of traditional aristocratic elite. During the Industrial Revolution in Japan peasants were given ownership of land, agricultural taxes were replaced by industrial taxes, and the weaponry was updated (modern Navy). Japan´s mayor problem with industrialization was that they had only a few supplies of natural resources and were very depended on imported coal and steel. This help them to become the final great imperial nation of the 19th century. Although they had a late economic and industrial start they proved themselves quickly in two different military conflicts: The Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895), in which Japan gained control of Korea, and the Russo-Japanese war (1904) in which the superior navy of japan defeated the Russian navy. |
Japan started the 19th century as it had always been for centuries. It was ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate through a central bureaucracy tied by alliances with feudal daimyos and samurai. Their economy was still based in agriculture and the samurai were paid by the Shogunate. The Neo-Confucianism was very popular among the elites, this made Japan to split from a religious resistance to western based reform. Japan was homogeneous, in contrast with Russia, and the Ottoman Empire that had small groups of different ethnics. Japan isolation was absolute from everywhere except by the port of Nagasaki open to the Dutch, but in 1853, because of a threat to bombard Japan made by the american general Matthew Perry. This opened Japan to foreign influence, but as in China, foreigners residing in Japan had not the same rights.
|
Meiji Restoration
|
Politics
Japan for years have been under the Shogun rule, who acts like a king and applies the principles of monarchy.
After the reforms the Japanese people start to ask for a parliament and a Republic. |
Economy
After de Meiji restoration Japan start a period of economical growing. All man must serve in the army by four years, that start forming a disciplined and nationalist population. This fact made that Japan start a Self-strengthening which include the change from farming to the industries, those industries develop Japan economy at the level of be comparable with an European power.
|