1. Explain the context/ background of the events you are examining? For example: time; place and how it relates to colonization by the nation you are examining or other nations.
The Great Depression, which occurred in 1929, devastated the economy of many counties worldwide, including Japan. Thus, many sought for imperialism as the answer, such as the Western power and Japan. Japan targeted China, planning on taking advantage of the turmoil that was taking place inside the country, greatly devastating the country by military power. Watching closely over the feud between the Chinese Nationalists and Communists, Japan waited for the perfect opportunity. (Beck et. alt. 481)
- Japan invasion of Manchuria, China that started on 18 September
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The resulting puppet state of Manchukuo was Japan’s quasi-colony. Great violence and pressure remained in border regions in the north of China until 1937. (Kingston)
The Japanese Imperial Army, which occupied Nanjing in 1937, committed numerous heinous crimes. Including acts such as rape, arson, looting, and murder. They did however try to persuade that the executions of the Chinese were only combatant, this period holds an event called the Nanjing Massacre for a reason. They targeted innocent Chinese citizens, young children, and women. During this horrific event, around … people lost their lives. Many Japanese today still do not acknowledge this fact however. (BBC – Nanjing Massacre)
5. Explain the process by which the imperializing maintained power/control over the region. These should be linked to the ideas from the table we have studied.
Japan established a number of states that are considered puppet régimes.
- Puppet government (Beck 481)
- Engineers and technicians built mines and factories (Beck 481)
- Treaty of Portsmouth (Caswell)
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6. Explain any examples of resistance to colonial rule. Note this resistance may have been violent, but not necessarily.
The attack and invasion on Manchuria, was a direct challenge to the League of Nations. The League consisted of all major democracies except for the U.S. in the 1930’s. Japan was one of the three countries in the League that posed the
Explain the four major types of British colonial communities that developed by the middle of the 18th century. Talk about the economic, political, and social characteristics that made each community that made each community unique.
Although Japan changed in many ways from 1853 to 1941, there were also many factors that remained the same throughout the history of Japan. One such continuity was the maintained existence of a figurehead ruler controlled by other political authorities. The feudalistic emperor of Japan was the supposed “highest, most powerful authority” in the land, but was actually controlled by the military leaders- the shogun. Similarly, the militaristic emperor of Japan decades later continued to remain a figurehead ruler controlled by military and government officials. In addition, Japan continued to remain reliant on exports in order to maintain its economy. As a result of Japan’s small geographical size, the island nation had few natural resources and was forced to rely on exports to survive economically. The nation also grew increasingly reliant on other nations to provide materials and supplies that it could not provide for itself. This complete reliance on other nations was seen illustrated when the Japanese military was provoked to attacking another superpower- the United States, in response to the 1940 United States embargo
*Discuss the various ways in which domestic political affairs in Britain affected colonization in the New World.
On 18 September 1931, a bomb exploded near Mukden on the South Manchurian railway. There is sufficient evidence to believe that the Japanese planted the bomb themselves to cause tension with Chinese dissidents and justify their advancement into Manchuria. The Manchurian Crisis—arguably the most important dispute brought forth to the League of Nations since its establishment in 1920—had begun. As this incident was perceived as an act of aggression on the part of Japan, China immediately appealed to the League of Nations for assistance. However, in the end, nothing changed. One thing remains clear to this day: The League’s response to halting Japan’s escalating aggression during the Mukden Incident was ineffective. While most historians
In the early 1940s, Hitler and the Nazis were trying to take over the world as they waged war across Europe. While Hitler had the world’s attention, a series of events was unfolding to set the scene for some of the biggest events in History. Japan had declared war on China in an attempt to increase its territory and it’s trade market. Although the US had stayed neutral for about 2 years, in a response to Japan’s aggressions, the US implemented a series of economic sanctions and trade embargoes to counter Japan’s advances. The reasoning behind this was that without money, goods, and other essential supplies,
In 1926 Emperor Hirohito took control of the throne and changed the dynamics of the countries’ policy (History, Imperial). The power within the country started and ended with the emperor. There were previously feuds for loyalty to a faction of ones’ choice but that ended with the Peace Preservation Law in 1925 which officially ended political freedom in Japan (History, Imperial). All loyalties in Japan now lied with the state. The state was ran by the emperor so his word and will became reality within his borders. This change brought on more conflict. Between 1932 and 1936 Japan spawned the idea of the “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere” which called for the unification of Asian nations but under Japanese control (History, Imperial). The bottom line of this plan was for Japan to have absolute imperial control throughout the Far East. This propelled Japan into campaigns on many fronts spreading their military over vast areas. Though they were successful in these campaigns with China and Russia, their resources were running thin, forcing them to look for alternate
TOPIC:Compare and contrast the settlement patterns of the Spanish, French, and English in the Americas from 1492-1650. What were the aims of each? How successful were they?
4. How did the emerging ideologies of anti-imperialism contributed to the dissolution of empires and the restructuring of states?
Some of you might remember when the years following the Chinese Revolution of 1911 the tensions between the United States and Japan were not as serious since a new republic was declared and both Japan and the United States had some problems. The Chinese had lost control over most of their country due to the fact that the local warlords had most of the power in China. So our great
Historically, there had always been tensions and conflicts between Japan and China, and their status during the interwar period was no different. Japan, wanting the resources that China possessed an abundance of, sought to gain access to their land through plunder. And since Japan’s army was much stronger, they had the power to do so. In a statement by a rising Communist leader by the name of Mao Zedong, he informed citizens of Japan’s imperial expansion. “Now they want to convert the whole of China from a semi-colony shared by several imperialist powers into a colony monopolized by Japan” (Mao Tse-Tung, On Tactics Against Japanese Imperialism). In 1932, the Japanese army attacked China and conquered Manchuria, a province rich in iron and coal. This event, known as the “Manchuria Incident,” led the military to be unrestrained and forced the government to resign. The emperor, recognizing that the military must be self-controlled, appointed an admiral as prime minister. As a result, militarism led to the suppression of all opposition and the termination of democracy. Even worse was its impact on a global scale. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations, signed an agreement to cooperate with the Nazis and fight against communism, and provoked a war with China. Eventually, these
This time period also led them to understand the need of allying with other countries in order to survive. For example, memories of Japanese atrocities led to the Chinese alliance with the USSR in 1949 and again normalizing relations with Russia in the 1980’s as Japan re-emerged as a
By 1931, Japanese-U.S. relations had spoiled. Japan’s strategy of colonial expansion echoed with the European paradigm, ultimately ending with the catastrophe of the Second World War. The Japanese invasion of Manchuria in late 1931 placed U.S. secretary of State Henry M. Stimson in a difficult position. It was clear that the Kellogg-Briand Pact had no impact on either the Chinese or the Japanese, and President Herbert Hoover did not primarily agree with his proposals. The Japanese had a huge investment in Manchuria and they relied heavily on U.S. exports for the necessary
As a result, many Japanese industries expanded into Manchuria with the help of the Japanese government, who desired the concept of fukoku kyōhei, which aimed to increase Japan’s economic and military power. World War I presented Japan a great opportunity to further two of its primary goals: propagating the idea of Pan-Asianism under Japanese rule, and acquiring natural resources for its growing industries. By allying with Britain and America, Japan could seize many imperial holdings of Germany and its allies for itself, as well as sell their military goods to the Western allies. Due to Japan’s support of the winning side of the war and its inclusion in the League of Nations, they had recognition from the Western powers that their new colonies were legitimate. As heard from the many first-hand stories of people in these newly acquired territories, the Pan-Asianism Japan espoused was nothing more than a ruse, and Japan would act much the same as the previous Western rulers.
Furthermore, Japan’s victory over Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War attributed to Chinese migration to Japan without a doubt. China’s defeat was seen as a decline of China’s hegemony and as a first Asian country to defeat Europe gave a sense of liberation and hope to defeat colonial powers to other countries. Japan gave other East Asian countries a desire for independent future, and an ideology of Pan-Asianism was created. These pull factors were subsequently appealing to the Chinese and formed a curiosity for them to learn more about Japan.
Relations between China and Japan are contradictory; they both rely heavily on each other economically, but they are distrustful of each other and there are huge cultural and political tensions between them. Japan helped provide infrastructure that allowed for the rapid industrialization of China, and if it were not for all of the foreign trade opportunities in China, Japan’s economy could have collapsed. At the same time however, China is still offended by the massive massacres and inhumane acts committed by the Japanese. Japan’s government is also very weary, and almost threatened, by China’s continuing growth economically, politically, and militarily. Despite the fact that China and Japan