The Role Of Imperialism In India, China And Japan

During the 1800s, the island nations of Great Britain and Japan depended on their location to move them forward. Although they share many geographical similarities, they began handling their government policies very differently. While Japan's isolationist policies kept it locked in the past, imperialist Britain charged forward into a bright and powerful future. It would take the weakening of one Japanese government to bring about the rise of another, a government that would be far more modern and progressive than the last. Overall, when handled to their advantage, the geography of these island nations seemed to positively influence them.

Japan and China had many contrasting responses to western penetration in the nineteenth century, including economic interaction - economically China suffered and Japan prospered, Japanese agricultural productivity increased while China’s did not, and China only accepted a small amount of goods while Japan accepted a wide range of goods- and political interaction - China went to war but Japan did not, Japan adopted western learning styles but China did not, and Japan heavily increased taxes on their people after 1890, while China did not -but had very comparable geographic traits – both had ocean borders – Japan was completely surrounded by water while China was bordered on a large percentage of itself, both kept their ports either fully

For this assignment, we were asked to research, in pairs, the effects of foreign imperialism on two Asian societies. Chris and I chose China and Japan as our Asian societies.

That Colonialism and imperialism played a significant role in shaping the modern world and particularly Asia is a prudent judgment. Colonialism is "a policy in which a country rules other nations and develops trade for its own benefit" and "the extension of power or authority over others in the interests of domination" (2004). 'The West', which refers to the societies of Europe and their genealogical, colonial, and philosophical descendants. Spain, France, Britain, Canada, and the United States of America are some examples of Western societies. These countries have spread their influence and hegemony over other nations for centuries; shaping today's North America,

Kon'nichiwa! I’m Japan! You probably know me for my aesthetic cherry blossoms and splendid anime, but let me tell you, things weren’t always as kawaii as they seemed. For a loooong time, I was isolated from other countries by my own shoguns and daimyos, my militaristic dictators and their warrior landlords respectively. We got along fine at first, but my common people were becoming increasingly unhappy with their little political power and heavy taxes. Then, on a fateful day in July of 1853, I met… the West.

Japan started a rapid increase of imperialism starting in the mid 19th century as their colonies started to spread throughout East Asia. Like western imperialism, the Japanese government turned expansion into a goal for security, national pride, resources, and manufactured goods. Along with the many similarities with the West, Japanese also became the first non-Western imperial power and became very successful in imperial expansion, but unfortunately became obsessed with conquering, which ultimately led them to their downfall. Imperialism significantly changed Japan, and affected the country in ways that helped it expand and at the same time left permanent damage that will stick with them. In 1868, Emperor Meiji became the head of Japan and at that time, Japan was a weak country militarily and had little technological development as it was

Did you know that the British laid the foundations of modern-day India? This was one of the few positive acts the British made towards India. Many of the acts Britain made towards India benefited themselves not the Indians. You may be thinking that the British did a great thing by creating infrastructure in India, however, they created numerous complications in the government, economics, and socialism of India resulting in death among several millions of innocent civilians.

The nineteenth century was a turbulent time of western imperialism and a major Asian power shift. European powers and the United States had a destabilizing effect on the region and the choices Japan and China made in response their imposing expansion was a major contributor to the trajectory of their respective futures. Social factors, such as the differences in national and religious unity, also played a role in the how the two nations emerged from the Age of Imperialism.

In 1543, three Portuguese travelers aboard a Chinese ship accidentally drifted ashore on Tanegashima, a Japanese Island. Within a few short years, a myriad of Portuguese merchants, missionaries, and settlers began to arrive in the country and ushered in almost a century of Portuguese imperial presence in Japan. This time period was a unique era in the history of European imperialism, and it is important to evaluate it from multiple points of view. This comparison is easily done with records such as, Captain Alexander Hamilton’s A New Account of the East Indies: Descriptions of Japan and Engelbert Kaempfer’s History of Japan. These two works are both first-hand accounts of the European interactions with the Japanese people. Indeed, these two

cling to the ancient and traditional ways of the past . They slid rapidly behind

JAPANESE EXPANSION INTO CHINA DURING AND AFTER WW1 AND JAPANS GAINS FROM THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, 1914-1923

The Nanjing Massacre was one of the bloodiest fights due to the results of the Sino- Japanese War. In 1937, Japan invaded the city of Nanjing after successfully taking over the city of Shanghai. Driven by violence and greed, Japanese troops were ordered to brutally execute the civilians in Nanjing. The Japanese troops raped and tortured thousands of innocent civilians, including children. This inhumane act of aggression caught the attention of foreign countries and allowed them to turn their sides on Japan. Not only did this event leave a negative reputation on Japan, but it also affected Japan’s status as a prosperous and growing country. How did the Nanjing Massacre affect Japan’s reputation to the rest of the world? In order to evaluate this question, this investigation will examine the extent of the Japanese military against the Chinese civilians, the reaction of foreign countries, and the response of other countries following the massacre.

Japan reacted by modernizing quickly through the Meiji Restoration to ensure they themselves didn't fall behind the West. This proved successful as Japan was treated as a "great power" along with the Europeans. After Japan defeated Russia in a big war in 1905, it impressed the Europeans and so Japan's prestige rose with Japanese nationalism increasing tenfold. Throughout this time, Japan did not like Western influence in Asia. This prompted them to create a Japanese "sphere of influence" to rid Asia off all Europeans and unite Asians under Japanese rule. This plan was what started WWII in the Pacific. Ironically, the Japanese treated their conquests worse than the Westerners did. However, because Japan effectively rid the Europeans from Asia during WWII, it broke the image that the Westerns were "unbeatable" and gave the native Asians hope to fight for independence against the West (i.e.

Japanese imperialism had taken flight and hoped to expand its influence and control over various parts of Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, over the course of a decade, Japan only taunted the world with their idea of self-sustainment and colonial expansion. The underlying principle to their failure was the theory of Imperial overstretch, as Hook explains, “a pattern in which great powers have consistently expanded their foreign commitments beyond their ability to remain economically solvent and militarily secure” (Hook 2014, 12). Throughout my analysis of the U.S.’s responses to Japanese actions prior to the U.S.’s involvement in World War two, we see Japan try to expand their empire in Southeast Asia, but sequentially results in failure. There are various theories that help explain the U.S. actions taken in response to Japan. These theories help explain the factors that lead Japan to imperial overstretch.

When any student from rural America thinks of Asia, they think of two countries—China and Japan. China was called the Middle Kingdom in ancient and medieval times, and for good reason. Its influence stretch out across Asia, even reaching the consciousness of Rome, eventually winding its tendrils around Japan. However, once industrialization blossomed across Europe and North America and catapulted imperialism into prominence, China and Japan’s futures transformed, each as different from each other as night is from day. In response to foreign domination between c. 1750 and c. 1900, China and Japan still maintained similar cultures, but took extremely different approaches to politics and economics.