The Long 19th Century
Order Instructions:
This essay assignment is comprised of two parts.
PART I
In a complete 2-3 page essay, answer ONLY 1 of the following two questions: (your choice)
1. Why was it difficult for non-European societies to match European economic and military achievements during the Long 19th Century? Why was it hard to industrialize?
2. If one compares India to the Ottoman Empire or China, was it more or less advantageous to be a European colony as opposed to a target of European interference during the 19 th century?
PART II
You may use your text, anything from our blackboard class and you should choose 1 (quality) internet source.
You will provide a 1 entry Turabian style bibliography for your source.
You will be graded as follows:
Correct Turabian Bibliography 20pts. Complete answer with examples and quality content 40 pts. Personal perception based on content, 20pts. Correct format of paper 20pts.
Please use MS Word
SAMPLE ANSWER
The Long I9th Century Repeat
The 19th century was marked with the decline of non-European societies such as the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and the Mediterranean region.[1] In the earlier 14th to 16th centuries, Ottoman empire was the dominating regime. In the later 17th century, the east and the west caught up with Ottoman and a balance between the forces marked the century. It was not until the 18th century when Ottoman ability to adapt to the environment and experienced significant losses. These losses were economic, military, and administrative among others. Various factors contributed to the non-European societies’ inability to sustain economic and military power.
Factors that Hindered Non-European Societies from Matching the European Military and Economic Accomplishments
Rulers in Non-European societies contributed largely to the economic retrogression in their regions. In Ottoman, for instance, Sultans failed to encourage novel and advanced practices of wealth acquisition such as scientifically motivated agriculture. While the Sultans and their community engaged in minimal studies of their economy, their European counterparts were engaged in merchandizing and exploring sources of raw materials for their industries.[2] The Sultans also failed to promote the middle class who was more interested in commerce than they were, and instead, they perceived the middle class as a threat to their authority
The empire also neglected the poor and left them to wander in towns while being jobless. Peasant could not engage in activities such as agriculture as the empire did not promote the venture. On the other hand, the Europeans were advancing their agriculture, and communities could produce commodities such as wheat and cattle for the international market.2
Decline in military power was associated to poor civilization. Leaders engaged their military troops in activities that benefited them instead of their societies. In Ottoman, for example, some of the duties that the empire engaged its military included looting property form their neighborhood as a means of accruing wealth for the rulers. 2
In Ottoman, the military system was also particularly weakened by changes that allowed Janissaries to marry and engage in trade, hence compromising their loyalty to the authorities.2 Again, there were more uneducated recruits in the military, and the move caused significant impairment in the running of military affairs.
Factors that Limited Industrialization
Unemployment was a setback factor for the industrialization of Non-European societies in the 19th century. People had no jobs and their production was diminished and so they could not sustain manufacturing industries with raw materials. Also, there were trade imbalances between the poor and the wealthy. The rich and rulers in the societies accrued more wealth by exploiting the poor. As such, the rich enjoyed luxurious lives while the poor and the middle class could not advance their manufacturing businesses. Demotivation of entrepreneurs by the rulers was also intensive among the non-Europeans.[3] In Ottoman, for example, Sultans feared that investors would be a challenge to their authorities and so they discouraged them through heavy taxation. 1 The society also got obsessed with culture, religion, and tradition at the expense of civilization. Due to Conservativeness, people engaged too much in their tradition at the expense of changes. The societies also oriented their expenditure toward non industrial venture such as support for the bureaucratic and the military. There was little left to fund industrialization.
Bibliography
Buzan, Barry and Lawson, George .2013. The global transformation: the nineteenth century and the making of modern international relations. International studies quarterly, 59 (1). ISSN 0020-8833 (In Press)
Smitha, F. K. “Safavid decline and fall”. Macrohistory and World Timeline. (2015). Accessed October 28, 2015. http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h21saf-3.htm
Tilly, R. H. 2010. Industrialization as a historical process. European HistoryOnline. Accessed October 28, 2015 http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/backgrounds/industrialization
[1] Buzan, Barry and Lawson, George .2013. The global transformation: the nineteenth century and the making of modern international relations. International studies quarterly, 59 (1). ISSN 0020-8833 (In Press)
[2] Smitha, F. K. “Safavid decline and fall”. Macrohistory and World Timeline. (2015). Accessed October 28, 2015. http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h21saf-3.htm
[3] Tilly, R. H. “Industrialization as a historical process”. European HistoryOnline. (2010). Accessed October 28, 2015 http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/backgrounds/industrialization
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