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 1931 (BBC - Japanese Expansion)
- Led to Pearl Harbor (BBC - Japanese Expansion)
- Occured during World War
2. Where did the events take place? Include a map, which adds value to your research questions.
Japan only imperialized in the large Northeast region of China, called Manchuria. Including many famous cities such as Mukden and Nanjing. It also imperialized parts of Korea as well.
3. Describe the most important two or three motives of the imperializing power in this case study? Why did they colonize/imperialize these people/place?
Due to the radical modernization during Meiji restoration in 1868, emerged the desire for wealth, power, and prestige. This was to redress the imposition of unfair treaties that had been placed upon Japan by Western countries in the past (BBC – Japanese Expansion).
Thus, the extreme nationalistic country of Japan was very competitive to the power of the Westerners by expansion. Not only were they trying to increase their own power, but als...
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...na in 1898 banded together to form a society known as the Righteous and Harmonious Fists (aka Boxers by the Westerners). Their purpose was to destroy the Ch’ing Dynasty and rid China of foreigners influence, however when the Empress backed the Boxers, the Boxers turned solely to the foreigners. To protect their interests in China, Japanese soldiers and other forces were sent to subdue them. However, before they were able to subdue the Boxers in July 1900, several foreign ministers and families wee killed before the international force could protect them. In august, the international force was able to subdue the rebellion.
Around 1945, about 320,000 settlers from Japan were living in the region of Manchuria, under an immigration program that was to secure control of Manchukuo. Thousands of children or orphans were left behind in Manchuria at the end of World War II.
In 1937, Japan started a war against China, in search of more resources to expand its empire. In 1941, during World War II, Japan attacked America. This is when the Allies (Australia, Britain etc.) then declared war on Japan. Before long the Japanese started extending their territory closer and closer to Australia and started taking surrendering troops into concentration camps where they were starved, diseased and beaten.
What two significant historical events/ trends were occurring when the document was created? Do not include the specific document, but select related events or trends that contextualize the document. What is the context (background and events going on) of this primary source? Include 1-2 sentences explaining the event/ trend.
Japan figured if it wanted to survive, it would have to expand to get more materials. o neal 410-413. Japan started trying to take over Asia. They landed on the east coast of China in Manchuria and stationed troops there in order to try to take over northeastern China. ("Japan Launches A Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941").
Research the census data from 1790 and 2000. Submit a report comparing some of the information contained in the reports. For example, where was the demographic center of the country in each instance? How was ethnicity reported? How is census information used? What strikes you as the most interesting aspects of the reports?
Japan and China reacted differently to the reforms of Imperialism. When put under pressure, Japan succumbed to the power of Western Imperialist ideas. Conversely, China, resisted for a long time. As a result, Japan had more technology, while China was unenlightened of the new advances. Japan also gained more respect from other countries, that China did not have.
Japan's actions from 1852 to 1945 were stimulated by an extensive aspiration to elude the providence of 19th-century China and also to overtake as a great power. When Japanese soldiers stormed into Manchuria in 1931, Japan commenced the first in the succession of
In the middle of the 19th century, despite a few similarities between the initial responses of China and Japan to the West, they later diverged; which ultimately affected and influenced the modernizing development of both countries. At first, both of the Asian nations rejected the ideas which the West had brought upon them, and therefore went through a time period of self-imposed isolation. However, the demands that were soon set by Western imperialism forced them, though in different ways, to reconsider. And, by the end of the 19th century both China and Japan had introduced ‘westernizing’ reforms. China’s aim was to use modern means to retain and preserve their traditional Confucian culture. Whereas Japan, on the other hand, began to successfully mimic Western technology as it pursued modernization, and thus underwent an astounding social upheaval. Hence, by the year 1920, Japan was recognized as one of the world’s superpowers, whereas China was on the edge of anarchy.
Already earlier, Japan followed the example of Western nations and forced China into unequal economical and political treaties. Furthermore, Japan's influence over Manchuria had been steadily growing since the end of the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05. When the Chinese Nationalists began to seriously challenge Japan's position in Manchuria in 1931, the Kwantung Army (Japanese armed forces in Manchuria) occupied Manchuria. In the following year, "Manchukuo" was declared an independent state, controlled by the Kwantung Army through a puppet government. In the same year, the Japanese air force bombarded Shanghai in order to protect Japanese residents from anti Japanese movements.
During the 19th Century, China and Japan each responded differently to western penetration. China was against industrializing and did not want to create an empire like those of the western empires. Japan however learned that if they wanted to survive they had to adopt the changes that the western empires were adopting. Japan began to create an industrialized society and soon became one of the major industrial powers. China went through many rebellions and finally decided to industrialize just enough to be able to fight off the western empires. However, they did not industrialize fast enough or big enough, and they could not defeat the west. Although they responded differently, both China and Japan were affected by western penetration economically,
Western imperialism in East Asia caused many tribulations for China, Japan, and Korea but also helped them to become contemporary nations. The East Asian countries were tremendously affected by unequal treaties, extraterritoriality, and above all, technology. Great Britain encroached upon China their greed for open trade with the Chinese empire resulting in the deterioration of the Chinese culture, which led to the emergence of a modernized civilization. Japan was co-subjugated by Russia and the United States so that the trade routes of these western countries could extend into the east, which resulted in the foundation of industrialization in Modern East Asia. Finally, the spread of western Christianity and influential neighbors, namely China and Japan, culturally influenced Korea while bringing some semblance of unification. Therefore, imperialism affected 18th and 19th century East Asia by the system’s inherent exploitation of the countries' resources and worldly ignorance but also managed to give rise to a stronger Modern East Asia.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Chinese and Japanese faced much internal conflict, but while China faced a combination of economic setbacks and political weakness, the Japanese were riddled with wars along their countryside. First, the Chinese emperor was too weak in comparison to his bureaucracy, which ended up making most of the decisions for the last Ming dynasty emperor. This was due to the emperor’s realization that having a title as Son of Heaven did not mean he had all the power of the empire. Instead he lived a laid back life where the bureaucrats vied for power and wealth amongst themselves and he merely managed them. Like the Chinese, the Japanese also saw elites battling it out for power, but this time on the battlefield with armies of samurai. These battles put Japan in a period much like the Warring States period in early Chinese history, where families fought and fought for power almost endlessly. The political weakness in China contributed to its economic failure as well. With no force to manage to seas, pirates were free to raid trade ships and villages along the coast line, weakening the Chinese economy that relied on a transport system to supply the country. These two major forces led to China’s fragmentation and eventual takeover by the Manchu. In contrast, the battles happening in Japan were not harmful to the economy as much as they were in China. This is due to the fact that the Japanese daimyos were independent...
Exploration led to colonization and was carried out for many reasons but the main reasons include religion, status, economic purposes, resources and militarily tactical purposes. Much of early colonization was for trading of raw materials between continents and countries. Dominant religions sought to spread gospel and “civilize” the indigenous people by making them conform to Western beliefs and ways. Status and recognition was also pursued by country leaders w...
The Battle for Shanghai was part of a much wider war fought between China and The Empire of Japan. These two rivals had a mutua...
Many foreign powers ravaged China in search of wealth, brutally destroying land and violently fighting people. After much of the devastation, the Dynasty was ‘forced’ to acquiesce to the foreign powers (-only after they assured Cixi that her position and power would be held in place). The results of these was called the Boxer Protocol – which would later be considered one of the “Unequal Treaties.” Among the stipulations of the Boxer Protocol, China would have to pay an enormous amount of money, for indemnity, to about 14 countries (in different proportions). Furthermore, foreign powers were given the right to seize and inhabit certain places in China.
The Manchurian incident was a turning point in Japanese history in which it abandoned its somewhat general policy of cooperation and peace and instead chose to pursue their personal interests in Asia (S,191). The Japanese interest in China was evident even before its invasion in 1931. In both the Sino Japanese war from 1894 to 1905 as well as the Russo-Japanese War from 1904 to 1905 Japan secured specific locations in Manchuria and other areas in China (U,351). Overall, the consensus for the extensive needs of the empire ultimately drove its policy making until the end of World War 2. To take control of what they believed to be the most mineral rich section of China in which they controlled expansive holdings in such as the South Manchurian Railroad, officers part of the Kwantung Army that were stationed there hatched a plan that would become to be known as the Manchurian Crisis. On September 18th 1931, Japanese soldiers located at the South Manchurian Railroad set off an explosive that they blamed on China (launching both nations into hostile relations for years to come.?? (P,115)) The Japanese invaded Japanese Invaded Chinese controlled Manchuria in 1931 because they wanted to accommodate the rising of the Japanese population, obtain more natural resources, and to stimulate their nearly collapsed economy.