History Topics since the 1500s - Assignment Example

History topics since 1500s What was the most significant obstacle to building in early modern Europe? How did successful state builders overcome it? State building refers to a word used in state theory that describes the formation of a fully practical status. The concept was used first in connection with the formation of several states in the Western Europe that was paying attention to the power enforcement of state in society. The biggest known obstacle to building a new state is the opposition that comes from the entrenched autonomous elites (Google Books, 2015). Revolutions can be used to utilize popular mobilization that will lead to the elimination of these elites or their autonomy. Where this is applied successfully, then there is an allowance for a relatively rapid construction of new political regimes (Google Books, 2015). 2. What were the origins of the `Atlantic Economy’? What was the ultimate significance of the Atlantic Economy? The entry of the European into the Americas had some very serious impacts on the native people who frequently fell for diseases and genocidal policies of the Europeans. It was in the period of Amerindian population decline that some other forms of coercive human labor that included slavery got exploited during the construction of the new world. The cores of the development of Atlantic commerce were sugar and slave (Coclanis, 2005). Therefore, the history of the Atlantic commerce cannot in any way be separated with the history of slavery and the act of transferring both labor and capital across the Atlantic. The transfers of slaves and capital across the Atlantic is also very closely linked with sugar production. (Coclanis, 2005) The emergences of new and improved technology together with human culture were intertwined in the advancement of the sugar industry and this acted as one of the mainstays of the new Atlantic economies. The significance of the trade is that, it led to the massive movement of people across the Atlantic. The migrations that were made during this period led slaves settling on their working areas. The major significance of this type of trade is that it has shaped the history of the worlds trade and it has led to a massive growth of cities across the world. 3. Compare Mogul India with the Ottoman States In between 1450 and 1750, the two states had several comparisons. Politically, there were differences in the type of leaders who ruled these empires; the forms of governments and the political structures were all different from many other comparisons (Berktay, 1991). There is also an economic and religious comparison of the two states and they are given in the table below. Ottoman Empire Mughal empire In this empire, a person known as Osman led a Turkic group of people who were known as the Ottomans and dominated the other nomads and the group. These people built an empire in Asia Minor and some parts of Europe. People known as Janissaries assisted in the process of choosing the sultans by use of military and political powers. The administration experienced extensive bureaucracy. There were also cases of bribery and corruption in the decline. The empire was noted as a major force in the European politics and it lasted up to 1800 The founder of this empire was a princess who was displaced and was in search of a new kingdom. A person named Babur fought hard to keep the kingdom but eventually lost it. The rule of Akbar, who had a vision to build an empire and unite the whole of India under his rule followed. The leaders of the empire built the military and some administrative system. There were great problems of corruption and ineffectiveness in the bureaucracy and the military due to lack of funding and this factored to the decline of the empire. The centralized political power of the system broke down and it left lots openings in many parts of India for foreign interventions. Economic comparisons The people within the states and how some of their funds are used base the economic comparisons of the two states on the type of trades that are carried out. The source of livelihood to the states is shown under this section. Ottoman Empire Mughal Empire The economy of this empire was geared towards the warfare and expansion of the empire. The peasants acted as the main source of food for the entire empire. In the empire, the merchants and tax collectors lost critical benefits on their trades. Cotton textile formed the major economic activity for the people. Import and export business was highly practiced in this system with the main market being the Asians. The central government led to the exploitation of the Indian peasants by the local merchants. Religious comparisons Religion strongly refers to the belief that individuals have towards a central being. Being in two separate geographical locations, the religion of the two states varies greatly as it is shown in the table below. Religion greatly affects the governance of a given state and the laws that govern the state members too. Ottoman Empire Mughal Empire The Muslims and Christians predominantly occupied the empire too. The empire promoted the spread of Islam through jihads The main religion here was the Hindu. Hindus within the system was promoted to the highest ranks in the government. The State of Mughal Empire faced many internal problems and that of the ottoman was very successful in addressing its internal challenges. THE MANCHU CONQUEST OF CHINA After a long period of misgovernment in China, some natural results were achieved. There were a lot of evils that stalked abroad while the useless emperors took their precious time while living in luxury at their homes. Governance lost meaning on the land, local rebellions broke out in a number of quarters and then the Manchu invasion came to be. The Manchu invasion was one of the events in a series of difficulties that surrounded the weakened throne and governance (Elegant, 1980). The conquest began in April the year 1618 when a leader by the name Nurhaci from Manchurian region gave a certain list that proclaimed seven issues against the rule of the then reigning Ming dynasty. The refusal of the ruling dynasty to hear the issues raised by Nurhaci led him to declaring himself as the founder of Qing dynasty that was based on a line of Jurchen rulers. The century that followed saw the dynasty get into a battle with the Manchu incursions on its northeastern border (Elegant, 1980). By the year 1644, the Ming dynasty had already been weakened, and the leader of Jurchen had already pushed the Ming from their Beijing capital. The four decades that followed saw the Manchu fight against the Ming making them consolidate their powers and expand their rule (Rossabi, n.d.). By the year 1963, the Qing dynasty firmly established their power that lasted until the Wuchang uprising in the year 1911. The Manchu tried their level best to remake China though they had a lot of resistant from the other dynasties who placed strong opposition to their development plans (Rossabi, n.d.). References Berktay, H. (1991). Three empires and the societies they governed: Iran, India, and the Ottoman Empire. Journal of Peasant Studies, 18(3-4), 242-263. Coclanis, P. (2005). The Atlantic economy during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. Elegant, R. (1980). Manchu. New York: McGraw-Hill. Google Books,. (2015). States and Development. Retrieved 24 March 2015, from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=rQDGAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&dq=state+building+biggest+obstacle&source=bl&ots=gwZKgdvp-H&sig=xtgcnZx0jhY2MMlbObHtGQOmWUg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nrUQVZnXHNfaaurpgvAN&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=state%20building%20biggest%20obstacle&f=false Rossabi, M. A history of China. Read More