Example Of The Janissaries Were An Elite Force Protecting And Reporting Directly To The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire. Essay

Questions: The New Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century and the Ottoman and Russian Empires

Chapter 25
The Ottoman Empire dominated the Middle East and North Africa during a period between 1500 and 1700, prior and following which its territorial domains were much smaller.
Vienna has long been considered by the Ottoman Empire as a highly strategic point of trade due to its access to the northern, southern, eastern and western parts of Europe, hence its strong desire to occupy it. The Austrians, under the Holy Roman Empire, were assisted by the German States and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Reforms in education and technology proved necessary for the Ottoman Empire during the early 1700s, not least because it failed to match the challenge set by its European adversaries in conquest, particularly when it failed on its second attempt to occupy Vienna in 1683.
The Tulip Era was a relatively peaceful period of the Ottoman Empire during the early 1700s. During the Tulip Era, the Ottoman Empire have slowly accommodated the consumerist milieu of Europe, best exemplified by the popularity of the tulip in material aesthetics.
The new order reforms of the Ottoman military were designed to give greater protection to the Ottoman Empire, which became increasingly vulnerable in light of its failed siege of Vienna in 1683. Aiming to protect the status quo, the new order reforms of the Ottoman military most notably involved the formation of a western-trained elite force, the nizam-i cedid, which rivaled the Janissaries.
The Land Engineering School came about at a time when the Ottoman Empire was in great need of reinforcements in terms of industrial activity, which in turn would enable its military to gain ascendancy once more over its conquests.
The Janissaries revolted against the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1807 mainly because of their perceptions on the nizam-i cedid as a threat to their well-heralded position of dominance as an elite force.

The first country in Europe to gain independence was Greece, which broke off from the Ottoman Empire in 1821.

The Tanzimat was the so-called reformation period of the Ottoman Empire, enabling it to accommodate innovation towards modernization while consolidating its territorial domains against secessionist movements.
The Rose Garden Edict launched the Tanzimat, as it announced the objective to modernize the Ottoman Empire so that it can keep up with the rest of Europe.
The Fortunate Edict of 1856, made in accordance to the Tanzimat, announced the recognition by the Ottoman Empire of equality at all stages of civil and political life, as influenced by both France and the British Empire.
The reforms facilitated by the Land Code of 1858 confirmed several anomalies on land ownership within the Ottoman Empire. In sum, said anomalies led to numerous people owning vast tracts of land individually, with peasants therein effectively becoming tenants.
The Young Ottomans were a group of individuals within the Ottoman Empire who have been severely frustrated with the Tanzimat, citing its general ineffectiveness to fulfill reforms.

The Ottoman Empire lost the provinces of Montenegro, Romania and Serbia during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878.

The Ottoman Empire dealt with the Armenian ethnic nationalist movement by committing genocide against ethnic Armenians, commencing with the 1894 Sassoun rebellion.
Sultan Abdulhamit purportedly used his secret alliance comprising of soldiers, religious students and religious brotherhood leaders to exert autocratic rule over the Ottoman Empire.

During the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire went from being a manufactured goods manufacturer to fostering largely raw product manufacturers.

The Safavid Empire took over from the previous Sassanian Empire in Persia following its Muslim conquest. The Pashtun tribes revolted against the Safavids, who oppressed them for their adherence of Sunni Islam as against the prevalence of Shia Islam within the Safavid Empire.

The Qajars established the Qajar Empire in Persia, with their scope extending westward to include Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Catherine the Great was an Empress of Russia, having served as the longest-serving and perhaps the most popular female leader of the country.

The “royal thesis” of Catherine the Great inspired her in ushering the Russian Enlightenment.

Several of the legal reforms of Catherine the Great include educational and social reforms that included both the natural and social sciences under a broadened curriculum erstwhile including only professional military topics. At the same time, Catherine the Great also introduced reforms via the building of new cities and changing the administration of Russian governorates. Yet, perhaps one of the more successful foreign policies instigated by Catherine the Great is the commercial treaty Russia entered with the British Empire.
The Decembrist Revolt of 1825 protested against the ascension of Nicholas I to the throne, following the choice of his brother Constantine to opt out of the line of succession. Nicholas I reacted by facilitating the arrest and trial of protesters.
The Russian Golden Age roughly attributes to the entire reign of Catherine the Great, which is characterized by the Enlightenment-inspired reforms she has overseen.
The Great Reforms took place in Russia under the reign of Alexander II, best characterized by the abolition of serfdom through the emancipation reform of 1861, alongside changes in the local government, education, judiciary and the military. Yet, despite the abolition of serfdom, serfs remained bound by the redemption payments they made to keep their land, which have since became smaller and more expensive by as much as 90%. However, in the Polish zone, serfs have intriguingly made redemption payments amounting to the exact market price of land plots – one that somewhat proves that the abolition of serfdom was done only to lower down the revolutionary spirit among serfs.
Pan-Slavism seeks to unite all Slavic people, with Vinko Pribojevic – a writer, and Juraj Krizanic – a missionary of the Catholic Church, being the main proponents.
The outcome of the Congress of Vienna, which had the firm intent to balance the powers in Europe initially by establishing restored national boundaries, in the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878 is apparent from the resulting secession of Montenegro, Romania and Serbia, as well as the autonomy of Bulgaria. Said territories were ceded from the Ottoman Empire, whose territorial domains no longer suit its severely-weakened political power that time.
Nicholas II installed the pogroms between 1903 and 1906 in order to gain greater control over lands occupied by Russia in present-day Ukraine and adjacent areas, many of which are known to have large Jewish populations.
Sergei Witte served influentially as the Transportation Minister, Finance Minister, and Chairman of the Council of Ministers (equivalent to Prime Minister) of Russia. The Witte System is a system of reforms aimed at enlarging the role of the state in the expansion of both the railway system and important industries via subsidization, while maintaining an export-oriented economy that aimed to increase foreign investment, lead Russia to observe the gold standard and increase tariffs. Witte saw Siberia as a potent region for development, yet its inaccessibility that time due to lack of transportation links led him to push for measures to make it more accessible, most notably through the successful establishment of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Japan attacked Russia in 1904 because it sought to counter Russian interests in commerce throughout its eastern areas, as well as disputes over Manchuria, which was hotly contested at the time.
The Russian Revolution of 1905 is a massive demonstration of different sectors demanding for social and political change in Russia. With the participation of workers, peasants and even the military, the Russian Revolution of 1905 sought to turn Russia into a constitutional monarchy, yet such a goal ultimately failed with autocracy remaining in place. Nonetheless, the Russian Revolution of 1905 paved way for reforms in Russia as it remained under a tsarist autocracy.
The Bloody Sunday referred to an incident in 1905 where demonstrators en route to appeal to Nicholas II were killed by Imperial Guard soldiers. Such highlighted the contemptuous nature of the tsarist autocracy to the plight of ordinary Russians.
Under Nicholas II, the Duma served as council assemblies that held legislative powers and oversight functions, under his promise that it would run under a system that recognizes civil liberties. However, the fact that the Duma is subject to the whims of Nicholas II has made it easily dissolvable – a fact that further degraded Russia.

Chapter 26

Colonialism refers to the systematized controls exerted in one occupied place by the political power of an invading territory. Enslavement and usurpation of resources have historically been the main purpose of colonizers on the lands they have occupied.
Through patents issued by Elizabeth I and James I for exploration of new lands overseas, it has become possible for the British Empire to gain colonial control over much of the Eastern Hemisphere.
The British East Company was established as a privately owned company operating under a Royal Charter issued by Elizabeth I that established trade relations with colonies of the British Empire and other territories in the Eastern Hemisphere.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans who have established trading posts in India.

A sepoy referred to an Indian soldier, particularly when India was under the British Empire.
Robert Clive was a British general credited for strengthening the British East Company, having led it to accumulate wealth in vast amounts from India for the benefit of the British Empire.
The nabobs were persons who became wealthy in the Eastern Hemisphere, specifically through the British East Company. Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India, was considered a nabob due to his key involvement in the British East Company, alongside Clive.

In the 18th century, the British East Company regarded opium as its most lucrative trade commodity.

The British Christian missionaries in India sought to spread Christianity by translating the bible into different local Indian languages. Conversion to Christianity, in particular, became successful among upper-class Indians.
In 1829, practicing the sati, where newly-widowed women immolate themselves to the funeral pyre of their husbands, was banned by the British Empire in India The Indian Councils Act 1909 enabled the British Empire to introduce reforms in India, which designed to grant greater involvement to Indians in the governance of India.
The Great Mutiny served as the first independence movement in India against the British Empire, wherein sepoys got themselves involved in a standoff that eventually led to the dissolution of the British East Company.
The British Raj, which replaced the British East Company, was the official government of the British Empire in India that lasted from 1858 up to its independence in 1947.

Queen Victoria assumed the title “Empress of India” in 1877.

In saying that “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet,” Rudyard Kipling meant that Eastern and Western cultures would never be the same with one another.
The Thin Red Line referred to the British troops in India who quelled the mutiny of the sepoys during the Great Mutiny.
The preferential treatment given to Muslims was part of the “divide and rule” strategy of the British Empire designed to break Hindu-Muslim unity in India, which was the main cause of their near-defeat during the Great Mutiny.
Lieutenant James Cook was responsible for claiming Australia for Great Britain. Turning Australia into a penal colony was a strategy by Great Britain to reduce criminality in all its other territorial domains, as criminals were placed in a distant part of the world that proved vastly different from the rest.

Following the takeover by Great Britain, the Aborigines were greatly reduced by diseases and clashes with settlers.

In 1890, plans for a White Australia Policy started to emerge, which aimed to limit Chinese and New Caledonian immigration to Australia.
The British trading stations established in New Zealand resulted to the formation of the New Zealand Company, which was designed for occupation by the British Empire. The Maoris, as a result, clashed with the British over concerns regarding land ownership.

New Zealand provided Great Britain with raw materials in the form of timber and flax.

The women’s emancipation movement in New Zealand proceeded with the fight for equal suffrage during the 19th century, alongside challenges to the rationale of traditional gender roles.
The Ottoman Empire had territorial domains that proved strategic for the trade interests of the Russian Empire, which is why the latter wants to replace the former.
The refusal of France to pay wheat merchants from the city of Algiers in 1820 led to conflicts that resulted to the takeover of Algeria in 1830. Arab and Berber Algerians were placed under a system of apartheid, wherein they are denied of French citizenship unless they denounce their Islamic faith.
The Great Game referred to the rivalry between the British Empire and the Russian Empire over territorial control in Central Asia.
Britain and France were able to take control of the Suez Canal because both countries were heavily involved in its funding and construction. Such influence by Britain and France over the Suez Canal grew larger during the Suez Crisis.
The Beys of Tunisia responded to the Western challenge by undertaking reforms for modernization. Yet, Tunisia eventually became bankrupt due to its failure to pay loans from European banks, hence providing France the opportunity to take over it during the 1870s, when Italy opted out of its takeover bid.
During the late 19th century, the Scramble for Africa – the wholesale colonization of Africa by several European countries, went into full throttle.
In writing “Heart of Darkness” and “King Leopold’s Soliloquy: A Defense Of His Congo Rule,” Joseph Conrad and Mark Twain expressed their total disdain over the Scramble for Africa, particularly towards Leopold II of Belgium.
Ethiopia was the last African territory taken over by a European power, having been under the control of Italy for five years between 1936 and 1941.

Liberia was the only African territory successful in holding off European civilization.

The cultivation system is practiced by the Dutch East Indies as a government policy to apportion agricultural production for export.
The United States (US) first established its own colony in the form of Liberia in Africa, for the purpose of repatriating former slaves. Yet, the US began to colonize territories in the Eastern Hemisphere when it first occupied the Philippines following victory in the Spanish-American War.

France annexed Vietnam as its protectorate (Annam) in 1884.

Phan Boi Chau first started to organize Vietnamese students against the French through the short-lived Dong Du movement. The Dong Du movement sent Vietnamese students to Japan for study and training, with the ultimate goal of enabling them to help overthrow the French.

Works Cited

Von Sivers, Peter, Desnoyers, Charles, and George Stow. Patterns of World History: Since 1750. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.