chapter 31 Flashcards
societies at crossroads (124 cards)
1
Q
Who failed the civil service examinations four times only to convert to Christianity, and establish a new order under the guidance and instruction of God, proclaiming the Taiping dynasty?
A
Hong Xiuquan
- assumed title of “Heavenly King” when proclaiming the Taiping dynasty
2
Q
What did Hong Xiuquan and his followers do under the Taiping dynasty?
A
Hong’s followers known as the Taipings grew from a ragtag band of disciples to a zealous army of over 1 million men and women who pushed the Qing dynasty to the brink of extinction
3
Q
What was one of the more radical beliefs of the Taipings?
A
the equality of men and women before God and on earth
- illustrated in the political rise of a woman destined to be part of the Taiping’s downfall: the Dowager Empress Cixi
4
Q
Rising to behind-the-throne power in the early 1860s, Empress Cixi, what changes were instituted, leading to the Taiping’s downfall?
A
put Chinese, not Manchus in charge of armies, worked to quell Taiping rebels
5
Q
Ottoman armies suffered humiliating defeats on the battlefield in the late 17th century, especially at the hands of what two powers?
A
Austrian and Russian foes
6
Q
How was discipline breaking down amongst the elite Ottoman Janissary corps?
A
- repeatedly masterminded palace coups, had become a powerful political force within the Ottoman state at the expense of their military prowess
- neglected their military training, turned a blind eye to advances in weapons technology
7
Q
While Russian forces overtook poorly defended territories in the Caucasus in central Asia, and the Austrian empire took to the western frontiers of the Ottoman empire, the Ottomans’ most significant loss was of what land?
A
Egypt
8
Q
What made Egypt so valuable to the Ottoman empire?
A
Napoleon had invaded Egypt in hopes of using it as a springboard for an attack on the British empire in India, largely failed but left behind turmoil as local elites battled to seize power after Napoleon’s departure
- energetic general Muhammad Ali emerged and launched program of industrialization, remaining nominally subordinate to Ottoman sultan
- Egypt= most powerful land in the Muslim world
9
Q
How did Muhammad Ali contribute to the increasing value and importance of Egypt to the Ottoman empire?
A
made Egypt an essentially autonomous region within the Ottoman empire, with flourishing cotton textiles and armaments industries
10
Q
How did the value of Ottoman exports compare to that of European manufactures?
A
Ottoman exports consisted largely of raw materials, did not offset the value of imported European manufactures
- moved toward financial dependency, and economic development depended heavily on foreign loans, interest payments consumed the empire’s revenues
11
Q
What were capitulations?
A
(okay we’ll let you do it, but you have to do this and this, and give up things) agreements that exempted European visitors from Ottoman law and provided European powers with extraterritoriality (the right to exercise jurisdiction over their own citizens according to their own laws)
12
Q
What is extraterritoriality?
A
the right to exercise jurisdiction over their own citizens according to their own laws (I can go into Europe and establish my own little bubble, and within that bubble, I would govern for America, with American laws and rules)
13
Q
What effects did capitulations have on the Ottomans/how did they view them?
A
Ottomans viewed capitulations as humiliating intrusions on their sovereignty
- served as instruments of economic penetration by European businesspeople who established tax-exempt banks and commercial enterprises in the Ottoman empire
14
Q
Who was an Ottoman sultan who embarked on a program to remodel his army along the lines of European forces?
A
Sultan Selim III (r. 1789-1807)
15
Q
How did the elite Janissary corps respond to Sultan Selim III’s efforts to remodel the Ottoman army along European lines?
A
felt threatened by the establishment of a new crack fighting force, trained by European instructors and equipped with modern weapons–reacted violently:
1. killed the new troops
2. locked up the sultan
3. killed all male members of the dynasty except for Selim’s cousin Mahmud II
16
Q
Who was Selim III’s cousin who became sultan and launched his own reform program, seeing his reform as restoration of the traditional Ottoman military?
A
Mahmud II
17
Q
What did Mahmud do to the Janissaries that protested against Mahmud’s proposal for a new European-style army in 1826?
A
Mahmud had them massacred by troops loyal to the sultan
- cleared the way for a series of reforms that unfolded during the last 13 years of Mahmud’s reign
18
Q
How did Sultan Mahmud II remodel Ottoman institutions along western European lines?
A
- Ottoman soldiers dressed in European-style uniforms and instructed in European weapons and tactics
- created a system of secondary education for boys to facilitate the transition from mosque schools to newly established scientific, technical, and military academies
- tried to transfer power from traditional elites to the sultan and his cabinet by taxing rural landlords, undermining ulama
- established European-style ministries, constructed new roads, built telegraph lines, and inaugurated postal service
19
Q
By the time of his death in 1839, what did the Ottoman empire look like after Sultan Mahmud II?
A
shrunk in size, but more manageable and powerful than it had been since the early 17th century
20
Q
During what era was restructuring of the Ottoman state most rapid?
A
the Tanzimat (“reorganization”) era (1839-1876)
21
Q
Tanzimat reformers drew considerable inspiration from ____________ thought, and attacked Ottoman law with the aim of making it acceptable to _________ so they could have the capitulations lifted and recover Ottoman sovereignty.
A
Enlightenment; Europeans
22
Q
Using what legal system as a guide, Tanzimat reformers promulgated a commercial code, a penal code, a maritime code, and a new civil code?
A
French legal system
23
Q
Tanzimat reformers issued what three key decrees designed to safeguard the rights of subjects?
A
measures that:
1. guaranteed public trials
2. rights of privacy
3. equality before the law for all Ottoman subjects, whether Muslim or not
24
Q
What were some other laws promulgated by Tanzimat reformers that undermined the ulama (who controlled religious education for Muslims)?
A
- complete comprehensive plan for educational reform introduced in 1846 provided for complete system of primary and secondary schools leading to university-level instruction
- more ambitious plan inaugurated in 1869 provided for free and compulsory primary education
25
Who were the three groups in strongest opposition to the work of Tanzimat reformers?
religious conservatives/DEVOUT MUSLIMS
- saw laws as contrary to Islamic law
some minority leaders
- believed their policies would diminish their own position
YOUNG OTTOMANS
- agitated for individual freedom, local autonomy, and political decentralization
- desired establishment of a constitutional government along the lines of the British system
OTTOMAN BUREAUCRACY
- driven by exclusion from their power, determined to impose checks on sultan's power by forcing him to accept a constitution
26
What did the Young Ottomans believe/fight for?
did not share common political or religious program
- advocated individual freedom, local autonomy, and political decentralization
- many desired the establishment of a constitutional government along the lines of the British system
27
Who was installed as sultan by a group of radical dissidents from the Ottoman bureaucracy, and was persuaded to accept a constitution that limited his authority and established a representative government?
Abdul Hamid II (r. 1876-1909)
28
How did Abdul Hamid react to being forced to accept a constitution that would limit his authority and establish a representative government?
suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament, exiled many liberals, and executed others
for 30 years he ruled autocratically in an effort to rescue the empire from dismemberment by European powers
29
Abdul Hamid II developed the Ottoman army according to _________ principles, and oversaw the formation of a police force, educational reforms, economic development, and the construction of railroads.
Tanzimat
30
How did reform and reorganization in the Ottoman empire actually undermine the position of the sultan instead of strengthening the state?
Ottoman bureaucrats received rigorous education in European curricula, became acquainted with European political, social, and cultural traditions
- fell out of favor with Sultan Abdul Hamid II, coming to believe that the biggest problem of the Ottoman empire was the political structure that vested unchecked power in the sultan
31
What was the other name for the Young Turk Party?
the Ottoman Society for Union and Progress
32
Members of the Young Turk Party vigorously promoted reform by making effective use of what to spread their message?
newly established newspapers
33
What did the Young Turks call for?
1. universal suffrage
2. equality before the law
3. freedom of religion
4. free public education
5. secularization of the state
6. emancipation of women
34
Throughout the Young Turk era (1908-1918), Ottoman sultans reigned but...?
no longer ruled
- 1909 dethroned sultan Abdul Hamid II, and established Mehmed V Rashid (r. 1908-1918) as a "puppet sultan"
35
What did the Young Turks seek with reform within Ottoman society?
- sought to maintain Turkish hegemony in larger empire
- worked to make Turkish the official language of the empire
36
By the early 20th century, the Ottoman empire survived principally because European diplomats couldn't decide on what?
of how to dispose of the empire without upsetting the European balance of power
37
What did the Russian empire look like in the 19th century?
multiethnic, multilingual, multicultural empire that stretched from Poland to the Pacific Ocean
- only about half of the population spoke Russian language or observed the Russian Orthodox faith
38
During the 19th century, the Romanov tsars ruled their diverse and sprawling realm through an __________ regime in which all initiative came from the ________ administration.
autocratic; central
39
During the 19th century, the Russian empire expanded in what three directions toward where?
1. east into Manchuria
2. south into the Caucasus
3. southwest toward the Mediterranean
40
What was the intentions of the Crimean War? What did Russia seek to do?
tried to establish a protectorate (state that is controlled and protected by another) over the weakening Ottoman empire
41
How did the other European states react to Russia's proclaimed attempt to establish a protectorate over the weakening Ottoman empire?
threatened to upset the balance of power in Europe, led to military conflict between Russia and a coalition including Britain, France, the kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottoman empire
42
Why did Russian armies suffer humiliating defeats on their own territory against European forces?
unable to mobilize, equip, and transport troops to defeat European forces
- military defeat prompted tsarist autocracy to reevaluate the Russian social order and undertake an extensive restructuring program
43
Russia's economy could not support the tsars' expansionist ambitions, and the Crimean War clearly demonstrated the _______ of an _______ economy based on unfree labor.
weakness; agrarian
44
The key to social reform in Russia was what?
emancipation of the serfs
45
While some Russians objected to serfdom on moral grounds, why did others believe it had become an obstacle to economic development and a viable state?
serfdom was a source of rural instability and peasant revolt; hundreds of insurrections broke out and disrupted society during the first four decades of the 19th century
46
Which Russian tsar suggested to the nobility of Moscow that it would be better to abolish serfdom than wait until the serfs begin to liberate themselves?
Tsar Alexander II (r. 1855-1881)
47
What did tsar Alexander II issue that abolished the institution of serfdom and granted liberty to some 23 million serfs in 1861?
Emancipation Manifesto
48
What is the Russian term for society?
mir
49
What did freedom of serfs look like? Were freed serfs happy with their freedom?
government sought to balance interests of lords and serfs, but terms of emancipation unfavorable to most peasants
- compensated landowners for the loss of their land and the serfs who had worked it
- peasants won few political rights, had to pay a redemption tax for most of the lands they received
- majority of peasants held their land in communal ownership within a society
50
What did the Stolypin reforms seek to do?
years between 1906 and 1914 marked by the implementation of agrarian reforms designed to break up the communes (communal ownership of land with a society, prohibited peasants from selling their land) and create a class of individual peasant landowners
51
After the emancipation of serfdom, a few peasants prospered and improved their position as the result of emancipation, but most found themselves in ______ for the rest of their lives.
debt
- emancipations resulted in little if any increase in agricultural production
52
What were Russian zemstvos?
district assemblies
53
Describe the authority of Russian zemstvos. What was their place in Russian society in 1864?
- all classes, including peasants, elected representatives to these assemblies
- remained subordinate to tsarist autocracy, and landowning nobility
54
Although Russian industrialization took place within a framework of ________, it differed from western European industrialization in that the motivation for development was _______ and ________ and the driving force was government policy rather than entrepreneurial initiative.
capitalism; political; military
55
What was another reason (besides seeing it as delaying the inevitable) that Alexander II emancipated serfdom?
with the intention of creating a mobile labor force for emerging industries, encouraged industrialization as a way of strengthening the Russian empire
56
Who was the prime mover behind Russian industrialization?
Count Sergei Witte, minister of finance from 1892 to 1903
57
What was the centerpiece of Sergei Witte's industrial policy?
an ambitious program of railway construction, linked the far-flung regions of the Russian empire and also stimulated the development of other industries
58
What was one of the most important new railroad lines constructed under Sergei Witte's industrial policy that opened Siberia to large-scale settlement, exploitation, and industrialization?
trans-Siberian railway
59
How did Sergei Witte raise domestic capital for industry?
remodeled the state bank, and encouraged establishment of savings banks
60
In addition to remodeling the state bank and constructing railroads, how else did Sergei Witte stimulate economic development in Russia?
1. supported infant industries with high protective tariffs
2. secured large foreign loans from western Europe to finance industrialization
61
Why was the Witte system/increased industrialization in general unappealing to many peasants and industrial workers who rebelled and struck against Witte's policies?
- unwilling to tolerate the low standard of living that Witte's policies entailed
- recently freed serfs didn't appreciate factory work
- industrial growth generated an urban working class, enduring poor conditions
- employers kept wages of overworked and poorly housed workers at the barest minimum
- government prohibited formation of trade unions and outlawed strikes
62
While peasants and industrial workers strongly opposed of Russian industrialization, who benefitted from the protection of domestic industries and its profits?
1. foreign investors
2. Russian business class
3. Russian entrepreneurs
63
In contrast to western European capitalists who had both material and ideological reasons to challenge the power of absolute monarchs and the nobility, Russian businesspeople...?
did not challenge the tsarist autocracy
- reaped rich rewards from their roles in economic development, didn't complain about the political system
64
What was especially significant about the last three decades of the 19th century in Russia?
anti-government protest and revolutionary activity increased
65
Who was at the center of opposition against the Russian government in the last three decades of the 19th century?
university students and a class of intellectuals known as the intelligentsia
66
Dissidents in Russia drew inspiration from western European _________, but they despised the individualism, materialism, and unbridled capitalism of western Europe and thus worked toward a ________ system more in keeping with Russian cultural traditions.
socialism; socialist
67
Many Russian revolutionaries were anarchists. What did anarchists believe in principle?
they opposed all forms of government and believed that individual freedom cannot be realized until all government is abolished
- wanted to vest all authority in local governing councils elected by universal suffrage
68
After seeking to enlighten and rouse the peasantry, how did tsarist authorities react to radicals' efforts?
- sentenced some to prison and banished others
- tsarist authorities frightened by manifestations of radicalism
- sent secret police to infiltrate and break up dissident organizations
- censored publications in efforts of repression
69
What was the effect of repression on Russian radical revolutionaries?
further encouraged them to engage in conspiratorial activities
70
In the Baltic provinces, Poland, the Ukraine, Georgia, and central Asia, dissidents opposed the tsarist autocracy on ______ as well as ________ and ______ grounds, using ______ and _______ _____ as foundations for separatist movements, seeking autonomy or independence from the Russian empire.
ethnic; political; schools; political groups
71
What was the program of Russification designed to do (two main things)?
1. repress the use of languages other than Russian
2. to restrict educational opportunities to those loyal to the tsarist state
72
In 1876, what recently formed group began to promote the assassination of prominent officials as a means to pressure the Russian government into political reform?
the Land and Freedom Party
73
What terrorist faction of the Land and Freedom Party resolved to assassinate Alexander II in 1879?
the People's Will
- assassination of Alexander II, prompted tsarist autocracy to adopt uncompromising policy of repression
74
Who was a Russian tsar who championed oppression and police control, ascending to the throne in 1894?
Nicholas II (r. 1894-1917)
75
To deflect attention from domestic issues and to neutralize revolutionary movements, the Russian government embarked on expansionist ventures where?
in east Asia
76
How did the Russo-Japanese war begin and end?
Begun with a Japanese surprise attack on the Russian naval squadron at Port Arthur in Feb. 1904 and ended in May 1905 with destruction of Russian navy
77
What happened at the Bloody Sunday massacre in January 1905 in Russia?
group of workers marched on the tsar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to petition Nicholas II for a popularly elected assembly and other political concessions
- government troops met petitioners with rifle fire, killed 130
78
What was Russia's first parliamentary institution established by Nicholas II?
the Duma
79
From the Romanov perspective, the establishment of the Duma was a major concession, but what power did the Duma lack?
lacked power to create or bring down governments
- creation of the Duma didn't end unrest, disorder continued, and violence flared in Baltic provinces, Poland, the Ukraine, Georgia, and central Asia
80
What did the Chinese specially licensed firms known as cohongs do?
bought and sold goods at set prices and operated under strict regulations established by the government
81
Seeking increased profits in the late 18th century, officials of the British East Indian Company sought to what alternatives for bullion in exchange for Chinese goods?
used opium
- grew in India and shipped to China, where company officials exchanged it for Chinese silver coin
- silver flowed back to British control, and merchants used to buy Chinese products in Guangzhou
82
Who held an uncompromising policy of confiscating and destroying opium, and ignited a war that ended in a humiliating defeat for China?
Lin Zexu
- confiscated and destroyed some 20,000 chests of opium
83
What tolls did the opium trade take on Chinese society?
- drained large quantities of silver bullion from China
- created serious social problems in southern China
84
The Opium War (1839-1842) was fought between what two powers, and over what?
BRITAIN + CHINA: British commercial agents outraged by Chinese action against opium, pressed government into military retaliation designed to reopen opium trade
-
85
What were the British's advantages over the Chinese in the Opium War?
- had controlled firepower weapons, armed with rifles vs Chinese swords, knives, spears, and occasional musket
- steam-powered gunboats, shallow-draft steamers could travel speedily up and down rivers, enjoyed maneuverability even in interior regions
86
The series of pacts that curtailed China's sovereignty were known as?
unequal treaties
- forced to accept by Britian at the conclusion of the Opium War in 1842
87
What did the Treaty of Nanjing state?
- ceded Hong Kong Island in perpetuity (lasting commitment towards) to Britain
- opened five Chinese ports including Guangzhou and Shanghai
- compelled Qing government to extend most-favored-nation status to Britan
- granted extraterritoriality to British subjects (not subject to Chinese laws)
88
Collectively, the unequal treaties of China broadened the concessions given to foreign powers by specifically declaring what?
1. legalizing the opium trade
2. permitting the establishment of Christian missions throughout China
3. opened additional ports
4. prevented Qing government from levying tariffs on imports to protect domestic industries
89
Between 1800 and 1900, China's population rose by almost __ percent, from ____ million to ___.
50; 330; 475
90
The Taiping reform program contained what radical features that appealed to discontented subjects?
1. abolition of private property
2. creation of communal wealth to be shared according to needs
3. the prohibition of foot binding and concubinage
4. free public education
5. simplification of the written language
6. literacy for the masses
91
Hong Xiuquan and his followers under what group name took Nanjing in 1853 and made it the capital of their Taping ("Great Peace") kingdom?
Society of God Worshippers
92
After imperial forces consisting of Manchu soldiers failed to defeat the Taipings, the Qing government created what?
regional armies staffed by Chinese instead of Manchu soldiers and commanded by members of the scholar-gentry class
93
What costly tolls did the end of the Taiping rebellion have on Chinese society?
- claimed 20-30 million lives
- caused such drastic declines in agricultural productions
94
What did leaders of the Self-Strengthening movement seek to do?
blend Chinese cultural traditions with European industrial technology
- while holding Confucian values and seeking to reestablish a stable agrarian society, movement led to building of modern shipyards, railroad construction, steel foundries with blast furnaces, etc.
95
What was the contradiction of the Self-Strengthening movement?
industrialization would bring fundamental social change to an agrarian land, and education in European curricula undermine the commitment to Confucian values
96
Who were the leading scholars of the Hundred Days reforms movement of 1898? What did they do?
Kang Youwei (1858-1927)
Lang Qichao (1873-1929)
- published a series of treatises reinterpreted Confucian thought in a way that justified radical changes in the imperial system
- sought to remake China and turn it into a powerful modern industrial society, not preserve agrarian society
97
Who was impressed by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao's ideas of Chinese societal reform, and launched a sweeping program to transform China?
Emperor Guangxu
98
How did Emperor Guangxu's aunt, empress dowager Cixi react to Emperor Guangxu's reform edicts?
period of 103 days, Cixi nullified the reform decrees, imprisoned the emperor in the Forbidden City, and executed six leading reformers
99
Who were the militia units that spearheaded the violent antiforeign uprising Boxer rebellion in China?
the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists
100
"Boxers" was the term used by foreign press to refer to whom in Chinese society?
the rebels
101
Believing that foreign powers were pushing for her retirement, empress dowager Cixi supported what antiforeign uprising?
the Boxer rebellion
102
What did the Boxers do to rid China of "foreign devils" and their influences?
killed foreigners and Chinese Christians as well as Chinese who had ties to foreigners
103
Because Cixi had instigated the Boxers' attacks on foreigners, many Chinese regarded the Qing dynasty as _______. Revolutionary uprisings gained widespread public support throughout the country, even among conservative Chinese gentry.
bankrupt
104
In her last act of state, Cixi appointed whom to the imperial throne, only for revolution to break out in 1911, and by early 1912, the last emperor of the Qing dynasty abdicated his throne?
appointed two-year old boy Puyi to imperial throne; never had a chance to rule before revolution broke out
105
Why did Japan experience increasing peasant protest and rebellion during the late 18th and early 18th centuries?
Japanese society was in turmoil:
1. declining agricultural productivity, crop failures and famines
2. harsh taxation = economic hardship, led to starvation among rural population
3. prices of commodities rose, urban poor experienced destitution and hunger
4. samurai and daimyo fell into debt to growing merchant class
106
Who was the shogun's chief advisor between 1841 and 1843 who initiated measures to stem growing social and economic decline and to shore up the Tokugawa government?
Mizuno Tadakuni
- canceled debts that samurai and daimyo owed to merchants
- abolished several merchant guilds
- compelled peasants residing in cities to return to the land and cultivate rice
- reforms faced with strong opposition
107
Beginning in 1844, what three main powers visited Japan seeking to establish diplomatic and commercial relations?
Britian, France, and the U.S.
108
Who was the American naval squadron commander that trained his guns on the bakufu capital of Edo, and demanded that the shogun open Japan to diplomatic and commercial relations and sign a treaty of friendship?
Commodore Matthew C. Perry
- shogun had no good alternative and quickly accepted
109
Like the _____diplomats, Tokugawa officials agreed to a series of ________ _______ that opened Japanese ports to foreign commerce, deprived the government of control over tariffs, and granted foreigners extraterritorial rights.
Qing; unequal treaties
110
When the _________ compiled with the demands of U.S. and European representatives, he aroused the opposition of conservative ________ and the __________, who resented the humiliating terms of the unequal treaties and questioned the shogun's right to rule Japan as "subduer of barbarians"
shogun; daimyo; emperor
111
What two southern domains of Japan became centers of discontented samurai?
Choshu and Satsuma
112
Dissidents in Kyoto rallied around what slogan?
"Revere the emperor, expel the barbarians"
113
How did Tokugawa officials respond to opponents to their rule?
retired dissident daimyo and executed or imprisoned samurai critics
- brief civil war, bakufu armies suffered repeated defeats by dissident militia units trained by foreign experts and armed with imported weapons
114
After the shogun resigned his office, what boy emperor took power, and reigned during a most eventful period in Japan's history?
Mutsuhito, subsequently known by his regnal name, Meiji ("Englightened Rule")
Emperor Meiji (1852-1912)
115
The Meiji restoration was able to return authority to the Japanese emperor and bring an end to the series of military governments that had dominated Japan since 1185, marking the birth of a new Japan by doing what?
formed a new government dedicated to the twin goals of prosperity and strength: "rich country, strong army"
1. looked to industrial lands of Europe and the U.S. to obtain knowledge and expertise to strengthen Japan and win revisions of the unequal treaties
2. sent many students and officials abroad to study everything!!
3. hired foreign experts to facilitate economic development and the creation of indigenous expertise
116
Who was one of the most prominent of Meiji-era travelers, studying English soon after Matthew C. Perry's arrival in Japan, and was a member of the first Japanese mission to the U.S.?
Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901)
- reported observations of foreign lands in series of popular publications
- advocated strongly for equality before the law in Japan (inspired by constitutional government of U.S.)
117
Who was one of the most prominent Meiji-era travelers who drew inspiration from the German constitution in drafting a governing document for Japan?
Ito Hirobumi (1841-1909)
- traveled to Europe to study foreign constitutions and administrative systems
- impressed with recently united Germany
118
How did Meiji leaders abolish the long-standing social order by changing the status of the daimyo?
1. persuaded daimyo to yield their lands to the throne in exchange for patents of nobility
2. placed old domains with prefectures and metropolitan districts controlled by central government
3. appointed new prefectural governors to prevent the revival of old domain loyalties
- most daimyo felt effectively removed from power
119
How did Meiji leaders abolish the long-standing social order by changing the status of the samurai?
1. abolished the samurai class and the stipends that supported it
2. lost their rights to carry swords and wear their hair in distinctive topknot that signified their military status
3. when raising conscript army, deprived samurai of the military monopoly
- eased samurai discontent by awarding them government bonds
120
How did the Meiji government revamp the tax system?
1. converted the grain tax into a fixed-money tax, providing the government with predictable revenues, left peasants to deal with market fluctuations in grain prices
2. assessed taxes on the potential productivity of arable land, no matter how much the cultivator actually produced -- only those who maximized production could afford to hold their land
121
Drafted under the guidance of [person/Meiji-era traveler] the Meiji constitution established a [kind of government] with a legislature, known as the _____, composed of a house of nobles and an elected lower house.
Ito Hirobumi; constitutional monarchy; Diet
122
How did the Meiji constitution divide power?
limited the authority of the Diet (constitutional monarchy with legislature) and reserved considerable power to the executive branch of government
123
Under the Meiji constitution, what was the role of the "sacred and inviolable" emperor?
commanded the armed forces, named the prime minister, and appointed the cabinet
- had the right to dissolve parliament, could always advise but never control emperor
- whenever the Diet was not in session, emperor had the privilege of issuing ordinances
124
What did the Meiji constitution declare about individual rights?
recognized individual rights, but provided that laws could limit those rights in the interests of the state
