Write and essay comparing the similarities and differences of the reforms of the Ottoman, Russian, and Qing Empires as response to the west European challenges and pressure. Specific details and examples are required. Here are some general points and needs some more specific examples as well as a point, example, explanation structure, I. The Ottoman Empire Muhammad Ali remained Egypt’s ruler until 1849, and his family held onto power until 1952. The Greeks gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. Sultan Selim III, Mahmud II Reform: European Model II. The Russian Empire In 1700, only three percent of the Russian population lived in cities, and Russia was slow to acquire a modern infrastructure and modern forms of transportation. By the end of the eighteenth century, the Russian Empire had reached the Pacific Ocean and the borders of China. In the nineteenth century, Russian expansion continued to the south, bringing Russia into conflict with China, Japan, Iran, and the Ottoman Empire. The Crimean War and Its Aftermath After the Crimean War, the Ottoman Empire continued to establish secular financial and commercial institutions on the European model. Problems associated with the reforms included the Ottoman state’s dependence on foreign loans, a trade deficit, and inflation. The decline of Ottoman power inspired a group of educated urban men known as the Young Ottomans to band together to work for constitutionalism, liberal reform, and the creation of a Turkish national state in place of the Ottoman Empire. Heavy penalties were imposed on Russia in the treaty that ended the Crimean War. The new tsar, Alexander II, was called upon to institute major reforms. III. The Qing Empire Discontent was manifest in a series of internal rebellions in the nineteenth century, beginning with the White Lotus rebellion (1794-1804) The Opium War (1839-1842) The Taiping Rebellion, 1850-1864 Tongzhi Restoration: the real work of recovery was managed by provincial governors like Zeng Guofan. Westernization Movement The reform programs were supported by a coalition of Qing aristocrats, including the Empress Dowager Cixi, but they were unable to prevent the Qing Empire from disintegrating into a set of large power zones in which provincial governors exercised real authority. Decentralization at the End of the Qing Empire, 1864-1875 Similarities of Responses Among the Empires Subjects of the Ottoman, Russian, and Qing Empires did not consider European economic pressure a challenge during the first half of the nineteenth century. By the 1870s, European challenges to the empires had become widely realized – for the Ottoman and Russian Empires during the Crimean War, and for the Qing Empire during the Opium War. Although historians view economic pressure as the force that weakened the empires, rulers of the Ottoman, Russian, and Qing Empires themselves considered their greatest challenge to be the military superiority of the Europeans. The entire essay should contain 5 to 6 paragraphs and contains the following Respond to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis or claim that establishes a line of reasoning. Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt. Support an argument in response to the prompt using specific and relevant examples of evidence. Use historical reasoning (e.g., comparison, causation, continuity or change over time) to frame or structure an argument that addresses the prompt.
