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World History 2

<OpenstaxParagraph>
	<OpenstaxTerm>China</OpenstaxTerm> had long been a major world power and became even stronger with the rise of the <OpenstaxTerm>Qing</OpenstaxTerm> (1644–1912), the last imperial dynasty. After defeating their Ming predecessors and consolidating their power, Qing rulers turned to rebuilding the Chinese economy. With a stable frontier, they were able to reduce military spending and lower tax burdens, which freed money for people to invest in businesses and for the wealthier classes to purchase luxuries. The Qing seized land from wealthy families that supported their political rivals and distributed it to other families that set up small farms. To help these new farms, the government gave the owners draft animals, tools, and seeds. Most farmers focused on growing rice in the river valleys, but the introduction of potatoes from the Americas allowed them to grow food on hilly ground that had never been widely cultivated before. Some began growing tobacco, which also came from the Americas and became a key cash crop for Chinese farmers.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	To facilitate economic development, the Qing upgraded China’s infrastructure, including rebuilding roads and improving the <OpenstaxTerm>Grand Canal</OpenstaxTerm>. Begun in the fifth century BCE and still in use today, this waterway stretches 1,100 miles from Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in the south. It is the world’s longest canal and connects several important waterways, including the Huang (Yellow), Huai, and Yangtze Rivers (<a href="#fig-00006">Figure 6.15</a>). In the Qing era, the Grand Canal transported luxuries, but most importantly it brought food from the rich agricultural river valleys of the south to the large cities of northern China such as Beijing, which became major centers of commerce and manufacturing during this time.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxFigure id="fig-00006" src="https://openstax.org/apps/archive/20240226.174525/resources/55bfdd4c62e54f96299a4cfba10114116a2317c9" alt="A map of an eastern portion of China is shown with the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea on the right. A blue line is shown starting from the north in Beijing and ending in the south at Hangzhou, passing through these cities along the way: Tongzhou, Tianjin, Changzhou, Dezhou, Linqing, Liaocheng, Nanwang, Jining, Nanyang, Peixian, Xuzhou, Pizhou, Huai’an, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, and Jiaxing. At Pizhou the blue line heads north through Tai’erzhnang and ends at Hanzhuang. Other cities that are labeled from north to south are: Shijiazhuang, Jinan, Qingdao, Nanjing, Hefei, and Shanghai." mediaType="image/jpg" width="901" height="1326" />
<OpenstaxFigureText width="901">
	<strong>Figure 6.15</strong> This map shows the course of the Grand Canal of China as it looks today, stretching about 1,100 miles from Hangzhou in the south all the way to Beijing in the north. (credit: modification of work “Modern Course of Grand Canal of China” by Ian Kiu/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0)
</OpenstaxFigureText>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	The Qing dynasty’s leaders also focused on increasing China’s international trade. They signed new treaties with foreign nations, including the <OpenstaxTerm>Treaty of Kyakhta</OpenstaxTerm> (1727) with Russia, which opened China to new European markets. They also improved trading relationships with Japan, the nations of Southeast Asia, and the Philippines. The Qing government lifted most prohibitions on trade with the western nations. Under the <OpenstaxTerm>Canton system</OpenstaxTerm>, in place from 1759 to 1842, western Europeans were permitted to trade with China if they agreed to work through the Chinese guilds that enjoyed monopoly rights to the tea and silk trades. Under this system, all trade was confined to the southern Chinese port of Canton (Guangzhou) in order to limit contact with Europeans and foreign influence on China. Only members of the merchant guild authorized to transact business with Westerners were allowed to have contact with Europeans. All Europeans trading in China were subject to Chinese law, and they were required to live and do business in a small area outside the city walls. Europeans were not allowed to bring firearms or warships into the port, and European women were also prohibited from settling in Canton, which prevented a permanent European community from taking root there.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	The Canton system successfully increased China’s trade with Europe and improved the Chinese economy. By 1833, the Chinese were exporting twenty-eight times more tea and welcoming thirteen times more foreign ships than before. Tea was the most important export, but China also exported large quantities of silk and porcelain. It rejected most European trade goods and insisted on payment for its exports in silver. Desperate for Chinese goods, Europeans complied, and several million dollars’ worth of silver flowed into China each year. As a result, China enjoyed a very favorable balance of trade with Europe. This encouraged European nations to find a way to chip away at China’s trade advantages.
</OpenstaxParagraph>

6.2.3 China’s Dominance in Trade

1 Understanding the Past

1.1 Developing a Global Perspective

1.1.1 World History as Preparation for Life After College

1.1.2 World History and Global Citizenship

1.1.3 Features of This Textbook

1.2 Primary Sources

1.2.1 Learning to Evaluate Documents and Images

1.2.2 Documentary Sources: Competing Narratives

1.2.3 Textual Sources: The Importance of Language

1.2.4 Hidden in History

1.3 Causation and Interpretation in History

1.3.1 Levels of Causation

1.3.2 Interpretation in History

2 Exchange in East Asia and the Indian Ocean

2.1 India and International Connections

2.1.1 The Mughal Empire

2.1.2 The Sultanate of Gujarat

2.1.3 The Rise of the Maratha Empire

2.1.4 European Colonialism

2.2 The Malacca Sultanate

2.2.1 The Rise of the Malacca Sultanate

2.2.2 European Malacca

2.3 Exchange in East Asia

2.3.1 Japan

2.3.2 China’s Dynastic Exchanges

2.3.3 Korea and Its Neighbors

3 Early Modern Africa and the Wider World

3.1 The Roots of African Trade

3.1.1 Saharan Trade Routes

3.1.2 The Spread of Islam

3.1.3 The Mali Empire

3.2 The Songhai Empire

3.2.1 The Rise of Imperial Songhai

3.2.2 The Reign of Askia the Great

3.2.3 The Decline of Songhai

3.3 The Swahili Coast

3.3.1 The Rise of the Swahili City-States

3.3.2 Slavery on the Swahili Coast

3.3.3 The Contest for the Swahili Coast

3.4 The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade

3.4.1 The Role of Kanem-Bornu

3.4.2 The Arrival of Europeans

3.4.3 The Later Trans-Saharan Slave Trade

4 The Islamic World

4.1 A Connected Islamic World

4.1.1 Politics and Religion in the Ummah

4.1.2 Islamic Trade Networks

4.1.3 Technology in the Islamic World

4.2 The Ottoman Empire

4.2.1 Culture and Society

4.2.2 Expansion, Revolutions, and Reform

4.2.3 Science and Technology

4.3 The Safavid Empire

4.3.1 The Rise of the Safavid Empire

4.3.2 Establishing Shi‘ism as the State Religion

4.3.3 Safavid Government and Culture

5 Foundations of the Atlantic World

5.1 The Protestant Reformation

5.1.1 The Origins of the Protestant Reformation

5.1.2 Calvinists, Anabaptists, and Anglicans

5.1.3 The Catholic Reformation and the Wars of Religion

5.2 Crossing the Atlantic

5.2.1 The Rise of Maritime Nations

5.2.2 The Columbian Exchange

5.3 The Mercantilist Economy

5.3.1 The Rise of Mercantilism

5.3.2 Mercantilism and the Expansion of Empire

5.3.3 Mercantilism and Its Critics

5.4 The Atlantic Slave Trade

5.4.1 Slavery and the Triangular Trade

5.4.2 African and North American Slavery

5.4.3 The Economics of Slavery

6 Colonization and Economic Expansion

6.1 European Colonization in the Americas

6.1.1 Spain’s Encomienda System

6.1.2 English Settlements in North America

6.1.3 French and Dutch Settlements

6.2 The Rise of a Global Economy

6.2.1 The Seven Years’ War

6.2.2 British Influence in India

6.2.4 Colonial Resistance and Revolution

6.3 Capitalism and the First Industrial Revolution

6.3.1 From Mercantilism to Capitalism

6.3.2 Mechanization

6.3.3 Marxism

7 Revolutions in Europe and North America

7.1 The Enlightenment

7.1.1 The Authority of Reason

7.1.2 Natural Rights

7.1.3 Social Contract Theory

7.2 The Exchange of Ideas in the Public Sphere

7.2.1 Public Debate and Dissent

7.2.2 The Republic of Letters

7.2.3 Academies, Universities, and Intellectuals

7.3 Revolutions: America, France, and Haiti

7.3.1 The American Revolution

7.3.2 The French Revolution

7.3.3 The Haitian Revolution

7.4 Nationalism, Liberalism, Conservatism, and the Political Order