So you didn't think Big Daddy government wasn't going to play a hand in the Industrial Revolution, did you? Don't be crazy. No, while some states industrialized from the bottom up, there were a few others that industrialized from the top down, and that is what this video is all about.
So if you're ready to get them brain cows milked, Meiji Restoration style, then let's get to it. So first, let's remember the context covered in the last few videos. For states that adopted industrialization, mainly in Western Europe and the United States, the transformation of their economies and their share in the global balance of power was fundamentally shifted in their favor.
In other words, during this period, industrialized nations were like Zangief, crushing non-industrialized nations'skulls like sparrow's egg between thighs. And so some states, not wanting their skull to be crushed between thighs like sparrow's egg, promoted their own state-sponsored and more limited attempts at industrialization. And that brings us to Egypt, which was technically part of the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century, but which operated largely independent of Ottoman rule thanks to its powerful military government. Now, to put it mildly, the Ottoman Empire was in a bad way during this time.
It was struggling and declining due to internal corruption and conflicts and therefore had little energy or wealth to invest in industrialization. And to be fair, that would later change under the Tanzimat reforms, but we'll get to that in a later video. Oh, and if you want note guys to follow along with this video and all my videos, check the link in the description.
Regardless, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali, Egypt went ahead and took some steps toward industrialization on its own, not least because that would further erode their dependence on Ottoman sultans. And so pretty soon textile and weapons factories and other industrial projects multiplied across the landscape. Peasants were directed to grow things like like wheat and cotton, which the government purchased and then sold for profit on the world market.
Additionally, Ali significantly raised tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods, in order to protect the growing development of the Egyptian-made goods. But despite the strides made toward industrialization in Europe, here's where I tell you that in the end this project was not as successful as it was in Western Europe and the United States. And the short version is that Great Britain wasn't exactly thrilled to witness the growing power and wealth of an industrialized Egypt, mainly because crossing Egypt was the quickest way to access trade networks in Asia. And so when Egypt went to war with the Ottomans in 1839, In 1849, Britain intervened, and the result was that they forced Egypt to remove the tariffs and other barriers to trade that had protected Egyptian industry.
And with that, mass-produced British goods flooded into Egypt and their infant industries couldn't compete. compete, thus stunting the industrial project and keeping Egypt's skull squarely between Britain's thighs. But oh baby, it was very much a different story over in Japan, whose state-sponsored industrialization was, uh, real successful.
So recall from the previous video that Japan during the Tokugawa Shogunate had almost completely isolated itself from Western influence in trade, leaving only a single port open to Dutch traders. You know, Japan was just having some me time and didn't want to mess with all this industrialization nonsense. But a couple of factors emerged to change that attitude quite a bit. quick, fast, and in a hurry.
First, Japan witnessed Western powers rapidly dominating other Asian states like the once-great China. Now, we'll talk more about that development in another video, but here you just need to know that Western powers basically overwhelmed China with their industrialized military might and forced them into a series of unequal treaties that made China subservient to Western economic interests. And Japan saw this and was like, yeah, no thanks.
And the second factor that changed Japan's mind was the arrival of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry, who came to Japan. Japan with a fleet of steam-powered ships stacked to the rim with guns. He sent a letter to the Shogun demanding that Japan open trade relations with the United States and with boss-level intimidation tactics sent a white flag of surrender as a gift with that note.
In other words, if you don't open your ports to us, you're going to need this fly because we're going to crush your skull like sparrow's egg between thighs. And so ultimately, Japan decided to initiate an aggressive state-sponsored program of industrialization as kind of a defensive measure against Western domination. And that was facilitated by a Japanese civil war in 1868, which led to the overthrow of the shogunate and the reestablishment of an emperor by a group of young samurai who had become fearful of the effects of Western intrusion and continued Japanese isolationism.
The result was a period known as the Meiji Restoration, in which Japan sought to escape foreign domination by adopting much of the industrial practices that had made the West powerful. And in the beginning, they basically borrowed from the West wholesale. Japan sent emissaries to major industrial powers to learn everything they could about their technology, their culture, education systems, and political arrangements, and implemented much of that in their own state.
But then later on, they would pump the brakes a little and borrow a little more selectively. But in the end, Japan established a constitution that provided for an elected Parliament, which they borrowed from Germany. And the state funded the extensive building of railroads and the establishment of a national banking system, as well as the development of industrial factories that produced textiles and munitions.
And so the result of the Meiji Restoration and their further projects of industrialization ultimately led to Japan becoming a major industrial power in Asia. And as such, they gained enough power to deal with Europe. Europeans and Americans on equal terms, which was not the case anywhere else in the region. Okay, click here to keep reviewing other topics in Unit 5, and click here to grab my video note guides, which are going to help you follow along with my videos and get all the content of this course firmly crammed into your brain folds.
I'm glad we got to spend a few minutes together, and I'll catch you on the flip-flop. Heimler out.