Chapter 3.2 Overview: Empires' Administrations

Introduction

• Focus on techniques used by empires from 1450 to 1750 to administer or manage their territories.
• Key question: How did rulers and land-based empires legitimize and consolidate their power from 1450 to 1750?
  • "Legitimize" means establishing the ruler's authority.
  • "Consolidate" means strengthening control.

Historical Patterns

• Bureaucratic Professionals:
  • Similar systems to modern-day bureaucracies (e.g., U.S. government structure).
  • Importance of tax collection in reinforcing state authority.

Contextual Background

• Expanding empires with diverse populations (e.g., religious diversity in the Ottoman Empire).
• Examples:
  • Ottoman Empire's expansion in Europe.
  • Mughal Empire's establishment of Muslim control in India.
  • Russian expansion across Siberia.

Bureaucratic Elites and Decline of Feudalism

• Europe:
  • Transition from feudal systems to centralized bureaucratic governance.
  • England: Use of gentry officials (landowners) as justices of the peace.
  • France: Intendants as tax collectors; centralized power under Louis XIV.
• Russia:
  • Boyars (nobles) presented challenges to the Tsar.
  • Use of oprychnina (military professionals) to enforce Tsar's power.
  • Creation of provinces by Peter the Great to centralize authority.

Empires in Asia

• Ottoman Empire:
  • Devshirme system: Recruitment of Christian boys as government officials or janissaries for military service.
• Japan:
  • Feudal system with Shogun at the top.
  • Use of samurai to enforce daimyo and Shogun authority.
  • Tokugawa Shogunate: Centralization of power, requiring daimyos to live in the capital.
• Mughal Empire:
  • Akbar's religious tolerance policy.
  • Use of zamindars to collect taxes.

Religion and Monumental Architecture

• Legitimizing Power:
  • Divine right in Europe.
  • Songhai Empire: Establishment of Islam by Askia the Great.
  • Monumental architecture as a symbol of power (e.g., Taj Mahal, Palace of Versailles, mosques in Ottoman Empire).

Financing Empires

• Importance of tax collection and economic systems in consolidating power.
• Examples:
  • Zamindars in the Mughal Empire.
  • Tax farmers in the Ottoman Empire.
  • Tribute systems in the Aztec and Ming Dynasties.

Conclusion

• Consolidating Power: Bureaucratic officials, military professionals, and tax systems.
• Legitimizing Power: Religion, art, and monumental architecture.
• Suggested essay structure: separate sections on legitimizing and consolidating power, with evidence and explanations from different empires.

This overview provides a framework for understanding how empires managed to maintain and legitimize their power during a period of significant expansion and diversity. These historical patterns offer valuable lessons for the study of governance and administration.