Witte believed the only way to modernise Russia and play catch-up with the West was through State Capitalism (control of the economy by the government). The country needed to raise capital for investment in industry, which he did in several interlinking ways: large foreign loans which brought money into the country; heavy tax and interest rates in Russia which brought more money for the government. While bringing money into the country, Witte protected the small developing industries of Russia by limiting imports (but risked other countries doing the same to Russian goods in retaliation) In 1897, he put Russian currency on Gold Standard. This created financial stability and in turn encouraged huge foreign investment in Russia. Conversely, the higher-value rouble helped increase the prices of goods.
In addition, World War II introduced change through industrialisation, which was key to Russia’s success in the war. These key reforming leaders and other factors of change saw Russia grow from a very deprived country in 1856 to an industrial superpower in 1964. Alexander II became known as ‘Alexander the Great Reformer’ and ‘the Tsar Liberator’ which suggests that his work and reforms changed the nature of Russian government and society to a large extent. The emancipation of the Serfs in 1861 initially appeared to have major benefits for the serfs. As Alexander II said: “We vowed in our hearts to fulfil the mission which is entrusted to Us and to surround with Our affection and Our Imperial solicitude all Our faithful subjects of every rank and condition”2.
European nations began by establishing colonies in foreign areas to gain access to new resources that could not be easily accessed in Europe. These colonies were established in places such as India, and Africa which were fertile growing areas for spices and other raw materials that are not able to grow in the northern colder climates of Europe. With the establishment of these colonies, the rulers of the European nations such as England, France, and Germany saw a great way to make some extra money in the form of taxation. I believe that this led ultimately to the idea of Imperialism in which these nations were heavily taxing these colonies. This in turn led to things such as the American Revolution and the commonly known phrase “taxation without representation”.
During the beginning of the 1900s, there were plenty of revolutions and violence that took place. The Chinese revolution in 1911 and Russian Revolution in 1917 shared similar goals, they wanted to end the power of their current leader and establish a new one. For Russia, it was Tsar Nicholas II and for China it was the Qing Dynasty, Russia wanting a functioning communist government and Chinese revolutionaries wanted a democratic government. The first outcome is different in that China relied on agriculture to maintain its economy and Russia relied on industry to fuel its economy. The second outcome of the revolutions was that the countries were dramatically changed, two great powers were stopped and communist leaders eventually took over in the two countries.
Catherine developed the Free Economic Society in 1765 which encouraged modernization of agriculture and industry. The division of Russia into districts empowered administers of the local area. Westernizing Russia brought better changes to Russian politics, resources and military enabling Russia to become a European power. Frederick involved himself in the First Partition of Poland to unite the newly gained West Prussia with Eastern Prussia. Frederick also participated in the War of Bavarian Succession in 1778, stopping Austria from trading the Austrian Netherlands for Bavaria.
What if the Mongols had invaded Western Europe? If we look at Mongol invasions, by the 13th century they had already invaded much of Asia reaching all the way into Eastern Europe. Since the Mongols had superior military techniques, they could have had a chance to defeat Western Europe’s already fragmenting government. The founder of the Mongol empire, Genghis Khan, was a strong and powerful leader. It was by the help of his primary military strategist and general, named Subedei that made the Mongols’ military so strong.
Czar Alexander knew he needed to have the ability to trade and purchase goods with both sides. The economical reasons why Russia wanted the war to end was generally for the trade of products such as hemp, sail linen, tobacco and iron that were arriving in colonial ports years before the Revolutionary War began and did not stop once the war started (“American History”, 1998) The colonists and Russia saw Americans and the British as excellent trading partners, particularly because both nations had ample resources to offer. The War of 1812 had a devastating effect on commerce. The US trade restrictions leading up to the war dramatically decreased American exports. The British blockades and direct attacks on tobacco stores and other US trade goods made it difficult to conduct commerce during the war ( Spangled Banner Historical Trail, 2013).
Imperialism Intro During the late nineteenth century, Americans began to see opportunities for expansion beyond that of simply annexing adjacent territories. Although there were factions against it, the majority of the American public began advocating the expansion of the Republic so as to attain military bases and expand their foreign markets, whilst taking advantage of the natural resources offered by the world at large. These imperialistic tendencies mirrored those of Europe, though the rationalization behind the American imperialism was a bit different. I. How it all started a. Alaska bought by Seward from Russia- Johnson Admin b. Hawaii and Cuba= sugar plantations and business interests c. US business interests used the marines
One battle was set in Central Asia. This battle was called The Great Game. The Great Game originally started because Russia was expanding both east and south at an extremely fast rate and Britain wanted to stop them before they could become a threat to India. When the space between the Russian Empire and India had narrowed down to just over 1,000 miles, they both had become more interested in territory between them that contained countries such as Persia, Afghanistan, and Tibet. They started fighting in the area.
In the midst of these political and religious upheavals, 17thc Moscow was experiencing more frequent contacts w/the west, and western ideas were beginning to penetrate a few R circles. The Reign of Peter the Great (1689-1725) I. Peter gained a firsthand account of the west when he made a trip there in 1697-1698 and returned to R w/a firm determination to westernize A. Peter’s policy of Europeanization was largely technical. He admired E technology and desired to transplant it to R. Only this kind of modernization could give him the army and navy he needed to make R a great power. II. One of his 1st priorities was the reorganization of the army and creating a navy A.