1. Ming China and
Tokugawa Japan
Empires that chose ISOLATION

2. MING CHINA
1368-1644

3. “New” Dynasty in China – the Ming

4. In 1400, MING CHINA had . . .



a stable government and
bureaucracy (after
overthrowing the last
Mongol rulers of the Yuan
dynasty)
Reinstated their education
system for scholarofficials and a highly
centralized government
more wealth, resources, &
productivity in ag. than
most empires

5. In 1400, MING CHINA had . . .



been using
gunpowder, the
compass, maps, and
moveable print
larger armies than W.
Europe & good
shipbuilding
technology
favorable terms for
international trade

6. Ming China expanded its power


Ming Emperor Yongle sent several gov.sponsored expeditions in the early 1400s.
Hundreds of ships and thousands of men
made diplomatic “contacts” and trade
connections from China to East Africa.

7. Voyages of the Chinese, 1405-1433

9. Ming rulers chose internal development
over trade and expansion



By the late 1400s, Chinese officials
destroyed the journals about the
voyages.
Trade with Europeans was limited.
The Chinese rulers placed emphasis on
border security, building campaigns,
and agricultural production for China.

11. MING CHINA did NOT have . . .



momentum toward expansion,
technological innovation, or scientific
progress
armies as well-trained or as deadly as
the armies of Europe or the Islamic
empires
The same motives as Europe for their
early maritime voyages

12. Tokugawa Japan
1600-1867

14. In 1600, Japan had
Recently
been
“unified.”
(Tokugawa
family ruled
Japan into
the 1800s)

16. Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Casa

17. In 1600s, Japan had
a long tradition of the
warrior - elites
adopted some of the
weapons of Europeans
– and begun to
manufacture their own.

18. By the late 1600s, the Tokugawa
rulers imposed isolation by. . .
severely limiting European trade
goods & outlawing Christian
missionaries.
Limiting Japanese travel
Banning Western books
Creating an education system
that promoted Japanese identity

19. Keeping an eye on the “hairy
barbarians”
For the next centuries, the Japanese
elite kept contact with developments
in Europe through trade contacts
with the Dutch.

20. Japan did NOT
have
many natural resources
success in invading Korea or China