It is an interesting aspect of history and that prior to the 16th century Europe and its various nations were merely a barbaric and insignificant periphery on the world stage. Great Asian powers dominated most of the known world, both militarily and economically. Following Columbus’s voyage in 1492, Europe slowly shifted to become the geographic, economic and military center of the entire world. In no small part due to its superior ships and superior seamanship, Europe was able to use its newfound capabilities to tap into the riches to be gained from both the New World and Asia. Of course, this did not take place overnight, and the powerful Asian empires continue to dominate the scene for some time. The following essay examines the gradual decline that occurred during the early modern era. Specifically, it will look at the rapid decline that took place among East Asian powers following 1700.
The beginning of the early modern era saw China and India is far and away the most significant Asian powers. Not only were they larger in population and scale, they had far more vibrant economies, more advanced technologies, more cohesive governments and much more impressive militaries at their command (Saraiva & Liu Online). Of course, this last point regarding military power and competence could be viewed as a direct result of all their other advantages, since military capabilities derived directly from a nation’s technology, economic power and leadership.
At this point in history, China and India were very similar in a number ways. For instance, the leaders of both powers claim to be directly descended from the prior Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan. Also, the emperors (hereditary nature) of each of these two empires ruled over states comprised of multiple religions and ethnicities. In fact, the vast populations of the Mughal Empire of India and the Qing dynasty of China were ruled by minorities that had conquered them militarily (Duindam 231). For example, in the Mughal Empire the huge Hindu majority was governed by Persian influenced Turkish Muslims. In China, the Qing were of Manchu dissent, although the people that we were ethnically Han Chinese. One consequence of this highly heterogeneous society in which minorities rule majorities was that their rumors had to constantly be concerned about the possibility of civil wars or revolts, in addition to attacks from outside powers.
The rumors of both early modern China and India were principally concerned about the wealth they could obtain from agriculture carried out within the Roman Empire, rather than with the ocean trading that was slowly beginning to emerge on their shores. They focused on the expansion of their inland territories and the exploitation of their presence. Fortunately for them, they had plenty of both of these resources. In order to support their bureaucracies and their militaries (not to mention to maintain their lavish lifestyles), these two empires both relied on the taxation of agriculture. Further more, both greatly from the manufacturer of textiles, including Chinese silk and Indian cotton. Another good that ultimately ended up being a major source of income was porcelain.
However, as pointed out above the rulers themselves had little interest in foreign trade, leaving such matters to the rising merchant class (over which they exercised control). Nevertheless, as a consequence of this growing oceanic trade more and wealth began to pour into both of these East Asian empires. However, this inattention to ocean trade and naval matters left both empires extremely vulnerable when European ships finally arrived in the 16th century. These ships were armed with powerful weapons that the two empires could not match. Essentially, the door was wide open for European intimidation and conquest.
The question of what led to this mistake on the part of the Asian empires might seem puzzling, but the answer is fairly straightforward. They had no reason to establish their own sea trade because their commercial activity within their own borders (and the taxes they receive from that activity) allow them to be very comfortable and successful at home. Given that things were going really well for both the Indian and Chinese empires in this regard, they no doubt saw no need to expand trade beyond their own borders. Instead, they left such foreign trade as they did have (the aforementioned textiles and porcelain) to their merchant class. However, these merchants chose to use (for the most part) overland routes rather than ocean routes. For this reason, neither Empire gave serious attention to the various European vessels that started arriving at their shores intermittently in the early 16th century.
Thanks to their overland trade routes and the goods they sold via them, China was the preeminent economic force in East Asia. In fact, it had a positive trade surplus. There were a number of ecological reasons for the advantages that China enjoyed at the time. For instance, its transportation systems were significantly superior to those of Europe. One example of this can be seen in the fact that China’s transportation canal system absolutely dwarfed anything seen in Europe, including Venice. The “Grand Canal” of China served to connect China’s cities in a way that hadn’t been seen since the Roman roads of the old Roman Empire in Europe. Chinese agriculture was also far more productive than European art culture because of China’s technological advancements when it came to irrigation. Combined with their own native manufacturing, China certainly saw no reason to reach out to others for goods or supplies.
This last point is made clear by a communication from the Chinese Emperor to King George III of England in which the Emperor somewhat insultingly rejected the Kings desire for trade between the two kingdoms. As the Emperor put it, “As your ambassador can see for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and we have no use for your country’s manufactures” (Frank 160). Ironically though, the lack of interest that China demonstrated in sea trade provided a remarkable opportunity for Europeans to create their own trade with China and other East Asian powers. In short, China’s failure to seize this opportunity for themselves essentially handed it to the Europeans. And given that military power (as pointed out above) is (or can be) derived from economic power, China was setting the stage for its own military and political decline.
Of course, hindsight is always 20/20 and it is easy to criticize the Chinese for not seeing the mistake they were making. However, the Mughal Empire made the same mistake by largely ignoring the trade growing up along its borders and shores. The Mughal capital was situated at the Delhi. This capital was well in the land and far away from the shores were the Europeans first made contact and established trading posts. Eventually, these trading posts were protected by fortifications and by European navies. Remarkably, as large and wealthy as the pace that Empire was, it possessed no navy. As a consequence, European merchants were able to easily and rapidly come to dominate trade throughout the Indian Ocean. This trade involved not only goods being traded back and forth between Europe and Asia, but also trade throughout Asia itself, including China.
Another reason for the decline of the Empire this time was that India’s cotton growers could not compete with the cheaper cotton being produced by slave labor in the American colonies. Cotton was far and away India’s most important product and trade good, and its economy very much depended on this trade. In addition to this, the Europeans instituted a ban on importing Indian cotton that further damaged India’s cotton industry. Finally, at the end of the 18th century Britain took control of Bengal (which is one of the principal cotton producing areas of India) and crushed it with high taxes. This last point will be expanded upon later. As a consequence of all of this, by the early 19th century India had gone from being the center for cotton production to being a net importer of cotton and other textiles (Frank 314). Again, a decline in economic power led to a consequent decline in military power.
Another contributing factor in the slow decline of the Asian empires, and particularly China, was the vast quantity of silver then being obtained by the Europeans from their possessions in the Americas. The reason why this had such a deleterious effect on China was that (in 1581) the Chinese government chose to set the value of their currency based on silver because of the instability of their paper money. Furthermore, the government demanded that their citizens pay their taxes in silver. While on the surface this policy created greater stability in the country, it also created an additional problem for China. This was because China had very few productive silver mines within its own borders. Naturally, this meant that China had to trade for the silver it needed.
This had very significant results for China, given that Spain was obtaining vast quantities of both gold and silver from Mexico and through at this time. Because of this, during the period between 1500 and 1800, the world supply of silver increased more than four times. However, because of the ongoing trade between China and the European vessels arriving on it shores, 75% of the silver produced from Spain’s possessions in the New World eventually ended up in the coffers of the Chinese government (Marks 82). The economic implications of the situation are obvious. Because there was so much silver available in Europe, it had a fairly low value. However, because Asian powers (and particularly China) had a very limited supply of local silver, silver had a much higher value. This meant that European traders could buy goods and products from China at an extraordinarily low rate and then resell them elsewhere at a massive profit. This situation essentially meant that Europeans were able to use silver stolen from their American possessions to dominate global trade on terms extremely favorable to them.
As the Asian empires continue their slow decline (militarily and economically) during this period, European powers continue to grow in wealth and power. In addition, technological innovations introduced by the Europeans (or improved upon by them) enhance their position even further. More advanced cannons and firearms (a consequence of improved ironworking technology) allowed Europeans to centralize their governments and strengthen their military forces. Interestingly though, while China had an iron producing industry that was in some ways superior (technologically) to that of the Europeans, the absence of iron and coal deposits close to their industrial production centers made it very difficult to take advantage of their superior technology.
As suggested above, the rise of gunpowder based kingdoms in Europe (including Spain, France, Holland and the Ottoman Empire) led to wars that help to consolidate these kingdoms in a way that produced the modern nationstate. These wars resulted in nations with much more powerful navies and armies, as well as highly organized governments with intensive taxation and banking systems. Such financial organization could in turn help to support further military development and innovation.
Another change that occurred in Europe was the rise of representative government. Such representatives gave a voice to the growing merchant class in Europe, who insisted on protective tariffs and trade barriers. An example of this is the previously mentioned ban on Indian cotton. In order to handle the ever increasing trade, shipbuilding boom. Along with this, new ship construction technologies were introduced, such as the caravel. This ship can travel much faster and could tack against the wind. Tacking meant that a vessel no longer had to wait for favorable winds to set sail. For naval vessels, the mid-16th century and production of Melted cannons on ships allowed the Europeans to completely dominate the seas.
In conclusion, while Asia (and in particular India and China) was still a center of power in 1700, mistakes made by their respective empires began a gradual but noticeable decline after this point. The rise of European empires starting in the 16th century accelerated this process. Even so, by 1800 China and India still accounted for more than 60% of the world’s GNP (Marks 2). Nevertheless, the years between 1500 and 1700 marked a major turning point in the economic and military history of the world. As Europeans obtain greater and greater wealth from their American possessions, Asia began to fall behind economically and militarily. By the beginning of the 19th century, Asian empires have lost the ability to effectively resist the trading empires of the Europeans. The dawning Industrial Revolution in Britain and elsewhere in Europe made the situation even worse for these Asian empires.
Works Cited
Duindam, Jeroen F. J. Dynasties: A Global History of Power, 1300-1800. , 2016. Print.
Frank, Andre G. World Accumulation, 1492-1789. New York: Algora Pub, 1978. Internet resource.
Marks, Robert. The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Environmental Narrative from the Fifteenth to the Twenty-First Century. 2015. Print.
Saraiva, Luís, and Dun Liu. Europe and China: Science and the Arts in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Singapore: World Scientific Pub. Co, 2013. Internet resource.
