The Meiji Restoration of Japan

Japan was a very important country during the late 1850’s. Japan is an archipelago which means that it is made up of many different little islands. They were independent and isolated from most of the world. Mathew Perry was an American and a commodore who traveled in many ships. He threatened to destroy Japan. Mathew "bullied" the Japanese into singing a treaty by impressing them with the technologies that the Americans enjoyed. He used America’s technology because it was more advanced and better than Japans. They sent many ships in order for Japan to end the nation’s self-imposed isolation and open it to trade.The Japanese were very impressed by the technology of the American steam ships. Japan had great pride in their cultural heritage. On March 31, 1854 a treaty was signed between the United States and Japan that opened two ports to the United States and acted as a catalyst towards Japanese. They would establish their own treaties with the Japanese.

The Meiji Era had a great effect on Japanese economy. A new emperor came in charge called Meiji. His plan was to reclaim he's divine right to rule and restructure the society. The Meiji Restoration was to turn Japan into a modern country. Japan had been in isolation for so many years that their army and technology were very weak. Perry purposely dropped 26 miles off the coast of Tokyo, to impress the Japanese. The Japanese were impressed, on how far the ships were able to travel in such a short time.

When the Meiji period ended, with the death of the emperor in 1912, The Japanese economy became better during the years because of there trading with the United States. They developed more contact with the outside world to get more involved in trade. They were able to modernize because they established a parliament, developed transport and communication systems; they had better and more advanced technology and a more powerful army and navy. Thanks to the Meiji restoration Japan became a more modernized country.

Karl Marx and communism

Karl Marx's ideas were so influencing that they were soon called communism. Communism is the idea of everybody being equal. Social classes were now all the same and everybody was paid the same amount of money. The government controlled its people. Even thought Marks ideas were so strong and many people believed and supported it many communist countries didn’t use his ideas. Mark believed that workers would take over landowners and there government. He believed that factory workers could start a revolution and take over the factory owners since they had a higher amount of population.

The community was made up of two types of social classes which were the proletariat and bourgeoisie. The proletariats were the workers. They basically worked the entire day to whoever paid them the most amount of money. The bourgeoisie were the business and factory owners. He didn’t like the way that the proletariat class was being treated. The idea of communism was for everything to be equal. Society would only produce what it needed and there would be no private ownership. Everything would be owned by the government or state not by the people.

Many people loved the idea of communism, because this way, they would finally get the rights they always wanted. Marx hated the Industrial Revolution, he wanted Communism to be world wide, because this way everyone else would be able to enjoy what he thought was the best way of life. Marx wanted the best for his people. He viewed the “poor people” as good people because they worked really hard. He viewed the rich people as the “bad people” because they abused the power over the factory workers, and used Capitalism in their favor to make more money. Karl Mark was one of the most influential people in the 19th history.

Karl Marx and the Industrial Revolution

Karl Marx was a German who disagreed with the industrial Revolution and his ideas impacted the lives of many other people. He wanted workers to have the power in factories instead of landowners. Marx's ideas were so important and influential that they were named communism. He believed that workers had the power so they would control the government. During the Industrial Revolution social classes were very important. He felt that the Industrial Revolution allows the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. The two different social classes were the bourgeoisie who were the landowners and the proletariat who were the workers .He believed that since there were more workers than land owners the workers would all stick together and make a revolution.

Karl Mark disagreed with the Industrial Revolution. He thought that wealth should be spread equally, to help others advance. With his idea of communism, people would live fair more equal lives. Karl noticed how hard children had to work and weren’t able to go to school. Although he died in 1883, his ideas were still able to form the basis of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Nationalism and the Creation of Italy

“Nationalists believed that people of a single nationality, or ancestry, should unite under a single government”. Nationalism is the belief and pride over your country. People support and make contributions to make there country better. People who share common history and culture like to root and stick together. The nation has its own independent government and is called a nation-state. Things that support and create nationalism is the language, culture, history, religion, money, and territory. A big cause of Nationalism was the French Revolution. This Revolution contributed to everybody being equal and having the same rights.

An example of how I am nationalistic is how I show my pride by celebrating July 4th which was the day that America got its independence. I watch the fireworks and show off the flag colors. I speak the conmen language which is English and I pay using Dollars. Everybody in this country pays taxes to the government .I root for my country when there playing in competitive sports like the Olympics. By doing all of these things I show support for my country and my pride of being American.

Nationalism was used to create the Nation of Italy. Italy was one of the countries to form crumbled empires. Before Italy became a nationalistic, it was very separated; each region had its own ruler or king. Italians were tired of being ruled by foreign rulers. Giuseppe Mazzini was a ruler who supported nation-states. He believed that this was the best hope for social justice, democracy, and peace in Europe. His main goal was to unite Italy. However many wars broke out because of disagreements between Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini who was an idealist. Piedmont-Sardinia was the largest and most powerful state in Italy. Camillo di Cavour worked very hard in order to expand Sardinia's power. He not only achieved his goal but he united Italy. Above all Italy was able to become an independent nation thanks to Giuseppe Garibaldi and Camillo di Cavour.

Simon Bolivar and The Latin American Revolution

Simon Bolivar is one of the most important leaders that struggled for most of South America’s independence. He was the leader who led the American Revolution and argued for the Spanish American independence. Simon Bolivar was considered responsible for fighting for the independence of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. He defeated the Spanish through surprise attacks, and wise decisions in the battle. He was a Leader who accomplished many things through his hard work and success.

Simon was influenced and inspired by the French and American Revolution. He believed that people should have the power. As he traveled to Italy and France he studied philosophies of Rousseau, Locke, and Voltaire. In 1810 Simon revolted against the Spanish and gained Caracas. A year later, Bolívar fought for Spain’s independence but didn’t win it. He didn’t give up and in 1813, He led another force into Venezuela and he gained control over the country.

Bolívar proclaimed the establishment of The Republic of Colombia. He was not successful in the role of government leader. He then became dictator of Peru and then President. Peru was then broken up and became a separate state named Bolivia. On August 6, 1825, at the Congress of Upper Peru, the Republic of Bolivia was created. The constitution showed the influence of the French and Scottish Enlightenment. Bolivia was named after Simon who fought for it's independence and is known as the Liberator of South America. By 1828 he successfully controlled Colombia. Before his death, Simon accomplished and freed many countries from South America. He fought for the independence of six nations and is now known as one of the most important political leaders in history.

Robespierre and the Reign of Terror

The French Revolution was a huge change that brought together liberty and equality. Lower classes finally had more power and equality. Kings and higher classes lost most of there power .As a result the Reign of Terror occurred. It was a period of violence with the enemies of the Revolution. A limited Monarchy was set up. A legislative Assembly was set up to work with and share power with the King. The kings didn’t like this at all because they wanted to have absolute power over everything. King Louis XIV wanted to do anything to get his power back. While France was figuring out was to do, a new gang called the Jacobins took over. Who ever disagreed with there opinions would get there head chopped off. The guillotine was the machine that they used to cut off people heads. Anybody that disagreed with them or went against them would have there head chopped off.

After the Jacobins cut King Louis XIV head off people were shocked and afraid of France. As time passed by and leaders struggled to get power Maximilien Robespierre gathered control and was later ruling France. Kings, queens, and jacks were removed for faces of revolutionaries, the calendar was changed, and church’s in Paris were closed. His rule was called the Reign of Terror. It was named like this because people were executed, and scared. They didn’t want to have there head chopped off. Even people who worked with the government were scared of Maximilien. During the Terror, approximately 3,000 people were executed in Paris. People were tired of being scared so they organized a conspiracy towards him and he was executed. He was killed by having his head chopped off and finally the Reign of Terror was over.


The Terror was designed to fight the enemies of the revolution. The French Revolution promised democracy, but it did not happen immediately. The region of terror represented something horrible in the lives of many people. This ruler killed many people. After his death the Tower was still used but not as much as before.

The French Revolution

1. During the French revolution there were many different kind of social classes. The three estates were the clergy, nobility, and the bourgeoisie. Many people in France were critical of the nobility which were the upper class. It numbered around 400,000 people. They were wealthy and had a lot of money so they didn't have to pay taxes. They were one of the members of society that had many privileges. They didn’t have to do military service. They holded positions of importance like officers in an army. Kings didn't have to pay taxes either they recieved them.They lived in beautiful palaces and took control of all of France. They ruled absolutely everything. The peasents were treated unfair because they were poor. They were the church peasants and the lowest class. They made up 90% of the population. They had to pay taxes and feudal dues. They had to use the lord’s mill, oven, and winepress and pay for it.

2. Something that the French peasants might have been mad about in 1969 would be that they were really poor and they had to pay taxes and feudal dues to the king. They had to work really hard and give most of there money to the king who was already rich. They were the lowest class with the most population and yet had to pay so much money. They were forced to do military service and could not hunt or fish on noble’s estates.

3. The point that the cartoonist is trying to make is that the peasant is carrying the Nobel and the lord. There mad that they have to pay taxes and that the king has to pay nothing. All the poor people had to pay 50% of taxes. “One hopes this will end soon” is the quote they use to describe the cartoon. The peasants want this unfairness to go away it is too much for them to carry. The money that was collected from them went to the nobles, king and lord. They hope for the king to loose absolute power so that they won’t have to pay anymore taxes.

4. The lives of the French peasants was very bad. All there money went to the kings. They had to pay taxes and feudal dues to the king. They had many dues to pay. For example the 20kg of wheat, three chickens and 60kg of oats. Peasants only lived with a cow, a little peace of land, and a poorhouse. They were being crushed with all the things they had to pay.

5. Sources A, B, and C represent why poor people in France resented the rich. Peasants worked really hard and all they got for there income was 200 livres while the priest and marquis got about 20,000 livres. “The taxes and feudal dues are crushing us.” Peasants had little to enjoy because all there money went to the king. They were left with almost nothing from there income. All peasants hoped for the King to loose absolute power so that they wouldn’t have to pay taxes and feudal dues. They had no freedom.

6. Voltaire wanted France to have a more “democratic” form of government. Someone that agreed with him were the peasants. They wanted to choose there own government they didn’t want to have a king or someone to rule over them. They didn’t want to have to pay taxes. They wanted a normal good life. If they didn’t like there government they had the right to change him over someone else.

7. The pamphlet was banned in 1775 because it went against what the French people believed in. The king didn’t really care what the peasants thought because he had absolute power over everything. All he cared about was that he received his taxes and feudal dues. The peasants wanted to fight for there rights and in what they believed in was fair. The other states wanted to ban it because they wanted the peasant to do all the work. The king didn’t do anything because he depended on all the peasants.