Topic 3.2_ Empires_ Administrations

Topic Overview

Empires and Administrations (1450-1750): Exploration of how various empires consolidated power during this period.

Definition: Monarchs were viewed as God's representatives on earth, holding both political and religious authority.
Implications:
- Monarchs considered above the law; any opposition seen as blasphemy.
- Justification for autocratic rule.

Control Mechanisms:
- Taxes: Mandatory revenue systems to fund governance and military.
- Military Control:
  - Established military as a profession with elite divisions for loyalty and higher pay.
  - Development of a standing army.
- Religious Support: Engage religious leaders to gain legitimacy.
- Building Projects: Utilize large-scale constructions to showcase power and influence.
- Bureaucracy:
  - Extensive networks of officials managing state affairs; often founded on loyal captives.
  - Bureaucratic roles filled by trusted individuals to maintain control.

Tudor Developments:
- Establishment of Justices of the Peace: Roles included maintaining peace, settling legal disputes, enforcing king's orders.
- Evolution over time to increase power and legitimacy of the monarch against the nobility.

English Bill of Rights:
- Limited monarch's powers and established parliamentary oversight.
- Assured legal protections for citizens, emphasizing due process for detention and taxation.
- Reinforced protections found in the Magna Carta.

System Overview:
- Complete authority vested in the king, employing the Divine Right.
- Introduced Intendants: Royal officials tasked with enforcing the king's directives, functioning as tax collectors.

Centralization of Power:
- Famous quote: "L'état, c'est moi" emphasizes his absolute rule.
- Strategies included keeping nobles close in court to reduce military rebellion or autonomy.
- Established a legacy that later weakened France.

Pre-Ivan IV Hierarchy:
- Boyars: Landowning nobles.
- Merchants: Middle economic class.
- Peasants/Serfs: Indentured to landlords with minimal freedom.

Conflict with Nobility:
- Seized power from the Boyars who opposed his expansionist policies.
- Founded Oprichnina: A secret police to enforce his rule and suppress dissent.

Struggles for Power:
- The Church sought to maintain traditional values.
- Boyars aimed to regain lost power.
- Romanovs pursued absolute authority.

Military and Religious Control:
- Defeated rivals, such as his half-sister, integrating opposition into his administration.
- Reclaimed Russian Orthodoxy while enforcing reforms that led to tensions with clergy.
- Reorganized Russia into administrative provinces, establishing loyalty through paid officials.

Recruitment of Janissaries:
- Christian boys were taken and trained to serve the Sultan and function as elite military units.
- Focus on providing administrative capabilities in conquered regions.

Civil Service Exam:
- Reinstituted under Ming to promote uniformity and competence within bureaucratic ranks.
- Struggled with corruption in Qing, showcasing the need for oversight and reform.

Feudal Structure:
- Daimyo: Landowning feudal lords wielding power.
- Samurai: Loyal warriors serving daimyo in a structured hierarchy.

Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu:
- Nobunaga: Utilized foreign technology to expand territory.
- Hideyoshi: Continued unification and moved the capital to Edo (Tokyo).
- Ieyasu: Established Tokugawa Shogunate, initiating a period of prolonged peace through feudal governance.

Centralized Power:
- Established a civil service with educated officials and allowed citizens to appeal directly to the emperor.
- Zamindars: Overseers of land revenue, faced issues of corruption over time.

Comparison of European and Asian Systems:
- Variations in governance styles, extent of bureaucratic influence, and cultural reliance on religious justification for authority.

Utilization of Religion for Legitimacy:
- Divine Right of Kings prevalent in Western Europe.
- Askia of Songhai illustrated effective use of Islam to substantiate power.

Construction of Iconic Structures:
- Versailles: French expression of monarchical power.
- St. Petersburg: Symbol of Peter the Great’s rule, showcasing forced labor techniques.
- Taj Mahal: Reflection of Mughal architecture, blending Islamic and Hindu styles.
- Topkapi Palace: Represents Ottoman artistic achievement and social culture.

Revenue Generation:
- Russia's fluctuation between fostering private industry and tax-based control over peasants.
- Tax farming practices in the Ottoman and Mughal empires leading to systemic corruption.
- Ming Dynasty’s use of land taxes by wealthy citizens to ensure state revenue.