Centralizing Control in East and South Asia

Following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty, the Ming ruled in China from 1368–1644. The Ming Dynasty in China wanted to erase the influence of Mongol rulers of the Yuan Dynasty. To help accomplish this goal, the Ming brought back the traditional civil service exam, improved education by establishing a national school system, and reestablished the bureaucracy, which had fallen into disuse under the Mongols. (See Topic 2.2.) During the Qing Dynasty, in the later part of Qianlong’s reign, the traditionally efficient Chinese bureaucracy became corrupt, levying high taxes on the people. The Qing government used harsh military control to put down a rebellion against these developments and maintain its authority.

Consolidating Power in Japan Military leaders called shoguns ruled Japan in the emperor’s name from the 12th to the 15th centuries. Yet conflict between landholding aristocrats called daimyo left Japan in disarray. Each daimyo had an army of warriors (known as samurai); ambition to conquer more territory; and power to rule his fiefdoms as he saw fit. The samurai were salaried, paid first in rice and later in gold, which gave them significant economic power. Finally, just as gunpowder weapons enabled the rise of new empires in Turkey, Persia, and India, gunpowder weapons helped a series of three powerful daimyo to gradually unify Japan. (Connect: Write a paragraph connecting shogun rule with the rule of the daimyo. See Topic 1.1.)

The first of these powerful daimyo was Oda Nobunaga. Armed with muskets purchased from Portuguese traders, Nobunaga and his samurai took over Kyoto in 1568. He then began to extend his power, forcing daimyo in the lands around Kyoto to submit. Nobunaga had unified about one-third of what is today Japan when he was assassinated in 1582.

Nobunaga’s successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, continued expanding the territory until most of what we now know as Japan was under his control. After his death in 1598, the center of power shifted to the city of Edo (Tokyo), controlled by the daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu (ruled 1600–1616), who was declared shogun in 1603. His successors would continue to rule Japan into the mid-19th century, in an era known as the Period of Great Peace.

The Tokugawa shogunate set about reorganizing the governance of Japan in order to centralize control over what was essentially a feudal system. Japan was divided into 250 hans, or territories, each of which was controlled by a daimyo who had his own army and was fairly independent. However, the Tokugawa government required that daimyo maintain residences both in their home territory and also in the capital; if the daimyo himself was visiting his home territory, his family had to stay in Tokyo, essentially as hostages. This kept the daimyo under the control of the shogunate, reducing them to landlords who managed the hans, rather than independent leaders.

Consolidating Mughal Power in South Asia Ruling from 1556 to 1605, Akbar proved to be the most capable of the Mughal rulers. For the first 40 years of his rule, he defeated Hindu armies and extended his empire southward and westward. From his capital in Delhi, Akbar established an efficient government and a system of fairly administered laws. For example, all his people had the right to appeal to him for final judgment in any lawsuit. As Akbar’s fame spread, capable men from many parts of Central Asia came to serve him. They helped Akbar create a strong, centralized government and an effective civil service. Paid government officials called zamindars were in charge of specific duties, such as taxation, construction, and the water supply.

Later, they were given grants of land rather than salaries but were permitted to keep a portion of the taxes paid by local peasants, who contributed one- third of their produce to the government. The system worked well under Akbar. Under the rulers who came after him, though, the zamindars began to keep more of the taxes that they collected. With this money, they built personal armies of soldiers and civilians loyal to them.