The Transition of Asia in The Age of Global Change and How Asia Transitioned

As the Europeans finally got to Asia, they tried to apply the same rules of invading Asia as they did other countries. The first step was to first influence the higher-elite class to convert to a foreign religion and the lower class will follow their example. However, the challenge was establishing a trading post in Asia since many ports had military ships around there docks to protect them from pirates and other dangers. So the Portuguese decided to set up trade in towns were the security was lack, like Ormuz and Goa. They took full advantage of these invasions and set up either factories or warehouses as place to store the valuable spices until they are shipped. They also wanted to colonize parts of Asia so that they could benefit from spices that many parts of the world desired. They proved to be much more of a challenge than most civilizations, because of their sense of unity.

Unlike many countries that feel prey to the Europeans, treachery Japan was a lot different; because they were isolated the Europeans did not have that much access to Japan. Another factor was that Japanese viewed the Europeans as “barbarians with hairy faces.” The Europeans also tried to use the “top down” method in the Chinese court. However, they were at the mercy of the imperial family, the family set boundaries for Europeans when it came to contact with the royals. Although they were partially successful many nobles in the Chinese court were openly hostile towards the foreigners. In a sense they were very ethnocentric about their culture, had a sense of unity and wanted it remain untouched by the invaders. Japan and China had the military power to drive the foreigners out.

Even though Japan was completely isolated and had mountainous terrain, China on the other hand did not have these defenses and had to defend themselves from European influences. The West used many means of bribery from giving the peasants food and trying into the good graces of the high-elite class. One of the ways China fell on its own was the Chinese bureaucracy could not handle pirate attacks and rebels that were attacking them from the inside their society. This happened without the influence of the Europeans. The Chinese government was starting to erode on its own because of corrupt officials and programs for the poor and working class dropped.

China could not really defend it from foreign intervention is because they could isolate themselves like Japan did, since they are an island. Europeans had more access to China since they are connected to the main land. Also the defense of ships on the ports had loophole holes. The Portuguese had better maneuverability and firepower on the water. The Chinese were weakened by these surprise attacks, since at times small Portuguese ships would appear and terrorize the ports. This stunt was meant to slow the development of the Chinese civilization and make it vulnerable.

After many countries that the Europeans have dominated they had finally meet there match when it came to Asia. Unlike many other civilizations many countries were very easily manipulated by the Europeans. This was not the case for China or Japan, because they valued their culture and way of life and did not allow foreign influence to dictate their future.