The European Advance into Asia

I think we should start creating and preparing for the final exam right away. If we know the question(s), you will be looking for examples to support your answers as we read and discuss the textbook. Thoughts?

Chapter 13, The European Advance into Asia
Questions for Monday, 3/23:

1. How, why, and when did the Europeans arrive in Asia? What was the state of Asia's political, social, and economic development at that time? What does the phrase "gunpowder empire" imply about European aggression--and how did this differ from the normal characteristics of Indian Ocean trade?
2. What did Asia contribute to the European knowledge base and economic situation? What European behaviors shaped the views of Asians toward the West?
3. Why did the Europeans treat China and Japan differently from the Indonesians?
4. What were the characteristics of the Portuguese empire during the sixteenth century? The Portuguese intended to impose their monopoly of Asia's maritime trade. Why were they unable to do so? Why did their larger imperial enterprise ultimately fail, while they were able to retain their bases in Goa, Macao, and East Timur well after their European competitors had relinquished their centers of authority?
5. What was the Jesuit impact on China and Japan? What were the reasons for their initial successes and also their consequent failures? What was the Church's relationship with the early Spanish enterprise in the Philippines? What impact did the Jesuit accounts have on European society?
6. Why were the Dutch ultimately more successful in their Asian enterprise than their Portuguese predecessors? What was the focal point of their initial Asian interests and why? What was their initial relationship with the local political systems?
7. Why did the English East India Company have only limited success in the seventeenth century?

Chapter 14, British India
Questions for Wednesday, 3/25:

1. How did the pattern of British behavior in India change from their first encounters through the nineteenth century?
2. Why did the British attempt to rule through local power elites instead of directly?
3. Why did the Indian population fail to unite against British expansion? What did the British offer that the previous system did not?
4. How and why did the British eliminate French oper in India? What were the consequences relative to the transition in the British East India Company's presence in India?
5. How did the development of Orientalism affect early British colonial experiences in India? In contrast, how did this colonial presence begin to change Indian society? What impact did British utilitarianism have on the development of the British colonial administration?
6. How did India play a role in the Opij War between Qin China and the British?
7. What were the causes of the 1857 "Sepoy Mutiny?" Why did it fail? How did the revolt mark a transition in the British relationship with India?
8. How did British behavior in India subsequ3n5ly contribute to the development of a.s sense of Indian national identity?
9. Why did the British move their capital from Calcutta to Delhi? Was this a good choice? What were its consequences? How did New Delhi embody the ideal of the colonial Metropole, in contrast to neighboring Old Delhi?