Foundations; Compare Meiji Restoration Founding German Reich. Essay

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Foundations; Compare Meiji Restoration founding German Reich. Identify similarities differences origin nature events. Refer social groups involved nature wrought social political structures created.

The Meiji Restoration and the German Reich

The Meiji Restoration Period is relatively similar to the founding of the German Reich when considering the fact that both eras brought significant reform in these countries and made it possible for them to experience great technological advancements as a consequence. The two nations were going through difficult times at the moment when restructuring took place. Japan had little military resources in 1868, was focused on agriculture, and had almost no technological development. Similarly, Germany was predominantly rural in 1871, possessed a weakened military system, and was largely underdeveloped in comparison to some of the greatest powers at the time. Even with that, Germany was already experiencing progress by the time when the empire was founded, as its industry and its economy had ascended during the previous two decades.

Germany and Japan went through important revolution events during the nineteenth century with the purpose of removing feudal systems in favor of adopting capitalist attitudes. The Germans saw Otto von Bismarck, a Prussian chancellor, as he led several wars lasting from 1864 until 1871 and influencing the country's communities in uniting under the Hohenzollern monarchy. The country's structure experienced significant restructuring as a result of this episode. Violence was also important in changing conditions in Japan, as the individuals responsible for assisting the state in achieving progress belonged to an old warrior social group. This community promoted the image of the Meiji Emperor and succeeded in removing the feudal regime in the 1867-1868 time periods. Japan reinforced its military consequent to this and was enabled to defend itself in the face of Western powers. Its success also led to the emergence of a Japanese bourgeoisie focused on the industrial aspect of the reformation. By the start of the twentieth century, Germany became the most powerful capitalist nation in Europe and Japan was the only industrial capitalist power on the Asian continent.

In spite of the fact that he managed to stay in power across more than half of the nineteenth century, the Tokugawa shogun in Japan lost influence over the country in 1868 and allowed the emperor to return to his position as supreme leader over his country.

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Feudal lords were in control of the country's communities at the time and they exercised a type of semi-independence over their territories. Considering overall conditions in Japan at the time, it appears that the Japanese were not necessarily prepared to experience reform. While they did not enjoy their lifestyle, most of them considered that they did not have enough power to turn against the feudal system. In contrast to the Japanese, the Germans were determined to found a German Empire for several decades before this actually happened. Germany's series of defeats in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries severely fractured the German state. People started to rebel at the half of the nineteenth century with the purpose of replacing their kings with an individual that would control all German territories, but did not manage to experience success in their enterprises until 1871, when Wilhelm I was appointed as the first German Kaiser. Germany's series of victories in conflicts with France played an essential role in bringing its communities together. German kings did not necessarily support the unification of Germany, but had little influence over conditions in 1871, given that the masses were more and more determined to have the country's communities unite under a single German state.

The masses were expressing nationalist thinking at the time of German unification, but this was not necessarily the decisive factor leading to the foundation of the German Empire. State leaders in German states eventually agreed that it was better for them and for their people to agree to unite. Prussia had an influential power over state leaders across Germany and persuaded them in joining the Empire. The fact that the country's economic and industrial systems had already growing rapidly before the union took place contributed to having German leaders consider that it would be beneficial for them to unite under a single power.

Whereas Germany's states came to unite as a result of undergoing several victories against other European countries, Japan united as a consequence of being persecuted by Western states. Europe and the….....

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