Ottoman Empire Vs China Essay
Both witnessing the decline of power, the Ottoman Empire and China experienced serious economic and political issues. The Ottoman Empire and China were among the most prosperous empires in the world, militarily eclipsing European countries in ancient times. However, due to similar reasons and idiosyncratic factors, the two empires saw the downfalls.
To begin with, economically, the Ottoman Empire and China deteriorated from inside. However, the declines were different. The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest countries with abundant metal raw materials in the Middle East, attracting Phoenician and European traders. Especially, after 1750 when the Columbian Exchange saw its heyday and European skewed merchants brought a fair amount of gold …show more content…
In the Ottoman Empire, corruption occurred as the result of the state mercantilism and overdue consumption of European luxuries. With fixed income, bureaucrats found new ways of gaining wealth such as ignorance of black market. The people in the black market bribed the local officials to maintain the trade with the enrichment of governors’ wealth. Therefore, the bureaucrats became extremely reluctant to facilitate the economic activities unless they were bribed, leading to severe administrative inefficiency. Similarly, the Chinese corruption only caused more disasters. Due to the exponential growth of population, the increase of impoverished rural population granted burden of the weak local governments. The landowners and military strongmen gained exceptional social status by bribing the bureaucrats. The government neglected public constructions and training of the military, dragging down the administrative efficiency.Gradually did the landowners take power and control the decision of the local government. The lack of efficiency worsened the conditions of the impoverished farmers, causing severe famine, diseases, and land pressure. The bureaucratic corruption was, in essence, caused by economic instability, pushing the governors to pursue illegal
To begin with, economically, the Ottoman Empire and China deteriorated from inside. However, the declines were different. The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest countries with abundant metal raw materials in the Middle East, attracting Phoenician and European traders. Especially, after 1750 when the Columbian Exchange saw its heyday and European skewed merchants brought a fair amount of gold …show more content…
In the Ottoman Empire, corruption occurred as the result of the state mercantilism and overdue consumption of European luxuries. With fixed income, bureaucrats found new ways of gaining wealth such as ignorance of black market. The people in the black market bribed the local officials to maintain the trade with the enrichment of governors’ wealth. Therefore, the bureaucrats became extremely reluctant to facilitate the economic activities unless they were bribed, leading to severe administrative inefficiency. Similarly, the Chinese corruption only caused more disasters. Due to the exponential growth of population, the increase of impoverished rural population granted burden of the weak local governments. The landowners and military strongmen gained exceptional social status by bribing the bureaucrats. The government neglected public constructions and training of the military, dragging down the administrative efficiency.Gradually did the landowners take power and control the decision of the local government. The lack of efficiency worsened the conditions of the impoverished farmers, causing severe famine, diseases, and land pressure. The bureaucratic corruption was, in essence, caused by economic instability, pushing the governors to pursue illegal