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🌍ap world history: modern review
5.6 Government's Role in Industrialization from 1750-1900
Verified for the 2025 AP World History: Modern exam•Citation:
Introduction: States as Engines of Industrialization
As the Industrial Revolution spread from Britain across the globe, some states adopted state-led industrialization—a model in which governments played a central role in promoting and managing industrial growth. This was especially true in places like Japan, Russia, and Egypt, where governments directly financed infrastructure, reorganized economies, and reformed social systems to catch up with Western powers. Unlike Britain, which industrialized largely through private enterprise, these countries saw industrialization as a means of state strengthening and protection from imperial domination.
Japan and the Meiji Restoration
From Isolation to Modernization
Japan had followed a policy of Sakoku, or national isolation, since the early 1600s, limiting foreign influence and prioritizing internal stability under the Tokugawa shogunate. However, when U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in 1853 demanding trade access, Japan faced the stark reality of Western industrial superiority. In response, Japanese elites launched the Meiji Restoration in 1868—a state-led effort to transform the country into a modern industrial power.
Meiji Reforms and Industrial Policies
During the Meiji period, Japan's government initiated sweeping reforms designed to centralize authority and modernize its institutions. The government:
- Abolished feudalism and replaced local rule with a centralized constitutional monarchy.
- Instituted equality before the law and a new legal code based on Western models.
- Created a conscription-based military modeled after European armies.
- Sponsored public education, emphasizing science and technical learning.
- Funded the development of key industries such as tea, silk, shipbuilding, and sake.
- Built railroads, roads, and telegraph lines to unify the country and expand commerce.
Government officials also studied Western systems through diplomatic missions adopting and adapting what they saw as most effective.
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Japan’s unique success lay in its ability to blend Western technology with strong national identity—allowing rapid modernization without foreign domination.
Social Dislocation: The Samurai in a Changing World
The samurai, once the elite warrior class, were marginalized by the end of feudalism and the formation of a modern conscripted army. Many lost their traditional privileges, stipends, and social role. While some adapted—becoming bureaucrats or officers—others resisted modernization.
Despite this cultural dislocation, the Meiji government succeeded in pushing forward industrialization. By the early 20th century, Japan had become a major power in Asia, capable of competing with Western nations both economically and militarily.
Russian Industrialization
Russia’s approach to industrialization was similarly state-driven, though less uniformly successful. Beginning in the 1860s under Tsar Alexander II, Russia undertook reforms to catch up with Western Europe.
Key Russian State Actions
- Emancipated the serfs in 1861, creating a mobile labor force.
- Heavily invested in infrastructure, especially the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
- Imposed tariffs and provided subsidies for iron, coal, and textile industries.
- Established state-owned factories and encouraged foreign investment, especially from France and Britain.
Despite rapid growth in cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russian industrialization remained uneven. Much of the countryside remained agrarian and impoverished, and inequality deepened. These issues would contribute to social unrest and revolution in the early 20th century.
Egypt and the Challenges of Semi-Colonial Industrialization
Muhammad Ali’s Ambitions
In the early 19th century, Muhammad Ali, a provincial ruler of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire, sought to industrialize Egypt to assert independence and strengthen the state.
He:
- Boosted cotton exports to finance domestic industrialization.
- Established weapons factories and textile mills.
- Invited foreign companies to construct railroads, canals, and dams.
While these efforts achieved some early success, they ultimately failed by the late 19th century.
Obstacles to Egyptian Industrialization
- Over-reliance on cotton left Egypt vulnerable to market swings.
- Heavy borrowing to fund industrial projects resulted in unsustainable debt.
- British economic interference—especially after the Anglo-Egyptian War (1882)—placed Egypt under de facto colonial control.
- Tariff agreements favored European imports over Egyptian exports.
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Egypt’s industrial ambitions were undercut by debt, colonial pressure, and unequal trade terms—highlighting how state-led industrialization could fail under imperial dominance.
Comparison: State-Led vs. Non-State-Led Industrialization
| Feature | Britain (Non-State-Led) | Japan (State-Led) |
|---|---|---|
| Political Structure | Liberal constitutional monarchy | Centralized constitutional monarchy (post-Meiji) |
| Main Drivers of Industry | Private capital, entrepreneurs | Government investment and subsidies |
| Role of Government | Laissez-faire economic policy | Central planning, state-owned or supported enterprises |
| Labor Source | Displaced rural workers from Enclosure Movement | Conscription system; literate workforce |
| Key Industries | Textiles, iron, coal | Silk, shipbuilding, tea, sake |
| Infrastructure Investment | Done by private investors | Done by government (roads, railroads, telegraph lines) |
| Outcome | Early industrial leader; global imperial power | Rapid modernization; imperial ambitions in East Asia |
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Same goal, different paths: While both Britain and Japan succeeded in industrializing, one did so through free-market capitalism, the other through deliberate government planning.