Japan

Japan during the 19th century

At the beginning of the 19th century, Japan was as it always had been; it was ruled by a central bureaucracy, the taxes were base don agricultura and the samurái were paid by the shogunate.

After America bombarded the  Japanese capital, Japan got influenced by foreigns and in 1871 the Meiji –who was emperor at that time- created reforms.

These period was called the Meiji Restoration, this reforms said that feudalism was abolished, political power was centralized, the samurai were then abolished as a class who had to learn about science and tech. Also talked about a new nobility.

The government changed too. It was now a centralized imperial government with a new Parliament base don German models where the parliament could advise government but the major authority was given to the emperor. And in this changes, only 5% of Japanese men had the wealth to vote. There was also a constitution created.

This combination of changes made Japan go further in many ways, like the industry for example. There occurred an Industrial Revolution in Japan in which armaments updated and a modern Navy was created. Peasants given ownership of land, agricultural taxes were replaced by industrial taxes, etc.