Introduction Take a step back and look at the history of Eurasia as a whole, however, and a different picture emerges. One sees that the steppes play a central part. Moreover, one can see that their influence is not merely destructive, but contains much that is constructive as well. So what, actually, was going on […]
Manchu
Modern China
The Late Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty reached its height in the late 18th century, at which time the government of China controlled a larger portion of the Earth’s surface than ever before or since. The Opium Wars By the end of that century, however, trouble was brewing. Large-scale peasant uprisings were beginning to break […]
Ming Dynasty China
The declining quality of Mongol rule led to massive revolts in China and neighboring lands. Finally, in 1368, the Mongol court was driven out of China, back into central Asia. The leader of the revolt against the Mongols founded the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). This dynasty is noted for some spectacular achievements. In the early 15th […]
Qing Dynasty China
The Manchu people were a non-Chinese people closely related to the Mongols. At some point in the 16th century they migrated to the east, to what is today the region of Manchuria, in northern China. There, they settled down and organized a state modeled along Chinese lines. In the mid-17th century, the Ming empire of […]