Industrialization in Egypt and Japan
Driving Question: What were the intended and unintended effects of industrialization in Egypt and Japan?
While the Industrial Revolution started in the late eighteenth century, not all societies industrialized at once. All around the world, different factors such as access to resources and colonialism enabled some societies to industrialize faster and more efficiently than others. In this lesson, you will compare two societies that began the process of industrialization in the late nineteenth century.
Learning Objectives:
- Evaluate how industrialization spread.
- Use the historical thinking skill of comparison to explore how two different nations attempted to industrialize in the nineteenth century.
- Use a graphic biography to support, extend, or challenge the overarching narratives of this period.
Vocab Terms:
- capitalist
- factory
- imperialism
- industrialization
- manufacturing
- migration
- revolution
The Industrial Revolution was undeniably transformative—but it also came with unexpected consequences. Get ready to dive deeper by reflecting on what you already know and looking ahead to what’s next.
Did you know: Baseball’s extraordinary popularity in Japan led some schools to ban it and the government to pass restrictions in the 1930s to deal with student obsession with the sport. Teachers and officials worried that baseball was hurting academics, with students skipping class, staying in school extra years to play, and treating baseball as their most important subject. Let your students know that one of the impacts of the Meiji Restoration included teenagers choosing baseball over schoolwork.
If you want to move beyond the “Japan modernized successfully” story, you can share this: The Meiji state industrialized fast, but often through top-down reform, heavy taxation, military expansion, and the sacrifice of older social orders. The Iwasaki Yatarō graphic biography is a nice way to show that industrialization created winners and losers. He was among the new business elites, such as the future founders of zaibatsu firms (Mitsubishi, for example). These were large, family-controlled industrial organizations that dominated Japan’s economy until 1945.
Japan’s path to industrialization was unlike any other. Read the article and watch the video to discover what made it unique. Then take a closer look at one key figure through a graphic biography.
-
Guiding Questions
-
Before you watch
Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.
While you watch
Look for answers to these questions:
- What started the Meiji Restoration?
- What was the goal of the Meiji Restoration, and what were some ways Japan’s leaders wanted to accomplish this goal?
- How did baseball become part of the Meiji Restoration?
- What role did Ichiko school play in the story of baseball’s rise in Japan?
- Why was the Russo-Japanese War important? How was it connected to baseball?
After you watch
In your own words, describe how baseball was a metaphor for modernization in Japan.
-
Guiding Questions
-
Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- Why was the arrival of American warships such a shock to the Japanese?
- What domestic problems did Matthew Perry’s arrival worsen?
- How was the political system after the restoration different from the previous political system?
- What steps did the reformers take to modernize Japan?
- What measures did Japan take to modernize even though they lacked raw materials such as coal?
After you read
Respond to the following questions:
- What effect did the Meiji Restoration have on communities?
- Was the Meiji Restoration a political revolution? Why or why not?
-
Guiding Questions
-
Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the comic, paying attention to things like prominent colors, shapes, and types of text and fonts. How do you know where to start and in which direction to read? What’s in the gutters (the space between panels)? Who or what is the focus of the comic?
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- What were Iwasaki Yatarō’s origins?
- Why did many in late nineteenth-century Japan want to industrialize?
- What did Iwasaki Yatarō himself do, and how was he regarded by people in Nagasaki?
- What do you think is the meaning of the quote from Iwasaki’s biographer?
- How does the author use art to represent changes in both Japan and Iwasaki in this biography?
After you read
Respond to this question: How does this biography of Iwasaki Yatarō support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about industrialization in Japan specifically, and about the impact of industrialization on people and societies more generally?
Need to cover the important skill of historical comparison but feeling a little pressed for time? Read more on the comparison of Egypt and Japan in the Community Forum.
How did industrialization take different forms around the world? Explore Egypt’s unique path in the article, then compare what you’ve learned about Egypt and Japan in the activity.
-
Guiding Questions
-
Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- What steps did Muhammad Ali take to modernize Egypt?
- European banks loaned lots of money to help Muhammad Ali modernize Egypt. Why was this a bad thing for Egypt?
- What are the three explanations for this failure?
- How did some Islamic scholars react to Egypt’s failures?
After you read
Respond to these questions: Which of the three explanations given for the failure of Egypt’s industrialization is most convincing to you? Why?
Time to revisit your Unit Notebook. What’s new? What’s stayed the same?
