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Four Governments
In Unit 4, you studied how cultures around the world organized and governed themselves. The next six pages focus on four of those governmentsthe Incan Empire, Italian city-states, Tokugawa Japan, and the Ottoman Empire. How they functioned and the physical symbols they used to communicate their power are important themes. The chart below identifies some key characteristics of the four different governments, and the map locates them in time and place. Take notes on the similarities and differences between the four governments.
Key Characteristics
Incan Empire Italian City-States
varied by city: some had title of nobility, others of an elected position oligarchic
Tokugawa Japan
Shogun; emperor was a figurehead only militaristic
Ottoman Empire
Sultan
Title of Ruler Ruling Structure Basis of Authority
Inca
monarchical
bureaucratic
ruler believed to be descendant of the Sun god
inheritance or social status supported by financial influence Power was in the hands of the ruling family or of a few wealthy families of bankers and merchants. Many cities had constitutions and elected assemblies with little power.
absolute loyalty and devoted service of samurai to their daimyo Daimyo were the shoguns vassals and local administrators. Shogun controlled daimyos marriage alliances and the number of samurai each had.
military power
Officials reported from Distinctive the village level up to Feature of the king. Government Members of an ethnic group, or mitimas, were moved from their homes to other areas to increase agricultural output or put down rebellions. Children of Inca, local officials, and some others were taken to Cuzco for training.
Sultan owned everything of value (such as land and labor); his bureaucracy was in charge of managing and protecting it. Members of the bureaucracy derived status from the sultan but were his slaves along with their families.
To ensure cooperation, daimyos families were held hostage at court Heads of millets while daimyos administered their home regions. governed locally.
SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Charts
Drawing Conclusions How did the rulers of most of these governments keep themselves in power?
Monarchy in the Incan Empire, 14381535
The Incan monarchy was different from European monarchies. In the Incan Empire, all people worked for the state, either as farmers, or artisans making cloth, for example. Men also served as road builders, as messengers, or as soldiers. The state provided clothing, food, and any necessities in short supply. Every year, the amount of land every family had was reviewed to make sure it could produce enough food to live on.
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Oligarchy in the Italian City-States, 10001870
Oligarchy is government by a small group of people. In Venice, citizens elected a great council, but real power was held by the senate, which made all decisions. Only members of 125 to 150 wealthy and cultured families were eligible for membership.
Militarism in Tokugawa Japan, 16031867
A militaristic government is run by the military. All those in power under the Tokugawa shoguns were samurai. As the samurais work became more administrative than military, the Tokugawa rulers encouraged cultural pursuits such as poetry, calligraphy, and the tea ceremony to keep warlike tendencies in check.
Bureaucracy in the Ottoman Empire, 14511922
A bureaucratic government is organized into departments and offices staffed by workers who perform limited tasks. Because of the size of the empire, the Ottoman bureaucracy required tens of thousands of civil servants. The empire also supported and encouraged the arts.
1. In what ways did the Incan
government resemble the Ottoman bureaucracy?
2. What similarities and differences
were there in the way the sultans and shoguns controlled government officials?
3. What characteristic did the ruling
class of the Italian city-states and Tokugawa Japan have in common?
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UNIT 4
Comparing & Contrasting: Methods of Government
Structures of Government
All of the governments have officials at different levels with varying degrees of power and responsibility. Compare the governmental structure of the Ottoman bureaucracy with that of Tokugawa Shogunates militaristic government using the charts below.
Organization of the Ottoman Government
Sultan
Supreme military and political ruler
Imperial Council (Divan)
Advisers drawn from devshirme
Social / Military Administration
Local administrators/military Landowners/tax collectors
Religious / Judicial Administration
Heads of individual religious millets Muslim Jewish Christian
Organization of the Tokugawa Shogunate
Emperor
Held highest rank in society but had no political power
Shogun
Actual ruler
Daimyo
Large landowners
Samurai Warriors
Loyal to daimyo and shogun
Peasants
Four-fifths of the population
Merchants
Low status gradually gained influence
Artisans
Craftspeople such as artists and blacksmiths
SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Charts
1. Clarifying To whom were the heads of the millets answerable? 2. Drawing Conclusions How might the samurais loyalty to his daimyo conflict with his loyalty to the shogun?
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Artifacts of Power
The everyday objects used by members of government often serve a symbolic purpose. Note how the objects below communicated the rank and importance of the person who used them. Examine them and consider the effect they probably had on the people who saw them.
Japanese Sword
Beautiful weapons and armor were symbols of status and power in Tokugawa Japan. Swords were the special weapons of the samurai, who were the only people allowed to carry arms. Daimyo had artisans make fine swords with expensively decorated hilts and scabbards for ceremonial occasions.
Incan Headdress
1. How did the role of the sultan
compare with the role of the Japanese emperor?
Italian Medici Pitcher
As well as being great patrons of the fine arts, wealthy Italians surrounded themselves with luxurious practical objects. Even ordinary items, like a pitcher, were elaborately made of expensive materials.
2. What message were expensive
personal items meant to convey?
3. How does a household item like the
pitcher differ from a sword or headdress as a symbol of power?
All of the people in the Incan Empire were required to wear the clothing of their particular ethnic group. The patterns on clothes and headdresses immediately identified a persons place of birth and social rank.
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UNIT 4
Comparing & Contrasting: Methods of Government
Architecture of Government
A rulers castle or palace was a luxurious and safe home where he was surrounded by vassals who protected him. It was also a center of government where his administrators carried on their work under his supervision. Castles and palaces are a show of greatness. Large rooms that accommodate many guests demonstrate the rulers authority over many people. Rich decorations display the rulers wealth, refinement, and superior rank.
Japanese Palace
Osaka Castle was originally built by Toyotami Hideyoshi and has been rebuilt twice since then due to fire. It is surrounded by gardens, and the interior was known for its wall paintings and painted screens. During the Tokugawa period, the city of Osaka was a center of trade for agricultural and manufactured goods. The city was governed directly by the shoguns who owned the castle.
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Ottoman Palace
Topkapi Palace in modern Istanbul, Turkey, was the home of the Ottoman sultans. The buildings were built around several courtyards. Within the outer walls were gardens, a school for future officials, the treasury, and an arsenal. Elaborate paintings, woodwork, and tile designs decorated the walls and ceilings of rooms used by the sultan and his high officials.
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Descriptions of Government
The following passages were written by writers who were reflecting not only on the past, but also on places and events they had personally witnessed.
Machiavelli
In this excerpt from The Discourses, Italian writer Niccol Machiavelli discusses six types of governmentthree good and three bad.
[T]he three bad ones result from the degradation of the other three. . . . Thus monarchy becomes tyranny; aristocracy degenerates into oligarchy; and the popular government lapses readily into licentiousness [lack of restraint]. [S]agacious legislators . . . have chosen one that should partake of all of them, judging that to be the most stable and solid. In fact, when there is combined under the same constitution a prince, a nobility, and the power of the people, then these three powers will watch and keep each other reciprocally in check. DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION Why does Machiavelli think a combined government is the best type of government?
Garcilaso de la Vega
This description of government administration comes from Garcilasos history of the Inca.
[Local administrators] were obliged each lunar month to furnish their superiors . . . with a record of the births and deaths that had occurred in the territory administered by them. . . . [E]very two years . . . the wool from the royal herds was distributed in every village, in order that each person should be decently clothed during his entire life. It should be recalled that . . . the people . . . possessed only very few cattle, whereas the Incas and the Suns herds were . . . numerous. . . . Thus everyone was always provided with 1. How do Osaka Castle and Topkapi Palace project the clothing, shoes, food, and all that is importance of their owners? Explain. necessary in life. DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION What and how did the Incan authorities provide for the common peoples needs?
provide directly for peoples needs? Explain.
2. Does Machiavelli favor a system of government that would
EXTENSION ACTIVITY
Use the library to get some additional information about the government structure of the Incan Empire and Renaissance Venice. Then draw an organizational chart for each of those governments like the charts on page 580.
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