ELEVENWesternizing Reform in the
Nineteenth Century
Europe's power rose so dramatically between the sixteenth and nineteenth
centuries that every other part of the world had to adapt or go under. Some
human groups, such as the Fuegian Indians at the southern tip of South
America and the natives of Tasmania, were totally wiped out by white
people's diseases, alcohol, or deportation. Others, such as the North Ameri¬
can Indians and the Australian aborigines, lost nearly all their lands and lib¬
erties to English colonists. Some peoples mixed with the European settlers,
creating a hybrid culture, as in Brazil. Many Africans were uprooted, en¬
slaved, and shipped to distant lands. Such ancient countries as India, Java,
and Vietnam were absorbed into European empires. Japan kept its indepen¬
dence but copied Western ways on a large scale. Several other Asian states
tried to stay independent by grafting onto their traditional societies those
Western customs and institutions that they believed to be sources of power.
China, Thailand, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire followed this path, which
seemed moderate, logical, and appropriate for countries with deeply in¬
grained norms and values. Islam, for instance, was both a faith and a way of
life. Muslim countries wanted to strengthen their armies and navies, their
governments and economies, but not to cast off a lifestyle they had built up
and followed for centuries. Reformers had to choose with care the institu¬
tions and practices they borrowed from Europe, but they soon learned that
a westernizing program in, say, defense could not be blocked off from the
rest of society. Military, political, and economic reforms sparked reactions
in seemingly remote areas, often catching the reformers off guard.
What is reform? In a Western country, the reformers often come from out¬
side the power elite, challenge the system, and, if successful, change it. They
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