Watch: Samurai, Daimyo, Matthew Perry, and Nationalism

Nationalism wasn’t just something that happened in Europe. All over the world, old empires fell, and new nations arose. (And they often then turned to conquering their own empires). John Green describes some different understandings of how and why nationalism developed before turning toward Japan. In mid-nineteenth century Japan, the arrival of Matthew Perry and shock at the British defeat of China sparked a transformation. Japan transformed from an isolated, feudal state into a modern, empire-building nation-state in a few short decades.

This video provides an overview and evidence at the national level for responding to the Week 7 Problem: How were ideas about political identity and political experience transformed by the liberal and democratic revolutions that created nationalism and nation-states? It will help you compare the narratives of European nationalism with transformations in Asia, especially Japan. As you watch, look for ways nationalism in Japan differed from other parts of the world. You should find examples of how Japan learned from Western political revolutions and applied the lessons to its local context.

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

1. 2:37 How does John Green define nation-state?
2. 3:50 John Green gives two different theories for how people become a nation: organic process and government construction. What is some evidence he offers for each?
3. 7:43 What were some internal and external factors that made the Shogunate government of Japan unstable by the mid-nineteenth century?
4. 9:20 What changes did the Japanese nationalist rebels bring to Japan once they removed the shogunate?
5. 11:16 What connection does John Green make between Japanese nationalism, modernization, and empire?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. You’ve watched videos and read articles about the political revolutions of the eighteenth century. How do you think those political revolutions affected the types of nationalism that emerged in the nineteenth century?
2. John Green says that nationalism was a “global phenomenon”. How do you think it became global? What are some ways that ideas about nationalism might have spread so quickly to the Ottoman Empire, India, China, and Japan?