• Railroads of the Glorious Empires in the late 19th Century: From the Great Game to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05

    Author(s):
    Semiha Karaoğlu (see profile)
    Date:
    2020
    Subject(s):
    Asia, Area studies, Central Asia, Imperialism, Japan, Japan
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    empires, expansionism, japanese empire, railroads, Asian studies, Central Asian studies, Japanese studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/chn5-sx29
    Abstract:
    Railroads have been an inevitable part of countries’ expansionist and imperialist policies throughout history. Easing commodity and mobility, railroads also provided the transfer of knowledge and became a means of intelligence sharing. In this view, it is plausible to observe a pattern where nations allocated budget for their railroad construction throughout history. Moreover, they also sought expansionist policies by constructing ‘trans’ railroads, connecting more extensive regions, or even continents. Hence, investigating railroads sheds light on world history, for it enables one to comprehend the ultimate motives countries had before embarking upon such endeavors. The present research, therefore, analyzes railroad construction focusing on the nineteenth century. It commences by introducing a brief history of the railroad construction around the globe. Then, it moves on to the Great Game theory and analyzes how the rivalry between the British and Russian Empires increased the speed of constructions with expansionist policies behind them. This research also elucidates what impacts railroads built by the Russian Empire had on the Empire of Japan, and how it led to the escalation of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Moreover, it focuses on the conflicts taking place between the Russian Empire and the United States with a connection to their impacts on the British Empire. In conclusion, the paper aims at discovering a trend showing how railroads shaped world history, taking into account the example of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    3 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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