4.7 - Changing Social Hierarchies

Social Classes and Minorities in Gunpowder Empires

Tension between the military elite and absolutist rulers existed in three Islamic empires: the Ottoman (Turkey), the Safavids (Iran), and the Mughals (India). They are called gunpowder empires because they succeeded militarily by using guns and cannons when they first became widely available.

Ottoman Society

• Warrior Aristocracy: The Ottoman social system was built around a warrior aristocracy competing for positions in the bureaucracy with the ulama, scholars, and experts in Islamic law.

• Janissaries: The elite military corps gained power and prestige, sometimes attempting coups against the sultans.

• Viziers: As sultans became ineffective, strong advisors called viziers gained influential positions in government.

• Timar System: The sultan granted land or tax revenues to those he favored, rewarding soldiers and ensuring loyalty.

Treatment of Religious Minorities

• Tolerance: The Ottomans were relatively tolerant of Jews and Christians, which contributed to their success.

• Conditions for Jews:

  • Invited to settle in Istanbul by Sultan Mehmed II after their expulsion from Spain in 1492.

  • Allowed to worship but faced restrictions: lived in specified areas, paid a jizya tax, and could not hold top positions in the empire.

Religious Toleration in the Mughal Empire

• Akbar the Great: Ruled 1556-1605, known for military and administrative achievements. He was tolerant of all religions, ended the jizya tax, and supported various religious communities.

Women in the Ottoman Empire

• Harem Politics: Women in the harem, including wives and concubines, played significant roles in promoting their children as heirs.

• Roxelana: A notable figure, originally enslaved, who rose to power and influence after marrying Suleiman the Magnificent.

Other Social Classes

• Merchants and Artisans: Formed a small middle class.

• Peasants: Generally poor and supported the Ottoman armies through tributes.

• Enslaved People: Captured from Central and Eastern Europe, and by Barbary pirates, many served in the navy or were sold to high-ranking officials.

Manchu Power and Conflicts in the Qing Dynasty

• Qing Dynasty: Ruled from 1644-1912, the Manchu people from Manchuria governed the majority Han Chinese and other ethnic groups.

• Qing Policies: Maintained Chinese civil service exams and bureaucracy, recruited Han Chinese to work alongside Manchus, but enforced cultural assimilation.

• Han Conflicts: Han Chinese faced severe intolerance and were required to wear their hair in queues as a sign of loyalty. Rebellions against Qing practices were met with brutal crackdowns by Han defectors supporting the Qing.

European Hierarchies

• Social Structure: Royalty at the top, followed by the aristocracy or nobility, who were wealthy landowners with special privileges.

• Power Dynamics: Nobles held power in the Netherlands and England, but faced challenges from the middle class, religious sects, and common people. Technological advances allowed rulers to centralize power, diminishing noble influence.

Growing Acceptance of Jews

• Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews: Expulsion from Spain led to the dispersion of Jews. Under the influence of the scientific revolution and Enlightenment, prejudices declined, and Jews began to move more freely in Europe, becoming important in banking and commerce.

Russian Social Classes

• Boyars: The noble landowning class at the top of the social pyramid, followed by merchants and then peasants.

• Serfs: Peasants who became serfs were bound to the land, providing labor to nobles and leading very hard lives.

• Ivan IV: Confiscated lands from boyar opponents and kept them under surveillance in Moscow to reduce their power.

Political and Economic Elites in the Americas

• Social Changes: European arrival, African slave labor, and disease outbreaks led to a new social hierarchy based on race and ancestry.

• Casta System: A social hierarchy in Latin America:

  • Peninsulares: Born on the Iberian peninsula.

  • Criollos: European ancestry, born in the Americas.

  • Castas: Mixed-race ancestry, including mestizos (European and indigenous), mulattoes (European and African), and zambos (indigenous and African).

  • Indigenous Peoples and Enslaved Africans: At the bottom of the hierarchy, facing higher taxes and tributes.