The Russo-Japanese War

LO: Discuss the causes and consequences for Japan and the region of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-

1905)

Starter: Constructing a narrative diagram

Here are some event cardsTake them and sort them any way you want

Be prepared to explain WHY you have ordered them the way you have

Introduction•The Russo-Japanese war lasted from 1904-1905•It ended with defeat for Russia (and the 1905 revolution in Russia)•Human costs to both sides were enormous•US president Theodore Roosevelt negotiated the peace treaty •The consequences of the war would be dramatic

Major Causes

David Goldfrank •“The Russo-Japanese War was an imperialist war par excellence, the only war among Great Powers which was purely imperialistic without the primacy of domestic security….”

•“Only by a wild stretch of the imagination was Japan’s homeland seriously threatened by Russia’s policies”

Compare and contrast Goldfrank’s view of the causes of the Russo-Japanese war with those of Paine (last lesson).

Which of the following statements best fits:

a)Goldfrank and Paine are largely in agreement about the causes of the Russo-Japanese Warb)Goldfrank and Paine completely disagree about the causes of the Russo-Japanese Warc)Goldfrank and Paine have some areas of agreement and some of disagreementd)None of the above statements are accurate.

Course of the War• Began with Japanese surprise attack on February 8 on

Russian fleet.• Fighting in Manchuria and down the Liaotung Peninsula, • Russian fleet in P Arthur sunk from surrounding

mountaintops with the largest artillery• Battle of Mukden early in 1905, a quarter-million

Japanese confronted a Russian force of some 320,000 men.

• Russian Baltic fleet annihilated at Tsushima by Admiral Togo’s fleet

• Around 90,000 Japanese were killed in combat or by illness and bitter cold (Russian fatalities were even larger.)

Major Consequences-Russia• Revolution of 1905 leads

to reforms at home and the creation of a form of parliamentary government.

• The seeds of the later revolutions of 1917 are sown.

• Massive loss of international prestige. Did that loss of prestige make WW1 more likely?

Major Consequences-Japan

• Massive social protest- The Hibiya Riot• Increased feelings of racial superiority (see cartoon

above)• Japanese annexation of Korea 1910• Development of militarism would lead to terrible results

Major Consequences-The Region/World

• Russia recognized Korea as part of the Japanese sphere of influence

• Russia agreed to evacuate Manchuria. Japan would annex Korea in 1910,

• Russia also signed over its 25-yr leasehold rights to Port Arthur, including the naval base and the peninsula around it,

• Russia ceded the southern half of Sakhalin Island to Japan (to be regained by the USSR in 1952 under the Treaty of San Francisco following the Second World War).

• Japan without Russian competition was free to dominate the region

• Did other nations begin to underestimate Russia and did this influence the planning for WW1?

Concluding PointsList the causes and consequences of the

Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905

Rank them in order of importance (for causes) and significance (consequences) –Don’t forget to combine causes and consequences as you deem appropriate

Compare your ranking with the class and defend it! Why are your choices best?