Ming Empire Dbq Analysis

The Ming empire faced internal issues that were similar to the Ottomans and Mughals, that caused major shifts in their government, economy, and ultimately their society. One of the biggest factors influencing this shift was the inflation of silver. The Ming emperor uses Spanish silver for their military expenses, and his subjects use it to pay their taxes. Due to this overuse and lack of steady supply, the price of silver went up. In Doc 4, Charles Mann explains that due to this inflation, the government ran out of money. This inflation also had an effect on agriculture, because the prices of grain fell drastically. Wang Xijue that the Ming government “requires silver for taxes but dispurses little in their expenditure,” and this results in lowered grain prices (Doc 6).

This inflation and eventual bankruptcy was a major internal influence on the Ming empire. Citizens of the Ming began revolting, and “mobs of peasant rebels [tore] violently through half a dozen provinces” (Doc 4). Another major change which negatively affected the Ming dynasty was the ending of all expeditions. Theodore Cook discusses this in Doc 5, and describes that Ming emperors forbade any voyages and the production of seagoing ships. They decided to focus on their internal state, rather than expanding and continuing their voyages and conquests. This shift had potential to benefit the Ming, but their economy was not strong enough, and when the Mongols began threatening them, their “land forces urgently needed financial support” (Doc 5). The inflation of silver, the revolts that followed, and the cancellation of any expeditions were the main internal factors that caused the transformation the Ming empire