Peter The Great Vs Qianlong

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Peter the Great VS. Emperor Qianlong Looking back through the history of modern world cultures two figures stand out as being both influential and prosperous. These two important traits are just a few of the many characteristics leading myself to choose these historical figures. The figures are Russian Tsar Peter the Great and Emperor Qianlong of China. Both lead their countries to become world economic and military leaders and after their reign left the country in shambles. However, only one of these two figures can be better than the other so let’s find out who would win. To begin the discussion let 's start with Tsar Peter the Great. Peter the Great was born in Moscow, Russia in 1672. He later took the throne in 1685 and began his work …show more content…

To begin, Qianlong never put much time into monitoring his future successor so when he resigned he left the country with much corruption. This corruption was a huge set back to what had become an undoubtedly powerful empire. The biggest mistake that many historians believe Qianlong was in trusting the British. When the emperor of China opened the communication in the country he was only thinking of the short term effects. He did not think about the possible long term effects of turning down the British’s trade offers. Qianlong underestimated the power of the British fleets which would again pose problems after his reign had ended. When comparing these two rulers there are many similarities. Both were very powerful leaders who greatly helped their countries world powers. Qianlong and Peter the Great expanded the borders which showed their global dominance. They both also had very long prosperous reigns which allowed them to make the most out of their time in charge. Fortunately for China and Russia these two leaders had the best interest for their respected countries in mind or their rules could have been much …show more content…

First, Peter the Great thought very highly of taxes. For example, he issued the beard tax that changed the way people were to live their lives. These taxes also played a huge rule with widening the gap between the wealthy and the poor. Emperor Qianlong however is not known to have harshly taxed his citizens. In fact he was known to cancel taxes and rent charges because the treasury was so full. Another difference was that Qianlong decided that during much of his reign he would focus on building up the arts. The emperor was known to make paintings and write poetry in his spare time. Peter the Great on the other hand knew how far behind his country was and focused solely on making them a large global power. The tsar did not have the luxury of being secluded from most of the world so he was afraid of what could happen. Because of this fear he is very well known for building up a huge military