Paper Example on Trade, Politics, and the Great Game: The Eastern Question Explored

Trade and politics are the primary driving factors behind the great game and the eastern question. The eastern question was between Britain, Germany, France, and Russia over the eastern Mediterranean control while the great game was between Britain and Russian over northern Asia frontier. The Vignette “Slaves, Opium, and the Course of World Trade” best describes the root cause of the Eastern question led in the Great Game. I choose The Vignette “Slaves, Opium, and the Course of World Trade” to understand the history, and it is essential to understand what transpired and led to the eruption of an era. The vignette describes the rushes for trade and raw materials by describing each European nation's commodities of trade, and Asia region they targeted for raw materials. Due to industrialization in Europe and the need for raw materials. The Asian regions of India, China, and the Ottoman Empire were famous for raw materials such as coffee, opium, cotton, and tobacco. Asia also had open trade routes by seas that joined North Africa rich in the slave trade, Asia rich in agriculture and jewelry, and Europe rich with industries.

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From the Vignette “Slaves, Opium, and the Course of World Trade” the British popularity and ability to control, the trade is portrayed popular making them a dominant power in the era. The vignette also describes other European nations interested in the Britain Mediterranean trade route such as Spain, Netherlands, and France. Although Britain was dominating and political and economic rivalries with Netherlands and France, they managed to control the rivalry for trade or some decade; however, Britain's superiority in trade set them apart from their trade partners. The European nation fought on who to control which region; however, Britain, which was a dominant economic and political state, managed to gain control of most lucrative areas and the trade route in the south of Asia through the Mediterranean in region blocking out rival states such as Russians and France. Also, vignette describes the introduction of the Ottoman Empire to opium trade and growth, a factor that made the Ottoman Empire region of interest.

The Vignette “The Siege of Vienna Made Palatable” has well described the events of the eastern question leading to the rise of the great game. The vignette outlines a series of events as they happened from the time of the Ottoman Empire to its fall and the confrontation between Britain and Russia over the strategic city of Balkan and trade rout control. The vignette describes the crisis that resulted in the eastern question and the introduction of the great game. The vignette describes the Ottoman Empire's quest to control Europe through trade and making of treaties until they reached the Habsburg Empire, a dominant empire in central Europe. To destabilize Europe, the Ottoman Empire began to fund France to lure them into joining hands with Britain and German and fighting against the Habsburg Empire. Ottoman in 1569 gave France individual trade rights, and European nations slowly began to penetrate the Ottoman Empire. The trade rights were extended later to Britain, Russian, and Dutch leaving Ottoman Empire disadvantaged in trade.

The Vignette “The Siege of Vienna Made Palatable” also describes how the Europeans displaced the Ottoman Empire in trade, pushing then farther into Asia. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the European begun to scramble on who to control significant trade routes, the black seas and the Mediterranean route to the south. Due to the scramble, European nations were confronted by crisis after crisis that led to the fall out between ally’s nations of Britain and France and Russian. This crisis let to the eastern question. The great game later followed the eastern question. As the European nations ventured in a series of crises, Britain and Russian emerged superior. Britain fought with the French over the Mediterranean, and the Indian trade and Britain won while the French turned their focus to North Africa for the slave trade. Russian and Britain were left fighting over the Ottoman Empire's control. Britain fought to keep the Russians to the north of the Ottoman Empire, blocking them from accessing India's trade routes.