7. Japan: The Meiji Restoration (1868) and constitution (1889)
The Tokugawa Shogunate, also known as the Tokugawa Bakufu controlled Japan between 1603 and 1868. Society was characterised by a strict social order and isolation from the rest of the world. But during this time of peace, the economy grew rapidly; this caused changes in the distribution of wealth which in turn placed huge strains on the political and social structures of Tokugawa Japan. The arrival of Commodore Perry...