Despite introducing many modernizing reforms by the early 19th century, the state financial system still relied heavily on borrowing from European financial institutions and during this time incurred a large amount of debt to finance other projects. 

The first Ottoman constitution was introduced in 1876. It rejected the millet system and vested some power in the Senate but the Sultan remained a strong figure. 

The Jacobins and the Girondins were two political parties who emerged into prominence during the French Revolution. The Jacobins were considered the more radical of the two groups and are credited with encouraging bloodshed before and during the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror (1793-1794) was the most brutal part of the French Revolution. It was administered by the, rather inappropriately named, Committee for Public Safety which was headed by the infamous Maximilien Robespierre. During the Reign of Terror the Jacobins had the Girondins executed. Eventually the Committee for Public Safety would lose support of the French population and, to mark the end of the Reign of Terror, Robespierre was sentenced to death.

The Estates General had long been the governing parliamentary body of the French Kingdom, but unlike their English counterpart, the Estates General had limited power and could only be convened at the discretion of the monarch. At the beginning of the French Revolution the Estates General was replaced with the National Assembly (after the Third Estates - the common people - broke from the Estates General).

The Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) was the last ruling dynasty in Chinese history before the formation of the Republic of China.

Muhammad Ali was a general in the Ottoman army who eventually gained control over the territory of modern-day Egypt. His authority was temporarily approved by the Ottoman Empire and Ali set about establishing, reforming, and modernizing the Egyptian state.

In July 1792, under severe pressure from the city’s working class population, the vital city of Paris set up a new form of city-wide government. Known as the Paris Commune, this new system was comprised of a special committee, staffed with elected representatives from each of the city’s municipalities. Very swiftly, the Paris Commune became an extremely strong radical force, with a fixation on defending the city, as well as the entire country, from so-called “enemies” of the Revolution. Anyone suspected of dubious and/or anti-Revolutionary loyalty was forcibly intimidated by Commune members; the group soon added lengthy imprisonment and execution to its repertoire as well. As fear of the Commune spread, so too did the body’s fearsome reputation; before long, the Commune wielded a strong share of political dominance over the entire Revolutionary national government, sharing both its fervent, forceful ideals and its embrace of violent tactics.

The Jacobins were one of the most influential political groups in the era of the French Revolution. Formed by members of the Third Estate who had served in the National Constituent Assembly, the Jacobins were fervent devotees of Enlightenment principles; they especially idolized the French political thinker, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Inspired by Rousseau’s ideals of civic virtue and social equality, the Jacobins campaigned for the institution of a republic, a structure that they believed would most effectively and justly govern their people. After news of King Louis XVI’s attempted escape from Paris was revealed, many outraged French citizens threw their support behind the Jacobins’ republican plan.

The Edo period of Japanese history is also called the Tokugawa Period, or the Tokugawa Shogunate. It began in the late sixteenth century with the unification of Japan and continued until 1868 with the Meiji Restoration. The first characteristic of the Edo Period was Japan’s persistent isolationism and refusal to interact with European and American traders, imperialists, and missionaries. The second important characteristic was the distinct lack of military conflict, especially when compared to the feudal nature of Japanese society prior to unification. Unification had been completed under Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Wars between competing Daimyos had been common before the Tokugawa period (which begins at the end of the sixteenth century). After the unification of Japan and the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate, however, conflicts between competing landowners became increasingly less common.