Hi, I wrote the enclosed essay for history class. I was wondering what sort of grade you would give it and why. Thanks so much. </p>
It was the 2005 C&C essay question on Mongol effects on Russia and China. </p>
The Mongols affected China and Russia in many ways as a result of their desire to become a dominant economic power. The Mongols were primarily motivated by economic growth through taxation and their actions were geared toward the unique attributes of each of the societies in order to generate more wealth which could be taxed. To this end, the Mongols were flexible and pragmatic in their outlook with regard to conquered peoples, remaining open to the practice of different religions co-existing in their empire, and though they repudiated the Confucian bureaucracy, they recognized its value and adopted some of the core administrative principles; they recognized the value of merchant and artisan classes; and they committed significant resources to the Silk Road trade routes, including ensuring a safe environment to conduct commerce. In essence, the Mongols made policy and military decisions that were necessary to further their objective of becoming a dominant economic power.</p>
Both China and Russia were invaded violently by the Mongols and were under direct Mongol rule and authority. In China the Mongols eliminated the civil service exam and kicked the bureaucratic elite to the curb, while in Russia the Mongols installed a new dual system of regional administration and eventually let the local princes run the territories. This is because the Mongols were mostly concerned about collecting taxes from the Russians, and as long as they could rely on the Russians to pay taxes, they were satisfied with letting them essentially govern themselves. </p>
The Mongols allowance of the Russians to govern themselves caused the princes and church leaders to actually become harsher on their people for taxes. The Russian peasants were neglected and forced to pay taxes to both their Mongol overlords and local princes in Russia. In contrast, the Mongols were highly supportive of the Chinese peasant class believing their success and prosperity would increase tax revenue. The Mongols also supported the Chinese artisan and merchant class, who had been considered parasites in the pre-Mongol China, believing that they would increase profits in commerce. </p>
The Mongols created an environment to facilitate trade along the Silk Road, benefitting both the Russians and Chinese. This period of peace and prosperity along the Silk Road was called Pax Mongolica. The Mongols even developed a mail system that was an extremely efficient system. The Mongols were responsible for connecting the east and west. The Chinese people benefited more than Russia from Pax Mongolica because they had more goods to trade. </p>
The Mongols were religiously tolerant and allowed both China and Russia to practice their own religions but only in Russia was the dominant state religion, orthodox Christianity, able to increase its power. Although the Mongols were Tibetan Buddhists, they embraced Islamic followers and put them in important government positions. They did this because their primary objective was to increase commerce. Whether they meant to or not, the Mongols facilitated open exchange of ideas and cultures. </p>
In conclusion the Mongols were primarily focused on the wealth more so than anything else. The Mongols adapted their governing methods for each society, with the goal to promote trade which, in turn, increased tax revenues. Their contribution to world history was enormous due to their building up the Silk Road. The road helped because it allowed for commerce to be more effectively carried out which increased revenue and the economies of each society, which in turn brought more taxes making the Mongols a dominant economic power during that time.</p>