The nineteenth century represents a turning point for the history of China and Japan with the arrival of Western powers in Pacific waters. Although the circumstances of both countries were very different, figuratively we could say that in the second half of the nineteenth century China lost the train of modernity due to its slow economic growth while Japan climbed quickly to the development plane.
Japan and contact with the West; At first they had had contact with some merchants from Holland, Russia and Great Britain. It was not until 1853-1854 with the Kangawa Treaty, and the US imposition. Through the military Matther Perry, that Japan opened its ports with commercial sights. All this caused a crisis in their traditional feudal structures, and a population that felt humiliated.
Many Americans left farms and headed to the cities because the industrial revolution opened up many jobs in the cities. Also, the industrial revolution created more farm technology that allowed farmers to do the day's work with fewer people. This led to mass unemployment and peoples' dispersal into cities. This also caused cities to grow.
