Что общего в целях реформ «танзимата» в Турции, Мухаммеда-Али в Египте, Таги-хана в Персии, реформ «самоусиления» в Китае и реформ Мэйдзи в Японии?

Is = was = will be
are = were = will be

There was a map on the wall.There were three rooms in our flat.There was little(я бы не употребил это слово) milk in the bottle.There were maps on the wall.There was one room in our flat.
There were many books in the bag.