A photo taken on June 24, 1900 shows the headquarters of the Japanese Legation, which was burned by the Boxers (Getty)

The "Boxer Revolution" was a popular uprising against the growing Western and Japanese influence in northern China during the last period of the Qing dynasty.

It began in 1899 and ended in 1901. It was headed by a group that revolted against imperialism and the spread of Christianity, and eight countries responded by agreeing to silence it. It

ended with the killing of 100,000 people, most of them civilians.

It was called the "Boxer Revolution" ("Yetihuan" in Chinese) because its members performed intense physical exercises in the belief that it would make them able to withstand bullets and property destruction.

the reasons

China lived for centuries of prosperity and isolation, but in the 19th century it retreated before the European powers, which forced it to accept several conditions to open its doors to foreign trade, including ceding Hong Kong and Kowloon, paying huge reparations, and accepting the opium trade that led to the “First Opium War.”

That war was the beginning of foreign intervention and the beginning of what China called the “Century of Insult,” in which the British Navy defeated Beijing, and foreign ambitions against it did not stop from then on, and China lost Asian control after its defeat in the Sino-Japanese War.

“Great China” came under the authority and control of 8 Western countries at that time - to varying degrees - namely Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Japan, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the United States of America.

An expressive drawing published in 1915 embodying the Boxer Revolution (Getty)

At that time, the Boxers Association was formed in northern China, and its primary motive was to reject the increasing foreign presence in China at that time, especially the attempts of Western commercial hegemony and the imposition of Christianity on the country.

While China was fighting to resist the colonialists, the country suffered because it lacked an army due to the large number of casualties from its previous wars.

This increased the growing hatred of Chinese villagers in northern China against Christians who ignored their obligation to pay taxes.

Which led to the deterioration of economic and living conditions due to Western countries’ control over all sectors of the Chinese economy.

The beginning of the war

The series of wars and treaties signed by the country sparked a fire of anger in the hearts of the Chinese people. They revolted against the foreign presence, and their hatred against foreigners and Christians increased over time, until the “Chinese Christians” were considered traitors and agents of the West.

It seemed clear that a social explosion was imminent, in light of the economic deterioration, spoilage of agricultural crops, and drought, until famine struck the country.

In the late 19th century, movements began to become active demanding the rights of the Chinese people, and revolutionary groups emerged, most notably the “Boxers” group, which relied on a religious basis and called for the preservation of traditional Chinese values.

The first thing it demanded was to kill foreigners and prevent them from entering the country, considering it to be the reason for the deteriorating conditions of the empire.

The "Boxers" group arose in Shandong Province, located on the northern coast of China, at a time when the strength of German influence on the city increased, and after the killing of two German missionaries there, Germany occupied the city's port and made it a de facto German colony, which sparked a race between European powers to win... Similar areas in China.

Defenses built by the "Boxers" on a wall near the South Gate in the capital, Beijing, around 1901 (Getty)

The "Boxers" attracted unemployed people and those dissatisfied with foreign occupation, and the group initially attacked the Chinese government, but soon found in the conservative Empress Dowager Cixi an ally, so they immediately raised the slogan "Support the Qing and fight foreigners."

The support of the Empress Dowager helped spread the ideas of the group, but the absolute power that European missionaries obtained from the Chinese government because of its fear of the West increased the conversion of many to Christianity in order to obtain the privileges provided by the missionaries, and the feeling of anger and injustice escalated among the Chinese people.

The group then began attacking Christians, destroying churches, and killing worshipers and clergy. After pressure from Western countries, the Chinese government was forced to confront the group at the end of 1899, which prompted the Boxers to move north toward the capital, Beijing, and the city of Tianjin, which was under Japanese control. At that time, it was the headquarters of foreign missions and embassies of Western countries.

From there, the power of the "Boxers" began to increase, and conservative forces hostile to foreigners took control of the Chinese government and convinced the "Boxers" to abandon their opposition to the Qing dynasty and ally with it to expel the foreigners, but despite the protests of the Western powers, the Empress Dowager encouraged the group, prevented the advance of foreign forces, and stopped the introduction of Any relief aid for Westerners in the capital.

Meanwhile, the Boxers burned churches, railway stations, residences and property of foreigners, killed Chinese Christians, and besieged the official residence areas of foreign diplomats.

A procession carrying gifts to indigenous Chinese people in the city of Tianjin (Getty)

The most important stations

The "Boxers" turned their attention to the foreign diplomats, and began preparing to attack the fortified city of Beijing. The foreign envoys in the capital sensed danger and requested foreign forces to protect them. In May 1900, the Chinese government hesitantly agreed to the introduction of protection forces, and approximately 400 foreign soldiers arrived from The eight countries come from fleets stationed around China.

As soon as the revolutionaries approached the mission headquarters, they surrounded it and began to sabotage it, killing any foreigner in the city, and blocking the way for any reinforcements to arrive by destroying the railway line there.

Within a few days, the British officer in the Indian Army, Alfred Gassell, sent a request for help. He gathered more than 20,000 soldiers and directed them towards the city of Tianjin, but they failed to arrive due to the destruction of the railways, so they withdrew.

At the beginning of the events in the capital against diplomats and foreigners, the Chinese army did not have a clear position, but later it concluded a formal alliance with the “Boxers” against foreign forces, and the Chinese Empire declared war on all Western countries, including Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium, which were countries that had missions. Diplomacy in China.

One of the first things the Chinese government did after cooperating with the Boxers was to issue an order to evacuate foreigners from the country, giving diplomatic missions 24 hours to leave, which was almost impossible because the foreigners were besieged in Beijing.

The foreigners refused to leave Beijing, so Chinese forces opened fire on them and attacked the headquarters of foreign missions, causing casualties. When the German ambassador tried to resume negotiations from outside the city, the Chinese revolutionaries killed him.

The road in front of the English embassy in the Chinese capital, Beijing, at the beginning of the twentieth century (Getty)

Although the Chinese Emperor Guang Shu (Cixi's nephew and she appointed him herself) issued a decision to support the "Boxer Revolution", some of the Chinese army commanders and senior officials refused to implement it, especially in southern China, where they saw that the decision was ill-considered and declared disobedience against the empire.

On the other hand, some army commanders tried to impede the attack on foreign headquarters, and delayed supplying heavy weapons to Western forces.

They are credited with rescuing foreign civilians, and the Empress herself is said to have sent shipments of fruit and food to aid the besieged city.

The siege lasted 55 days, during which foreign citizens and Chinese Christians suffered from hunger and terror in light of the threats and killing of 60 foreigners and hundreds of Chinese Christians.

The "Boxers" and their allies from the army continued their attempts to penetrate the headquarters and succeeded in putting pressure on the foreign protection forces. The safe zone shrank day after day, and the forces lost large numbers with no indication that foreign aid would arrive soon.

The eight coalition countries agreed to launch a joint attack on China.

A joint international force of between 20 and 50 thousand fighters began to make its way through China.

Most were from Japan, Russia and British India, due to their proximity to China.

The coalition forces succeeded in stopping the Chinese resistance and occupying one city after another, and the matter turned into a race between the major powers over who would reach the mission headquarters in Beijing first.

Britain was the first to arrive on August 14, 1900.

As the international force approached the capital, the imperial family fled with most of the senior officials and army commanders, and thousands of “Boxers” were left to defend the city, along with a group of the Chinese army.

The "Boxers" and the Chinese army were quickly eliminated, and international forces entered Beijing and launched a campaign headed by Japan and Russia, targeting Chinese civilians, looting and destroying the city, and embarking on mass execution campaigns in which they beheaded a number of the "Boxers" and their leaders, and committed rape crimes.

During the signing of the “Boxer Protocol” in Beijing to stop the “Boxer Revolution” (Getty)

human losses

Up to 100,000 were killed, the majority of them civilians, including thousands of Chinese Christians and 200 to 250 foreign nationals, and about 3,000 military personnel, mostly "Boxers" and other Chinese fighters, were killed.

Results

The Boxer Rebellion had major impacts on the economy and politics of China, as the rebellion disrupted the country's trade and economic activities, causing serious damage to its economy.

The Boxer Rebellion also had a major impact on Chinese politics.

In addition to the growing tension between the traditional way of life and the encroachment of Western imperialism on China.

The Qing dynasty, which was ruling China at the time and was suffering from internal conflicts over power, was seen as unable to deal with foreign powers, and was blamed for the humiliation to which the country was subjected. This led to the fall of the dynasty, and it was replaced by the Republic of China in 1912. .

International intervention in China led to the signing of the “Boxer Protocol” on September 7, 1901, which forced China to pay compensation to countries that participated in the suppression of the revolution, and imposed a two-year arms embargo on it.

The protocol also granted the diplomatic missions of the countries participating in the war privileges, including monitoring Chinese financial management, executing a number of leaders of the revolution, destroying Chinese military fortifications, establishing more privileges outside the territorial borders of foreign powers in the country, especially those overlooking the coasts, and placing foreign forces in the country. Diplomatic missions district in Beijing.

Among the most important results of the "Boxer Revolution":

  • It prevented a single European country from controlling China.

  • The Chinese government was forced to undertake some reforms such as reforming the army and the education system.

  • The Chinese people realized that the path of revolution was the best way to save their country from its problems, as this revolution paved the way for a major uprising and revolution in 1911.

Source: websites