Boxer Uprising

Question 1

BU bakcground - Boxer beliefs

Answer 1

• supported dynasty, violently opposed to foreigners
• against Westerners ( corrupt feng shui, shown in in floods and droughts in Shandong) and Chinese Christians, who defied Confucian ideals
• The simple nature of their rituals and roots in the countryside and market towns made them both familiar and accessible to ordinary people. - Fenby

Question 2

BU background - anti-foreign sentiment

Answer 2

• n the spring of 1899, the Germans caused further angerby launching a military expedition to protect their mine prospectors.
• Shandong saw an estimated 1,000 anti-foreign incidentsand protests.

Question 3

BU background - growth in Boxer power

Answer 3

• late 1899 o Viceroy of Shangdong went to Beijing and lauded the Boxers to Cixi with the support of the Ironhats
• Viceroy of Shangdong gave the Boxers large amounts of secret funding
• Manchu princes hired them as guards
• ‘Today China is extremely weak. We have only the people’s hearts and minds to depend upon. If we cast them aside and lose the people’s hearts, what can we use to sustain the country? Cxi

Question 4

BU war buildup

Answer 4

• Early June 1900 – ‘precautionary force’ dispatched from Britain moved to Beijing, beaten by Boxers, taken as an act of war
• · 17 June 1900 – British forces capture coastal forts and prepare to assault Beijing ·

21 June 1900 – Qing Dynasty declares war on all foreign powers

Question 5

BU war reasons for defeat

Answer 5

• foreigners had 54,000 soldiers, 51 ships

· Boxers fight back but refuse to use western weaponry, sticking to swords, blunderbusses, bows, spears and martial arts

o Cixi calls for regional warlords to send troops, but “realizing the futility of the conflict and anxious to preserve their lucrative financial ties with western merchants, most refused and instead employed their armies to protect foreigners in their regions.” (Ryan)

• Jung-luhad never been keen on the alliance with the Boxers, and his troops allowed flour, vegetables and water melon to be taken through their lines for a time

Question 6

BU war defeat

Answer 6

• 21 June -14 August 1900 siege
• 14 August 1900 – Chinese forces defeated easily by Europeans; Cixi, Guangxu and officials flee
• · Allies and foreigners rape, loot and pillage Beijing and the Forbidden City
• north-west, 32,000 converts were reported killed.

Question 7

BU outcome - Boxer Protocol

Answer 7

• imperial examinations suspended in all Boxer regions
• foreign troops perpetually stationed in China -

o Coastal defences not to be rebuilt -

o Indemnity (war reparations) of 450,000,000 silver dollars = twice annual govt revenue

• 2-year ban on arms imports

Question 8

BU consequences

Answer 8

• unfulfillment of rising nationalist tenderncies
• empire was pepperedby twenty-five concessions and leases
• China was obliged to get new foreign loansand commit more future revenue from customs, salt duties and other sources as collateral, further impoverishing the state.
• taxes raised by 15% to pay for indemnity