The Boxer Rebellion in China

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The Boxer Rebellion in China

“China never wanted foreigners any more than foreigners wanted China men, and on this question I am with the Boxers every time. The Boxer is a patriot. He loves his country better than he does the countries of other people. I wish him success. The Boxer believes in driving us out of his country. I am a Boxer too, for I believe in driving him out of our country” – Mark Twain, Berkeley Lyceum, New York, Nov 23, 1900.

The Boxer Rebellion soul purpose was to liberate China from foreign influence. Foreign capitalists dictated corrupt government officials and controlled leading industrial parts of Northern China. Chinese overseers were upset over this issue and contemplated for a solution. A revolt was the key and the outcome of the Boxer Rebellion was disastrous for China and its dynasty. Countless officials were executed, extensive payments had to be made and in addition, foreign troops were stationed in China as the dynasty lost its control. To this extent, the Boxer Rebellion was a failure in its aftermath, although successful in its unification.

During the 1890’s, the Chinese people felt that foreigners not only had brought commercial and territorial demands but also had corroded the Chinese culture. Educated Chinese felt that foreigners humiliated China and they resented even the lowliest European clerk. China then was bombarded with European religion, science, and art from the Jesuit missionaries. As time passed, the power of China grew weaker because successive emperors failed to bring China into the modern world.

The Boxer Uprising of 1899-1900 was a turning point in China's history. Economic hardship, anti-foreign feeling, widespread belief in superstition by the uneducated lower class fueled this peasant rebellion. The Empress Dowager publicly opposed the Boxers, but her ministers convinced her to join forces in order to drive foreigners from China. In the early months of 1900, thousands of Boxers roamed the countryside, attacking Christians. When an international force of 2,100 soldiers attempted to land in China, the Empress Dowager ordered her imperial army to stop the foreign troops.

The "Boxer Rebellion" was the name the European and American newspapers gave to a religious, anti-foreign uprising in China in 1900. The Boxers were consisted mainly of martial artists that targeted Christian missionaries in Chi...

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...st like the two opium wars before, the consequences were drastic. The failure of the Boxer Rebellion brought increased foreign influence into China. This was an excuse for the powerful countries of Europe, American and Japan to interfere with and take partial control over China. The Qing dynasty was humiliated and lost its control. The mandate was slowly slipping away as European influence increased in regions of Canton and Kiakhta.

Throughout the nineteenth century, foreigners took control of China and forced the people to make humiliating concessions. Italy, Japan, and Russia all claimed exclusive trading rights to certain parts of China. They divided the nation into "spheres of influence" where they had exclusive trading rights. The Americans proposed an "Open Door Policy" where all nations would share China. Today, China is it is own country is a power in it is own right, with a huge say in world affairs. No doubt its experience in the Boxer rebellion as well as the two opium wars kindled its nationalistic feelings and sent it on it's long road to independence and power.

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