Yihetuan uprising. Boxer Rebellion in China Boxer Rebellion in China reasons

24.04.2024

Until the 19th century, China remained a closed country. It was impossible for not only Asians, but also Europeans to get here. However, already at the beginning of the century, representatives of foreign states began to invade the Celestial Empire. In this part of the world they advocated an active colonial policy. As a result, the country's domestic markets, which came under the influence of the British government, became controlled. Just at that time, the ancient Qing dynasty ruled in China, which, in turn, could not do anything against the equipment and weapons of Britain. On the battlefields, all battles were lost. The situation in the country was dangerous; the struggle against the invaders was constantly intensifying. Thus, socio-political movements swept throughout China, their main goal was to eliminate foreigners from the territory - Americans, Japanese, British.

The following societies opposed the colonialists:

yiminhui;
dadaohui;
Yihequan;
Yihetuan

All these groups were secret and fought for justice. In a more general sense of the word - for the liberation of the state. Many of their society members were actively involved in sports. And its rules were very similar to modern boxing. For this reason, foreigners called the Chinese quan or boxers, that is, those who perform physical exercises.

The Boxers or rebels believed in magic and spells, so the ideological component of their struggle was based on religion, sacraments and mysticism. By casting spells, they believed that they thereby acquired divine abilities. For example, they believed that their faith protected them from injury from firearms. Members of designated communities in China had a reputation for being invincible and invulnerable.

Causes of the Boxer Rebellion

Before the arrival of Europeans, China was considered a rather unique country. This has been observed in many areas of traditional Chinese culture. However, over time, dramatic changes began to occur here. First of all, they were associated with the transformation of the life of the country. So, the prerequisite for the start of the Boxer Rebellion was the economic factor. Significant changes began to occur in the life of the country's population. First, a network of railways was built and telegraph lines were laid. After this, mineral deposits began to be developed.

The activities of various foreign companies resulted in the following radical changes in the economy:

traditional crafts have ceased to be relevant, a huge number of people are left without work;
the porters and boatmen responsible for transporting goods turned out to be of no use to anyone;
the runners who delivered goods to various parts of the vast Empire were left without a livelihood;
Artisanal mining was in decline as the creation of industrial pools began

The listed factors were also aggravated due to other circumstances:

Significant famine in China, which worsened in the late 19th century;
Crop failures;
Overpopulation;
Floods and droughts;
Skirmishes with the armies of other states;
Strikes against missionary activities;

Arbitrariness on the part of German military personnel who were engaged in massive destruction of order in the country;
Indifference on the part of officials who profited from workers and peasants

All this became the cause of widespread popular discontent. A huge number of people killed merchants, priests, and caused explosions in mines. The impetus for the uprising was the reforms adopted by the Guangxu Emperor in 1898. His initiatives caused controversy in the government, after which he was instantly removed from power. Later, his place was taken by his wife, Empress Ci Xi. As for her, she fully supported radical methods of struggle in her country. Over time, troops began to overrun China, with armies conducting all sorts of dangerous maneuvers. In response, the Boxers organized a propaganda campaign, preparing to capture strategically important targets, including Beijing.

What were the goals of the Boxer Rebellion?

It opposed the destruction of the established patriarchal society;
Lamented for the return and preservation of the national Chinese way of life;
Campaigned against the rule of the famous Manchu dynasty that conquered China

The presented goals were pursued by Empress Ci Xi, who issued a special decree for this purpose, where rewards were assigned for the murder of foreigners.

Participants of the uprising

The social base of the Yihetuan uprising is inherently heterogeneous. Note that the foreign colonialists were opposed by poor peasants, soldiers returning from the front, and many other disadvantaged groups. The rebels attacked villages, robbed and killed locals.

This was due to the fact that the Hetuans firmly believed in their invulnerability, that they were immune to bullets and shells. This was even mentioned in the special charter of the organization. There was also a code of 10 rules that participants in the uprising had to follow unquestioningly.

The charter was drawn up with the participation of the government, which insisted on the content of the following points in the document:

Submit to command;
Do not attack the rest of the rebels;
Kill people of the Christian religion;
Give property to local authorities;
Take part in battles;
Observe the principles of Buddhism;
Help other participants in the uprising

Compliance with the designated rules was monitored by a group of people subordinate to the command. For disobedience, arrest, particularly severe punishment or death were imposed.

Beginning of the Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion began in 1898. It was at this time that rioters attacked engineers, as well as workers involved in the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway. At the same time, the Boxers persecuted Christian foreigners. These programs were distributed throughout the country - in workshops, government agencies and other places.

The rebels received powerful support from the government in the form of food, weapons, and permission for complete freedom of action. A special decree stated that the “boxers” were fulfilling their patriotic duty. June 20, 1900 was marked by the siege of the Embassy Quarter in Beijing, where rebels killed the German ambassador.

The Yihetuan people secured military support from government troops. Thus, the settlement of the quarter was maintained until mid-August 1900. In total it lasted 56 days. Since the embassy buildings were located in several places in the quarter, the besieged organized two fortified places:

the first included the embassies of the USA, Great Britain, and the Russian Empire;
to the second - Japan, Spain, France, Germany

Children and women were sent to the British embassy, where shelling did not reach.

The international military offensive against the rebellious Chinese began on July 15th. Then Russian soldiers crossed the Amur and invaded Manchuria. This is where the fights with boxers began.

In August, international troops began to break through to the Chinese capital. And blowing up the gates, they entered Beijing. The fighting lasted for several hours, which ultimately ended in the complete defeat of the rebels.

This whole difficult story ended with the empress hiding from the main palace, and the allied troops began to profit from mass atrocities. The Allies established their own rules. They managed to clear the territory of Beijing from the “Boxers”. Later, the participants in the uprising opened an offensive in Manchuria and even reached Blagoveshchensk. In this part of the country, fighting broke out between Russian troops and the Yihetuan.

Fighting in the Amur region

The Ihetuan people fired at ships sailing along the Amur River. The situation was aggravated by various proclamations of the “boxers”. Agents of the rebels said that a massive capture of the city was planned. Local residents organized themselves into detachments to participate in active battles.

Having liberated Beijing, Russian troops launched an offensive on the Amur. They occupied Manchuria. The empress dealt a blow to the rebels, noticing that the “boxers” began to lose. Then she switched sides to the foreigners. Moreover, she issued a law on the need to fight the rebels.

The official end date of the uprising is December 1901. The resistance continued for another year.

Results and significance of the Boxer Rebellion

The final protocol, called the “Boxer Protocol” in historiography, was signed by Empress Ci Xi. The document was supported by Japan, the Russian and German Empires, Great Britain, France and other countries. Thus, after everything that happened, China found itself in a situation even worse than in the 19th century.

Beijing in those days evoked no coincidence associations with St. Bartholomew's Night, when the groans of the tortured were heard from everywhere, bloody rivers were shed, and the streets were filled

In 1902, Russia and China signed an act according to which our troops were to leave Manchuria. In accordance with the Russian-Chinese convention of 1898, Russia took Port Arthur and the adjacent Liaodong Peninsula.

The uprising was meaningless for ordinary Chinese. But the government took up reforms related to the military, administrative and educational fields. It took them about 7 years.

The Boxer Rebellion precipitated the Republican Revolution of 1911, which subsequently gave China republic status.

The so-called “Boxer Rebellion” of 1900–1901 cost the lives of more than 130,000 Chinese civilians (including 30,000 Christians) and several thousand foreigners. The winners, in turn, executed both the true “boxers” and those allegedly involved. Their number is not known exactly.

For some reason I always thought that the Chinese Boxer Rebellion was an uprising of the Chinese people under the leadership of martial artists - who, accordingly, fought against imperialism with their bare hands - and since they did not have firearms - many martial artists died and were taken with them to the grave of many, many secrets of China's martial arts. But in reality this is, of course, an ordinary stamp.

(Children and very impressionable people are better off not watching, of course)

But the reality turned out to be somewhat different.

I accidentally came across photographs about the executions of Chinese boxers and was simply amazed by this strange, ordinary and simply transcendental, but at the same time some kind of everyday cruelty captured in these photographs - the executions of boxers. This is something beyond ordinary cruelty. There is some kind of routine and emptiness in the views - and all this against the backdrop of conspicuous poverty and dirt and dust. This is the real embodiment of the darkness of consciousness - these photographs of the executions of Chinese boxers. (And it turns out that the “Chinese boxers” themselves apparently did no less terrible things - they just didn’t have cameras)

The so-called “Boxer Rebellion” 1900 - 1901 cost the lives of more than 130 thousand Chinese citizens and several thousand foreigners. The winners executed both the true “boxers” and those allegedly involved.

Probably everyone has heard about this page of Chinese history? But now I caught myself thinking that I cannot correctly explain this name. Why Boxers? And I certainly won’t say how this uprising ended.

Let's quickly remember what the point is...

Boxers in Tianjin

At the end of the 19th century, a massive movement against foreigners (Europeans, Americans, and also Japanese) arose in China. It was inspired by secret societies called I-he-quan ("Fist of Justice and Harmony"), Da-dao-hui ("Big Knife Society") and Da-quan-hui ("Big Fist Society").

Because of the word “fist,” the British began to call these figures “boxers,” and this name spread throughout the Western world. In reality, the ideology of these “boxers” had a mystical-religious character. Adherents of the “fist” and “knife” sects believed that as a result of magical spells they acquired supernatural abilities, including invulnerability from cold steel and firearms.

The reasons for the widespread hatred of the Chinese against foreigners were mainly economic. The fact is that in the last years of the 19th century, foreign companies began building railways in China, laying telegraph lines, and developing mineral deposits. Citizens of Russia, Britain, and France were most actively involved in this - in the northern, middle, and southern parts of China, respectively. Americans, Germans, Japanese, Austro-Hungarians, Italians and citizens of some other European countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, etc.) also took part in this.

These activities of foreigners in China have greatly affected the economic situation in the country. Due to the construction of railways, Chinese boatmen and foot porters who were engaged in delivering goods over long distances lost their income. Telegraph lines deprived numerous messenger-runners of income. The creation of industrial mines by foreigners left the handicraft mining of the Chinese out of business.

Empress Dowager Ci Xi (1835 - 1908) with her retinue

Famine as a result of crop failure and drought, floods and overpopulation, rage against foreign missionaries and their own impotence contributed to the transformation of the “Boxer movement” into a mass movement. Everything new and foreign, for example, railway tracks, telegraph poles, mines, everything was destroyed and priests and merchants were subjected to mass murder. This was done with the connivance of the Qing court and the Empress Dowager Ci Xi (The Empress Dowager had an ambivalent attitude towards the events of the uprising. The Yihetuan rebelled against the destruction of the old Chinese patriarchal way of life and had a clear anti-Western orientation; however, they also opposed the Manchu dynasty, which conquered China. In the beginning uprising, May 28, 1900. Ci Xi issued a decree to support the uprising. Rewards were assigned for the killed foreigners. Note transl.) Ci Xi suddenly became sympathetic to the hordes of long-haired, ragged peasants who marched with swords and pikes against the armies of the most powerful powers in the world, as historian Kai Vogelsang describes the Boxers.

In addition, the hatred of many Chinese towards foreigners stemmed from the missionary activities of Christian preachers, which these Chinese considered offensive (although some Chinese converted to Christianity).

The first actions of the “boxers” were carried out in 1898, during the construction of the Russian Chinese Eastern Railway (CER). The Boxers attacked Russian engineers and workers. At the same time, attacks on Christian missionaries began.

The activities of the “fist” and “knife” sects sharply intensified in December 1899. In January 1900, massacres of Europeans, Americans, Japanese, and Chinese Christians began. The Boxers destroyed railway stations, workshops and bridges, institutions and the homes of foreigners.

At this time, the Chinese government of Empress Dowager Zi Xi maintained friendly neutrality towards the Boxers. Since June 1900, the Empress openly expressed support for adherents of the “fist” and “knife” sects - on June 9, Prince Duan-wang, an ardent supporter of the “Boxers,” was appointed Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers.

June 11 In 1900, the “Boxers” began to actively operate in the capital of China, Beijing - they killed a Japanese diplomat, then burned several buildings of foreign missions and churches, and killed several dozen foreigners.

June 17 Russian and American troops landed in the port of Dagu (150 km from Beijing). Chinese troops resisted using artillery, but were defeated.

June 19 The Grand Council of the Chinese Imperial Court approved a course of direct support for the “Boxers” and decided to declare war on foreigners.

June 20 The Boxers began a siege of the embassy quarter in Beijing. On the same day, a government decree was issued on the payment and provision of food allowances to the “Boxers” as “loyally fulfilling their patriotic duty.” On the same day, German Ambassador von Ketteler was killed.

The Boxers, supported by Chinese government troops (including artillery), failed to capture the embassy quarter in Beijing - it was defended by 400 soldiers and marines (from 8 countries). The siege lasted until August 14.

In July, the Boxers destroyed the Chinese Eastern Railway, killing Russian engineers and workers. On July 15, Russian troops (several thousand soldiers and Cossacks) crossed the Amur River and began fighting with the Boxers and Chinese troops in Manchuria.

Let's remember in more detail about the Conflict on CER - another unknown war

In June 1900 they surrounded the Embassy Quarter in Beijing. On June 19, the German envoy Clemens von Ketteler was killed on the street. He was on his way to the Foreign Ministry to protest against the Imperial Court's ultimatum that all foreigners must leave Beijing immediately. On June 21, Ci Xi declared war on foreigners.

Siege of the Ambassadorial Quarter

20,000 Chinese - a regular army supported by the Boxers - besieged the Legation Quarter, which contained 475 foreign citizens, 2,300 Chinese Christians and 450 soldiers. The first attempt to unblock the block from the port city of Tianjin was abandoned. Later, this was done by an international expeditionary force consisting of 8,000 Japanese, 4,800 Russians, 3,000 British, 2,100 Americans, 800 French, 58 Austrians and 53 Italians, which lifted the siege on August 14, 1900.

It must be said that the Western powers were unable to assess the scale and threat of the Yihetuan uprising in time. They could not even think that these downtrodden people could decide on something serious. In addition, they did not know that Empress Cixi had already promised her support to the rebels, hoping with their help to return independence to China (officially, war on the West was declared on June 21).

On June 10, only a 2,000-strong detachment of marines under the command of English Admiral Edward Hobart Seymour (1840–1929) was sent to Beijing from the port of Tagu to protect the embassy quarter. However, at Lofa and Liangfang stations they met such fierce resistance from the Yihetuans that, having suffered heavy losses, they were forced to retreat. The passage to the north was open for the rebels. Part of their army went further north, to Manchuria, the rest entered Beijing on June 11.

Pogroms of shops and firms that dealt with foreigners began, and the wholesale extermination of Christians began. The story of the Russian diplomat Boris Evreinov about the pogrom of the Catholic parish of Nan-Tan at the Eastern Gate of the city has been preserved: “Entire vats were full of blood,” he wrote, “the mutilated corpses of old men, women and children were lying everywhere; most of them died after terrible torture, judging by the corpses frozen in terrible convulsions. There were small children with their insides exposed, their eyes gouged out, their skulls crushed, and other signs of life. In one corner a fire was found with 40 girls apparently burned alive.” The Yihetuan often dismembered the corpses of those who believed in Jesus - many of them were confident that Christians had the ability to resurrect on the third day.

On June 20, the embassy quarter was placed under siege, which lasted 56 days - until August 14, 1900. There, about nine hundred Europeans and several hundred Christian Chinese were protected by only 525 soldiers, while the Chinese forces exceeded 20 thousand people (these were both Yihetuan and government troops). The mission buildings were very scattered, so the besieged decided to divide the defense into two fortified areas: the first united the embassies of England, Russia and the United States, and the second - France, Germany, Japan and Spain. The forces were divided approximately equally. Women (147 people) and children (76 people) were placed in the English embassy, as it was the most protected from shelling. They ate horse meat, smoked leaves, and replenished their ammunition by casting bullets.

The embassies were subjected to continuous shelling. If our sailors had not launched a heroic counterattack and occupied sections of the city wall that were close to the embassy quarter, there would have been no chance of withstanding the defense. The Chinese would place cannons there and fire directly at the defenders' flank. Elsewhere, the Ihetuans were unable to install guns: in open areas, the besieged, armed with modern rifles with good sights, quickly destroyed the servants. The main blow came from the front, from Mongolskaya Square. Every night the Ihetuan attacked, and every night they were driven back. As a result of the siege, the defenders lost 4 officers (9 wounded), 49 soldiers (136 wounded) and 12 civilian volunteers (23 wounded).

Two weeks passed before the great powers began active hostilities. On July 14, Tianjin was taken, but they did not dare move further yet: they were saving up their strength.

On July 18, an expeditionary force composed of Russian, British, American, Japanese, French, and German troops (totaling up to 20 thousand) moved from Dagu (via Tianjin) to Beijing to rescue the embassies.

And only on August 4, 1900, a 20,000-strong united army of the great powers under the command of the Russian general Nikolai Linevich (1838–1908) set out from Tianjin to help the besieged. She fought her way to Beijing on August 13th. On August 14, having blown up the Tiananmen gate, Russian and American units broke into the Chinese capital. Street fighting lasted for two days. During the 55-day siege, 68 foreigners died - 55 soldiers and officers, 13 civilians.

Empress Ci Xi fled west to Xi'an. In captured Beijing, the Allies staged a massive plunder: entire trains filled with gold and art objects from the imperial palaces went to the ports.

In September, new forces of foreign powers landed in China, including up to 20 thousand German soldiers and officers (under the command of Field Marshal von Waldersee).

The active actions of the “Boxers” (killing foreigners, destroying railways and other structures) continued until October 1900 (the remnants of the “Boxer” gangs were destroyed until the spring of 1901).

On December 22, 1900, foreign powers (Russia, Germany, Japan, USA, Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, Italy) delivered a collective note to the Chinese government. It specified the conditions under which the foreigners agreed to begin the evacuation of their expeditionary forces:

1. Sending an emergency mission to Berlin, led by the prince of the imperial house, to express regret over the murder of von Ketteler;
2. Construction of a monument to von Ketteler at the murder site;
3. Severe punishment of persons indicated by representatives of powers;
4. Satisfaction of the Japanese government for the murder of a Japanese diplomat;
5. Construction of monuments to murdered foreigners;
6. Stopping the import of weapons;
7. Compensation for losses to victims;

On August 25, 1901, China and foreign powers signed a final protocol, according to which China had to pay an indemnity (for 39 years) - 450 million liang of silver (liang - about 40 grams).

On September 11, Empress Ci Xi issued a decree ordering the merciless destruction of the Yihetuan who had brought the country to foreign intervention. Full-scale punitive expeditions continued until late autumn. The last detachment of Yihetuan was destroyed in Manchuria by Russian Cossacks in July 1902.

So, after the suppression of the uprising, the coalition ordered China to execute the leaders of this very uprising. Well, China, of course, executed him - in different ways - as a warning to posterity not to make more uprisings.

“When the indigenous population rebels against European invaders, this is barbaric! When a European colonialist clears the land of local savages, that’s civilization.” Caricature from the Boxer Rebellion in China

Photo 2.

Afterwards, the executioner holds the head of the executed man - barefoot in blood and dirt. “It’s hard to say what’s more shocking: the headless body lying in the dirt, the severed head in the hands of the killer, or his empty, expressionless look. Apparently he is used to this kind of work and no longer experiences any emotions.”

“These pictures were taken by photographer James Ricalton. Violent photographs of the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion were published as a book in 1990."

“Across the country, criminals and rebels were executed in public squares in front of crowds of onlookers, and their corpses were left at the execution sites as a warning to those who disagreed with the authorities.”

Photo 6.

The executioner poses with a sword - as you can see, not only adults but also children are present at the execution - everyone is curious.

Photo 8.

“Standing stocks” - adults and children look interesting in the photo (I wanted to write trying to get into the frame) - it seems that their imagination is struck not by the execution of a person, not by his torment - this is just everyday life - but by a photographer with a camera - this is what really actually a curiosity.

Here the French military shoot - and for some reason they also tie people to poles.

The heads of the five leaders of the Boxer Rebellion hung on the wall in Honam - again for intimidation.

One of the leaders of the uprising is executed - also a crowd of onlookers - the executioners calmly do their job - no special emotions and therefore scary.

“It is unknown for what crimes this unfortunate man in the photo was sentenced to such a terrible execution. The prisoner stands on fragments of stones and pieces of trees inside a narrow wooden cage, and the crowd watches with interest his torment.

A rope noose is tied around the criminal's neck, and gradually, day after day, the executioner removes pieces of trees from under the condemned man's feet. The ending is known: death from strangulation or fracture of the cervical vertebrae. This prisoner in the photo was “lucky”; at night his friend was able to give the sufferer poison, ending his torment.”

military coalitions are also not averse to posing against the backdrop of executions.

As can be seen from the description in the photo - volunteers on the streets of Blagoveshchensk on the Amur.

The next target of the “boxers” was the Russian Amur region, which the Chinese considered - and still continue to consider - theirs, and its outpost - Blagoveshchensk, whose population according to the 1897 census was 32,894 people. The city was practically defenseless, since after the outbreak of the riot in China, all military units located in the city, along with a recruited detachment of volunteers, were sent to guard the facilities of the Chinese Eastern Railway.

On July 1 (old style), 1900, a Chinese battery from the territory of the village of Sakhalyan (the Russians called it Sakhalin) fired at the Russian steamships “Mikhail” and “Selenga” sailing along the Amur. This incident was considered a single provocation, but at seven o’clock the next day, when the public was habitually walking along the embankment, massive rifle and cannon fire was opened from the opposite bank of the Amur. As eyewitnesses of the events recall, “there was a groan in the air from the mixed roar of many voices and the whistling of bullets, every now and then flying overhead.” People fled in panic, fleeing death.

But that wasn't the worst thing yet. “The lack of troops and weapons and the proclamations of the “Big Fist” that appeared in the city that on the night of July 4, with the assistance of the Chinese who were in the city, a general landing of the Manchus and the plunder of the city were scheduled, increased the anxiety of the townspeople to the highest degree.” In Blagoveshchensk, up to 5 thousand Chinese lived in their own quarter, and this does not count those who lived in villages near the city.

There were not only no military units in the city, but not even a governor, who was in Manchuria at that time. And the residents began to spontaneously organize themselves. The crowd moved to the city government and weapons stores and took away the weapons located there, which were distributed to the “free squad” that was forming right there. Representatives of various strata of society joined it - workers, peasants, townspeople, merchants, industrialists, and military personnel. The warriors were divided into separate sections of coastal defense.

“On July 2, immediately after the opening of the bombardment of the city of Blagoveshchensk, I immediately assembled a voluntary squad, armed with rifles, partly from the city government, partly from the Nebel and Co. store, and taken to the bank of the Amur,” wrote the creator of the militia, Lieutenant Kolontaevsky. - This team existed from July 2 to July 20, being in lodgements all the time and serving as a guard chain against the crossing of the Chinese. During the day, training was carried out, the team turned into a properly formed company.”

As the governor-general of the region, Nikolai Grodekov, later emphasized: “The events of 1900 placed the city of Blagoveshchensk in the need to take the blows of a numerous enemy and repel their attack with honor. The heroic eighteen-day defense of Blagoveshchensk largely belongs to the citizens of the city, who, at the very first shots, with weapons in their hands, stood up to defend their native land of Blagoveshchensk, it glorified the city and this event will undoubtedly constitute one of the glorious pages of the history of the region.”

China did not have to pay the entire amount of indemnities. Already at the end of 1908, the United States transferred its share (7.3%) to China's educational programs. In 1917, China declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary (as part of the First World War) and stopped paying their shares of indemnity (20% and 0.9%). The Bolshevik government of Russia in December 1918 refused the share of indemnities (29%). In 1925, Britain gave up its share (11.25%), and in 1926, Japan (7.7%). Only France and Italy did not give up their shares.

The threat of the territorial division of China gave rise to a movement for reform and renewal of the country, which declared itself after the unsuccessful war with France. The reformers demanded “to change the existing order, to penetrate into the soul of the people.” The reform movement especially intensified after the war with Japan, but the reforms that began in 1898 with the goal of “eradicating the old and spreading the new” were immediately stopped by supporters of preserving the old order.

In 1899, a movement began in China ihetuan directed against foreign domination. Yihetuans were the members of the rebel groups “Fist for Justice and Peace” - hence the name given to this movement by foreigners - "Boxer Rebellion". The rebels' oath required “not to violate the orders of parents, not to violate existing laws, to expel foreigners, to kill bribe-taking officials.” The Yihetuan saw their goal as “to protect China, drive out overseas robbers, destroy local Christians and thus save their compatriots from suffering.”

The Yihetuan uprising began in the German “zone of influence”, but soon spread beyond its borders. The rebels occupied Beijing and achieved government support for their actions. Material from the site

On June 21, 1900, China declared war on foreign powers, who sent an international punitive expedition in response. Foreign troops captured Beijing, subjecting the city to looting and destruction. A German soldier wrote home: “What is happening here, dear mother, is impossible to describe - the murders and massacres taking place are so insane.”

Under the terms of the pacification protocol, signed in September 1901, China undertook to pay a huge indemnity, punish those responsible for the murders of foreigners, allow armed guards for embassies, and provide even broader economic rights to foreigners.

Pictures (photos, drawings)

On this page there is material on the following topics:

The reasons for the widespread hatred of the Chinese against foreigners were mainly economic. The fact is that in the last years of the 19th century, foreign companies began building railways in China, laying telegraph lines, and developing mineral deposits. Citizens of Russia, Britain, and France were most actively involved in this - in the northern, middle, and southern parts of China, respectively. Americans, Germans, Japanese also took part in this Austro-Hungarians, Italians and citizens of some other European countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, etc.).

On June 11, 1900, the “Boxers” began to actively operate in the capital of China, Beijing - they killed a Japanese diplomat, then burned several buildings of foreign missions and churches, and killed several dozen foreigners.

On June 17, Russian and American troops landed at the port of Dagu (150 km from Beijing). Chinese troops resisted using artillery, but were defeated.

On June 19, the Grand Council of the Chinese Imperial Court approved a course of direct support for the “Boxers” and decided to declare war on foreigners.

On June 20, the Boxers began a siege of the embassy quarter in Beijing. On the same day, a government decree was issued on the payment and provision of food allowances to the “Boxers”, as "loyally fulfilling patriotic duty". On the same day, the German Ambassador von Ketteler was killed.

On August 14, the expeditionary force, having defeated the Chinese troops and the Boxers, entered Beijing and lifted the siege of the embassies (during the 55-day siege, 68 foreigners died - 55 soldiers and officers, 13 civilians). On August 15, the Chinese imperial court fled Beijing.

In September, new forces of foreign powers landed in China, including up to 20 thousand German soldiers and officers (under the command of Field Marshal von Waldersee).

1. Sending an emergency mission to Berlin, led by the Prince of the Imperial House, to express regret over the murder of von Ketteler;

2. Construction of a monument to von Ketteler at the site of the murder;

3. Severe punishment of persons indicated by representatives of powers;

4. Satisfaction of the Japanese government for the murder of a Japanese diplomat;

5. Construction of monuments to murdered foreigners;

6. Stopping the import of weapons;

7. Compensation for losses to victims;

On August 25, 1901, a final protocol was signed by China and foreign powers, according to which China had to pay an indemnity (over 39 years) - 450 million liang of silver ( liang – about 40 grams).