Boxer Rebellion

1
Boxer Rebellion vs. Crimean War
2
Boxer Rebellion

• Chinese uprising
• November 1899 to September 1901
• Fought against foreign influence in all areas
• During final years of the Qing Dynasty under
  Manchu rule
• Empress Dowager Cixi
• was not helpful
• Stayed outside the legation quarter until the
  government gave in and rushed 20,000 troops to
  their rescue
• forced to reimburse the victims and make many
  additional concessions
• laid the foundation for the establishment of the
  present Chinese Republic

3
Boxers

• activity began in Shandong in March of 1898
• members of the Chinese Society of Right and
  Harmonious Fists
• Name given by Westerners
• Result of the practiced martial arts and
  calisthenics
• anti-foreign, anti-imperialist
• peasant-based movement
• in northern China

4
Boxer Attacks

• Attacks
• foreigners
• building railroads
• violating Feng shui (an ancient Chinese practice
  believed to utilize the laws of astronomy and
  geography to help improve life)
• Christians (were held responsible for the foreign
  domination in China)
• June 1900
• invaded Beijing
• killed 230 non-Chinese.
• Shandong and Shanxi
• Tens of thousands of Chinese Christians,
  Catholics, and Protestants

5

• Strength
• Chinese
• 20,000 initially
• 49,000 total
• 50,000-100,000 Boxers
• Allies
• 70,000 Imperial Troops
• Deaths
• Chinese
• 2,500 Soldiers
• 526 foreigners/Chinese christians
• "All" Boxers,
• Allies
• ? Imperial Troops
• Civilians
• 19,000

6
Boxer Forces
7
Crimean War

• 18531856
• Imperial Russia with Bulgaria help vs. France,
  the UK, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottoman
  Empire
• Crimean Peninsula, western Turkey, and the Baltic
  Sea region
• sometimes considered to be the first "modern"
  conflict
• "introduced technical changes which affected the
  future course of warfare.
• More deaths from diseases than battle injuries
• First war with the electric telegraph
• Many peace attempts before the Treaty of Paris

8

• Strength
• Allies
• 400,000 French
• 250,000 British
• 18,000 Sardinian
• Russian
• 700,000 Russians
• 4,000 Bulgarians
• Deaths
• Allies
• 252,000 total
• Russian
• 522,000 total

9
The Siege of Sevastopol (1904) by Franz Roubaud
10
Results

• Treaty of Paris
• Signed in 1856
• made the Black Sea neutral territory
• Resulted in a setback of Russian influence
  towards the region.
• Allied victory

11
Effects

• Led China on a new course of reform
• Education curriculum was changed from Confucian
  studies to western
• Reorganization of military
• Marxism was introduced

12
Political Effects of Boxer Rebellion

• Further violation of Chinas natural right
• Provincial safety and continued Qing rule
• The Empress Dowagers decision on reform
• Decentralization

13
Social and Economic Effects

• Decrease of Chinese pride and self-respect
• Heavy burden of making a huge apology.
• Growth of anti-Manchu feelings and social support
  for the revolutionary movement.

14
Effects on Foreign Relations

• Decline of Qing governments international
  position
• Delay in revision of the unequal treaties.

15
Historical Significance

• Forced influence on China and surrounding areas
  from the West
• Religion
• Trade
• Politics
• Technology
• Scramble for China- spheres of interest and
  influence
• Beginning of Westernization
• Beginning of the end of dynastic rule

16
Historical Background

• Boxers were a secret society since before 1700s
• Pressure from colonial empires wanting land,
  profits, and souls
• Defeats in the Opium wars and the Sino-Japanese
  War
• Chinese Resentment
• Economic depression and downfall

17
5 Themes

• Economy
• Results of war and total deaths
• Government
• Ended dynastic rule in China
• Created the foundations for the Republic of China
  
• Culture
• Persecution and later introduction of Christianity

18
Effects of Crimean War

• Russia, seeking to secure Black Sea region, loses
  control of Black sea until 1871
• Britain and France prevent a Russian expansion
  into Turkey that Russia never planned anyway
• Russian power, which Britain fought to destroy,
  is restored in only 14 years