THE BOXER REBELLION EXPLAINED - BOXER REBELLION DOCUMENTARY

Spring 1898. The destitute province of Shandong. Following war with foreign powers, droughts and disasters, poverty has soared in the region. As a result, many idle youths have turned to banditry, bringing down the economy even further. In the village of Liyuentun, young impoverished villagers look with contempt on the Chinese Christian converts of the village. Many of them are bandits who have converted to evade the law, as the foreigners have had their faith officially protected by the imperial authorities. In addition, the Christian community has taken over the old temple of the Emperor of Jade, a supreme authority of Chinese traditional mythology, and made it into their church. Young local men with no future feel their culture tainted by traitors, and are disgusted at the weakness of the Qing dynasty. Devout practitioners of mystical spirituality and martial arts for the most part, these young men form groups in the whole region. One local leader, Zhao Sanduo, organises a massive gathering in Xiaoliujiai village, calling others to join the effort. Over 10,000 resentful men answer the call, ready to launch an uprising and reclaim their culture by force. They take the name of Yi Hequan, the Fists of Harmony and Justice. Those who would By late 1898, the situation in China was tense. After the murder of two German missionaries by locals a year earlier, the German Empire seized the strategic Jiaozhou Bay in Shandong province. This event triggered a scramble for concessions, as other western powers rushed to gain influence and privileges in the imperial nation. Britain obtained an extension of its Hong Kong colony, an area called the New Territories. In addition, it gained the city of Weihaiwei as a naval base. France received the Guangzhouwan territory, as well as strong influence in Yunnan province. The Russian Empire, who already controlled a recently built Chinese eastern railway in Manchuria, obtained the city of Dalian. Finally, the Japanese, who had acquired Taiwan three years earlier, gained several concessions in different cities, especially in Tianjin. This city, in the imperial domain, already hosted several foreign settlements, which would be of prime importance in events soon to come. As the foreign powers' influence grew more and more, impoverished and idle youths of the countryside flocked towards the bands of boxers, armed with spears, swords and a few hunting rifles, with the intent of restoring Chinese domination and culture. In addition, popular support for the boxers developed exponentially, especially in Shandong and Zhili provinces. With their mystical rituals, they believed themselves invulnerable to firearms, and as such, their eagerness to fight skyrocketed. Their target was first and foremost the Christian foreigners, and secondly the converted Chinese, whom they perceived as traitors. Initially, their attitude towards the Qing imperial authorities was ambiguous, as the boxers were a very heterogeneous group. Some supported the Qing, while others aimed to overthrow them entirely. On the other side, the Qing authorities were equally puzzled on how to handle this sudden popular movement. The imperial court was officially under the control of Empress Guangxu's aunt, who had overthrown him and taken control of the nation. She was head of the conservative faction of the court, who overall believed the boxers could be used as an asset to fight the foreign powers and return to tradition. Other cliques believed the movement should be rapidly suppressed. Meanwhile, violence against foreigners and Christians developed more and more. Subsequently, foreign powers, especially the French, who presented themselves as guardians of Catholicism in China, pressured the imperial authorities to defend the Christian communities. The imperial court conceded, which only strengthened the boxers' resentment. In the summer of 1899, trouble would shake Shanlong province's county of Pingyuan. Repeated attacks against Christians led the local magistrates to request soldiers and crack down on the unrest. However, each act of repression only strengthened the motivation of the boxers, and by the 18th of October 1899, over a thousand armed boxers assembled. The magistrate marched 500 imperial troops to fight against the small army that had settled next to Sun Luo Chinese temple. Initially, the Qing forces were defeated and retreated, which greatly boosted pro-boxer sentiment within the population. The Qing however rallied and crushed the local boxers, executing many of their leaders and the most fanatical figures. The battle of Sun Luo temple would mark a turning point. Boxers and local authorities alike, despising the West, came to agree they could join forces and cooperate to drive out foreign influence. As a result, the Fists of Harmony and Justice was renamed the Militia United in Righteousness, openly separating themselves from bandits and appearing as a legitimate Chinese force. A new slogan would also appear on their banners, For Qing, Mie Yang, Support the Qing, Destroy the Foreigners. In the following weeks, the boxer movement kept developing in northern China and began distributing anti-foreign and anti-Christian propaganda to the local population. Qing general Yuan Shikai, who controlled the most modernized army in China, was appointed as Although loyal to conservative Empress Dowager Cixi, Yuan Shikai favoured western methods and despised the boxers. He would always be hostile to them, which encouraged the militias to move up north. Li Hongzhang, the most prominent Han Chinese official and admirer of modernization, was appointed as Viceroy of Liangguang. Much like Yuan Shikai, he had nothing but contempt for the boxers and their mystical rituals. Far from the trouble, he would nonetheless keep a keen eye on the events in the north. By now, the boxer issue had become a frequent subject in the imperial court. Advised by Zaiyi, Prince Duan, one of the most conservative officials of the court, Empress Dowager Cixi officially showed her support for the boxers in January 1900. This event further fuelled the boxer momentum and tens of thousands of militias started moving towards the foreign-influenced city of Tianjin and towards Beijing, the imperial capital of the Celestial Empire. On their way, they murdered Chinese Christians and unfortunate foreigners and burnt or tore down western buildings and churches. Beijing had over one million inhabitants, divided into several quarters, including the Chinese city, the imperial city and the Forbidden City. The capital also hosted the International Legations Quarter, where many foreign powers had embassies for diplomatic affairs with China. This area was established following the Second Opium War in 1860 and had been since greatly expanded and strengthened. In 1900, it was over 5 square kilometres wide, with around half a thousand foreign citizens, in addition to the foreign powers' actual diplomats. The atmosphere in the International Legations was getting more and more tense. The residents had caught word of the boxers' massacre of Christians and realised the militias were now heading over to Beijing. Edwin Conger, the American minister to China, contacted the United States, saying, situation becoming serious. The whole country is swarming with hungry, discontented, hopeless idlers. Fearing for the safety of the legation's inhabitants, he suggested military forces should be ready to intervene. British minister to China, Sir Claude Maxwell Macdonald, growing nervous himself, petitioned the imperial court for permission to garrison soldiers inside the Legations Quarter. After consideration, the request was met. Consequently, over 400 naval troops of different nations were disembarked from the many foreign warships stationed off the Bohai coast. Using the recently built railway system, they were transported by train from Tianjin to Beijing and garrisoned in the Legations Quarter. During the following days, determined boxer militias grew closer and closer to the capital. Preparing for a potential attack, the mobilised soldiers in the International Legations Quarter swiftly set up barricades and perimeters to protect the area. Three factions were now in the region. The boxers, organised in militia regiments and armed mostly with spears and sword. The approximately 400-man strong foreign garrison inside the Legations Quarter of Beijing, well drilled and ready to defend and attack. Most importantly, the Qing Dynasty's imperial forces. A great number of imperial troops were concentrated in the metropolitan area. The oldest division was the Peking Field Force, established in 1862, which mainly operated as a police force. It was armed with European rifles and some artillery, and commanded by moderate official Yi Kuang, Prince Qing. Secondly, Beijing hosted a seasoned division of Muslim soldiers named the Gansu Braves and led by General Dong Fuxiang. This was the main force that had been mobilised to Beijing to overthrow the Guangxu Emperor in favour of Empress Dowager Cixi. They were armed with German Mauser rifles and modern artillery. The Gansu Braves were part of the Wuwei Corps, also known as the Guards Army, under the general command of General Ronglu, the champion and rumoured lover of Empress Dowager Cixi. Finally, Zaiyi, Prince Duan, fervent supporter of the boxers, had assembled his own 10,000-man strong Wushanying, or Tiger Spirit Division. For the moment, the imperial troops were nonetheless neutral in the conflict. However, with these three forces in the area, tensions were high and foreign inhabitants of the legation's quarter nervously waited for the next event. On the 5th of June 1900, the boxers destroyed the railway connecting Tianjin to Beijing. Consequently, the legations were cut off and isolated in an increasingly hostile environment. Four days later, British Minister to China Sir Claude Maxwell Macdonald, feeling a trap closing in, requested further military assistance. He directly addressed Vice-Admiral Edward Seymour, Commander-in-Chief of the China Station, the British Royal Navy's formation in the local waters. Consequently, Vice-Admiral Seymour concerted with other foreign troops and managed to assemble within a day a force of Western and Japanese sailors and marines with the intent of coming to the defence of the legations. In addition to his own 916 British sailors, Seymour recruited 455 German, 326 Russian, 158 French, 112 Americans, 54 Japanese, 41 Italian and 26 Austro-Hungarian marines and sailors in an over 2000 strong regiment under his command. The Eight Nation Alliance was born. This force, known as the Seymour Expedition, left the foreign settlements of Tianjin on the 10th of June. Unaware that the railway had been cut off, they departed by train. On the way, they passed anti-boxer yet anti-foreign Qing General Nie Xuchang and his thousands of imperial soldiers who were also part of the Wuwei Corps under General Ronglu. Due to the massive confusion of the events, Nie Xuchang let the Seymour Expedition pass unopposed. He instead focused his troops on suppressing roaming groups of boxers in the area. The Seymour Expedition soon arrived at Langfang where the railway had been destroyed. Without much of a choice, its engineers began repairing the tracks, a task that would take several days. The foreign force was unaware that the situation in Beijing was about to degenerate. On the 11th of June, Japanese diplomat Sugiyama Akira was murdered in the street by a group of General Dong Fuxiang's xenophobic Gansu braves. The following day, German soldiers under the orders of German Minister to China, Clement von Kitteler, captured an isolated suspected boxer boy and beat him to death in retaliation. This single event would ignite incredible violence for the months to follow. Outraged about this murder, thousands of boxers poured into Beijing, ransacked and burned churches, murdering Chinese Christians and foreign priests alike. The Gansu braves of General Dong Fuxiang joined in the chaos, taking part in the massacre. About 3,000 Chinese Christians took refuge in the delegation's quarter. The others either fled or perished. Meanwhile, although unaware of the Beijing events, several ships of the 8-nation alliance stationed in the Gulf of Bohai decided to act. Led by the Imperial Russian Navy, a decision was made to occupy the Dagu forts, guarding the imperial domain, until the boxer issue was settled, by consent or by force. They sent an ultimatum for a surrender of the local Qing garrison by 2am of the 17th of June and deployed their 10 warships, manned by a total of 900 men, in front of the forts. Unfazed, the Qing garrison's answer was rapid. Over an hour before the ultimatum would end, every single cannon of the Dagu forts opened fire on the allied ships. The fourth battle of Dagu had begun. In addition to their artillery, the Qing possessed four modern cruisers. These were however promptly boarded and captured by two British destroyers. During the whole night, the allied foreign ships and the Qing forts exchanged fire. Gradually, the allies coordinated assaults on the several forts, successfully conquering them one after the other. By 6.30am, the battle was over. Although it had sustained about 20% casualties, the eight-nation alliance had won a strategic victory, which would be of great importance in the events to follow. When the Qing imperial court learnt of the battle of Dagu, it considered the attack an act of war and was convinced to officially side with the boxers in their anti-foreign violence. Their first target would be the Seymour expedition. The allied force was still stuck at Langfang, since its engineers had not quite finished repairing the railway. The Seymour expedition had been attacked twice by boxer regiments, but had successfully repelled them, suffering minor losses. The imperial court wished to drive out or destroy this foreign force with the help of the boxers. However, local general Nie Zhicheng had spent the last weeks violently suppressing the boxers and it was clear that his force would not cooperate with them. He was subsequently sent to Tianjin to assault the foreign settlements there instead, and replaced by pro-boxer general Dong Fuxiang. General Dong Fuxiang's Gansu braves counted about 3,000 well-equipped soldiers, seasoned and ready to fight. The Qing forces coordinated a pincer attack with the help of over 2,000 boxer militias on the Seymour expedition. Overwhelmed and under supply, Vice Admiral Seymour and the allied officers decided to withdraw back to Tianjin after a short battle, realising they could no longer advance on Beijing. The following day, Empress Dowager Zexi ordered all the foreigners in the legation's quarter of Beijing to leave the city within the day and go back to Tianjin. After discussing the matter between themselves, the diplomats realised that travelling over 70 miles, escorted by only 400 soldiers, in such a hostile climate would mean certain death. They decided to challenge the decision and continue negotiations with the court. On the morning of the 20th of June, German minister to China, Clemens von Ketteler, headed to the Qing dynasty's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Zongli Yamen. Along the way, he was however attacked by the pro-boxer troops of the Huoshanyin, the Tiger Spirit Division, and assassinated in the street. The message was clear, there would be no talking their way out of the situation. Unaware that the Seymour expedition had been repelled, the shocked legations expected the relief force to arrive soon. In the meantime, they organised themselves for a siege. Having served in the British army, Sir Claude Maxwell Macdonald assumed command of the defence. Food and water supplies were registered and rationed, about 100 civilians volunteered to defend the area, reinforcing the 400 multinational soldiers. The international legations were unaware that they were about to enter 55 days of chaos. Thank you for watching my video, I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please leave a like and subscribe to the channel. Part 2 will be available shortly. If you have any questions or requests, feel free to leave them in the comment section below.