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First missionaries arrive in China
First Protestant Christian missionary arrives in China from London Missionary Society -
Missionaries expelled
Daoguang Emperor expels missionaries for distributing Christian books -
First Opium War
Britain imposed unequal treaty on China and takes Hong Kong -
Western missionaries arrive
Western Christian missionaries flood into China -
Treaty of Nanjing
Treaty of Nanjing provides extraterritorial rights to all foreigners in China - they are no longer subject to Chinese law -
Taiping Rebellion
Christian convert Hong Xiuquan leads bloody Taiping Rebellion against Qing Dynasty -
Second Opium War
ritain and France defeat China and impose harsh Treaties of Tientsin -
First Sino-Japanese War
Former tributary Japan defeats China and takes Korea -
Natural diasters
Drought followed by flooding strikes Shandong, causing wide-spread misery -
Juye Incident
Juye Incident, armed men kill two Germans at missionary home in Shandong Province, northern China -
Righteous Fist groups
Young men in Shandong form Righteous Fist groups, practicing martial arts and traditional spiritualism -
Hundred Days Reform
Emperor Guangxu tries to quickly modernize China -
Empress Dowager Cixi takes power
On the verge of handing over sovereignty to Japan, Guangxu is stopped and goes into internal exile. Empress Dowager Cixi rules in his name -
Boxers attack a Catholic church
Boxers attack Liyuantun village's Catholic church, converted from a temple to the Jade Emperor -
Empress Dowager Cixi supports Boxers
Empress Dowager Cixi rescinds condemnation of Boxers, issues letter of support -
Boxers proceed
Boxers storm through countryside, burning churches, killing missionaries and converts -
Beijing foreign legislations
British Minister Claude MacDonald requests defense force for Beijing foreign legations; Chinese allow 400 troops from eight nations into capital -
Boxers reach Beijing
Boxers cut railroad line at Tianjin, isolating Beijing -
Boxer in Beijing's Legation Quarter
First Boxer appears in Beijing's Legation (diplomatic) Quarter -
Japanese diplomat killed
Pro-Boxer General Dong Fuxian's troops kill Japanese diplomat Sugiyama Akira -
German minister executes a young boy
German Minister Clemens von Ketteler arrests and summarily executes a young boy he suspects of being a Boxer -
The Boxers avenge the young boy's death
Thousands of angry Boxers storm Beijing and burn Christian churches in response to boy's murder -
Empress Dowager Cixi fully supports the Boxers
Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu hold council meeting, decide to fully support Boxers -
Messengers killed
Qing government sends messengers to offer foreign legation members safe passage out of Beijing; instead, the foreigners shoot the messengers dead -
Manchu Bannerman Captain En Hai avenges boy's death
Manchu Bannerman Captain En Hai kills Minister von Ketteler in a melee to avenge the murdered "Boxer" boy -
Boxers besiege legations
Boxers and Chinese Imperial Army besiege legations sheltering 473 foreign civilians, 400 foreign soldiers, and approximately 3,000 Chinese Christians -
Empress Dowager Cixi declares war
Empress Dowager Cixi declares war against the foreign powers -
Boxers set fire to Legation district
Chinese set fire to parts of Legation district; priceless Hanlin Academy library burns -
Tartar Wall
Chinese force Germans from position atop "Tartar Wall" overlooking legations, but Americans hold position -
Surprise attack
56 US, British, and Russian soldiers on Tartar Wall launch a 2 am surprise attack, killing 20 Chinese soldiers and drive survivors from wall -
Missionary families executed
Outside of Beijing; Shanxi Province governor executes 44 missionary families (men, women, and children) after offering them asylum at Taiyuan. Victims of the "Taiyuan Massacre" become martyrs in eyes of Chinese Christians -
Battle of Tientsin
120 km (75 miles) outside Beijing, the Battle of Tientsin (Tianjin); The Eight-Nations relief force besieges Boxer-held city, resullting in 550 Boxers and 250 foreigners killed. Foreign troops (especially Germans and Russians) rampage through city afterward, looting, raping and killing civilians, while Japanese and Americans try to restrain them -
Chinese set off mine
In Beijing, Chinese set off a mine under French Legation, force French and Austrians to shelter in British compound -
Defense line at Prince Su's palace
Advancing Chinese drive Japanese and Italian troops to a precarious last defense line at Prince Su's palace -
Chinese snipers
Australian journalist George Morrison injured and British Captain Strouts killed by Chinese snipers -
False story in London Daily Mail
London Daily Mail publishes a report that all legation besieged had been massacred, including mercy killing of women and children, Russians boiled to death in oil, etc. Story was false, fabricated by reporter in Shanghai -
The Eignt-Nations force begins march to Beijing
Eight-Nations relief force lands on the coast and begins march to Beijing -
Qing declares cease-fire
Qing government declares cease-fire on legations -
Chinese end cease-fire
Chinese end cease-fire, bombard legations as foreign "rescue" force approaches capital -
Siege on legations ended
Relief force lifts the siege on legations, but forgets to relieve a besieged Catholic North Cathedral until August 16 -
Undercover royalty
Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu escape Forbidden City dressed as peasants, go on "inspection tour" to the ancient capital of Xi'an (formerly Chang'an) in Shaanxi Province -
Boxer Protocol
Qing officials sign "Boxer Protocol," agreeing to pay huge war reparations over 40 years -
Russo-Japanese War begins to spark
Russian troops seize Jilin and occupy Manchuria, moves that will spark 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War -
The empress and emperor return
Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu return to Beijing from Xi'an and resume control of government -
Imperial examination system abolished
Empress Dowager Cixi abolishes imperial examination system for training bureaucrats in favor of western-style university system, part of an attempt at sweeping modernization -
Emperor Guangxu dies
Emperor Guangxu dies of arsenic poisoning, followed the next day by Empress Dowager Cixi -
Qing Dynasty falls
Qing Dynasty falls to Sun Yat-sen; formal abdication by Last Emperor Puyi