The Boxer Rebellion

By Bkyoung3

  • Arrival of first Christian Missionary

    First Protestant Christian missionary arrives in China from London Missionary Society.

  • Missionaries Expelled (1835-36)

    Daoguang Emperor expels missionaries for distributing Christian books.

  • First Opium War (1839-42)

    Ending with the Treaty of Nanjing. Great Britain establishes a sphere of influence along the Yangtze River, annexes Hong Kong, and provides extraterritorial rights to all foreigners in China (they do not need to follow Chinese laws, only European laws).

  • Christianity Missionaries flood into China (1840-1850)

    Western Christian missionaries flood into China and try to convert Chinese people to be Christians (Chinese are general Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, or a mix of all three sets of beliefs).

  • Treaty of Huangpu

    China signs the Treaty of Huangpu with France, giving France a small sphere of influence.

  • Taiping Rebellion (1850-64)

    Taiping Rebellion against Qing Dynasty. Millions of Chinese Christians revolt against the Qing Dynasty, but the rebellion fails after 14 years of fighting. 30,000,000 Chinese people are dead because of the Taiping Rebellion.

  • Second Opium War (1856-60)

    During the Taiping Rebellion, Britain and France demanded to re-negotiate their treaties to increase the power of their spheres of influence. Because of the Taiping Rebellion, the Qing Dynasty is too weak to fight Britain and France, and gives in to harsher treaties
    with Britain and France. In return, Britain and France help to crush the Taiping Rebellion.

  • First Sino-Japanese War (1894-95)

    Japan defeats China and annexes Korea and gains a sphere of
    influence in Eastern China.

  • Drought/Flood (1897-98)

    Drought followed by flooding strikes Shandong, causing wide-spread misery

  • Two German Catholic Missionaries are killed

    Armed men kill two German Catholic Missionaries in northern China. Germany’s Kaiser (King) Wilhelm II sends a fleet of ships to Shandong to establish a sphere of influence.

  • Formation of the "Righteous and Harmonious Fist"

    Young men form the “Righteous and Harmonious Fist” group, practicing shadow boxing (their nickname was “Boxers”), martial arts, and telling peasants they are bullet-proof, to get them to join. They spend the next year training recruits, burning churches, and killing Chinese Christians.

  • Boxers burn Churches and kill Christians (Jan-May)

    Boxers storm through countryside, burning churches, and killing Christians.

  • Letter to the Boxers

    In a surprise change, Empress Dowager Cixi sends a letter of support to the Boxers.

  • Boxers isolate Beijing

    Boxers cut railroad line at Tianjin, isolating Beijing

  • Execution by German Minister

    German Minister von Ketteler arrests and executes a boy he thinks is a Boxer

  • More Churches burnt to avenge the Child

    Thousands of Boxers burn Christian churches in response to the boy's murder.

  • Empress Cixi fully supports the Boxers

    Empress Dowager Cixi decides to fully support Boxers, tries to convince the rest of the ruling officials in the government to also support them.

  • Qing Government attempts to let the foreigners leave peacefully

    Qing government sends messengers to the foreigners in Beijing to offer them a safe way to leave China without being killed; instead, the foreigners kill the messengers.

  • Qing Government declares war

    Based on these murders, the Qing government declares war on the foreign powers.

  • Chinese set fire to Foreign Neighbourhood

    Chinese set fire to parts of the foreign neighbourhood in Beijing

  • The Battle of Tianjin (July 13-14)

    The Battle of Tianjin. Soldiers from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, and the USA join together and take over a city that had been controlled by the Boxers. 550 Boxers and 250 foreigners died. Then the foreign troops looted the city, raping and killing civilians.

  • Qing Government surrenders

    The Eight-Nation relief force (Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, USA, Italy, and Austria-Hungary) lands on the coast and begins marching to Beijing, so Qing government declares a cease-fire on the foreigners and surrenders.

  • The Boxer Protocol

    Qing officials are forced to sign the "Boxer Protocol," which makes them pay war reparations over 40 years.

  • Death of the Emporer

    Empress Dowager Cixi dies.

  • Qing Dynasty Falls

    Sun Yat-sen leads the Chinese Nationalist Revolution - Qing Dynasty falls, ending almost 400 years of monarchy in China.

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