The Boxer Rebellion

From 1900 to 1901

The Boxer Rebellion was a conflict mainly between European countries/forces, and a military society called the ‘L-ho-ch’uan’ also known as the ‘Boxers’ in China. This started when Europe strongly demanded a trading system with the Chinese government. The Chinese government had nothing it wanted from the west, but there was a strong demand for products such as opium from China. Trade was exchanged between Europe and other countries, by the end of 1899, but the trade lay entirely in the favor of Europe, and China got no profit from this trading system. In the course of this, anti-European secret societies began to form in China. One group called the ‘Boxers’ had joined forces with other military societies and began to wreak havoc on the borders of China, resulting in missionaries and other civilians being killed, women being sexually assaulted, and European properties getting destroyed in January-March 1900. This uprising from the ‘Boxers’ spread from small to outrageous, and European powers decided to intervene to protect their nation and their trade interests. Allies were called from Brittan, Italy, the US, Germany, Austria, Russia, Japan, and Australia. By the 8th of August 1900, 8 other nations were already engaging with China. 8,000 troops were dispatched from Brittan and other allies, and in 1901 the rebellion in China was suppressed and the Boxers signed a treaty of Protocol, a peace signing, which ended the China Boxer Rebellion.