Download Analyse the reasons for, and the consequences of, the Boxer

Analyse the reasons for, and the consequences of, the Boxer Rebellion (1900 – 1901) in China
By the turn of the 20th century, China was in Social, Economic and Political turmoil. The Manchu
Government was highly unpopular amongst the Chinese people, and was seen as one of the main reasons
why China was in such a problematic position. The Boxer Rebellion was a major event in the late days of
the Qing Dynasty. Formed by people that practiced boxing, their main aim was to free China from foreign
encroachment. Evidence will be given concerning the causes of the Boxer rebellion, which will be analysed
and broken up into Long-term, short-term and immediate causes. The Consequences of the rebellion will
also be looked at, where the evidence will be split into immediate consequences and long-term
consequences.
There were numerous immediate causes that can be related to the boxer rebellion. First there were two
major famines that occurred in the northern part of the Jiangsu province. Secondly, in 1897, members of
the Big Sword society murdered two German missionaries, which resulted in an angry retaliation by the
Germans, who seized Jiaozhou and burned down the villages in reprisal. This caused the Boxers to change
their focus on bringing down the Manchu Dynasty to expelling the foreign powers from China. The Final
cause, which ignited the war, was in fact due to a conspiracy. By this point, the Boxers have gained the
support of the Empress Cixi and thus the support of the imperial court. There, a pro-Boxer faction falsely
informed the Empress that the foreign Diplomats have demanded a virtual protectorate over China.
Furious at that, she called together the court and declared war on all foreign powers in China, with the
support of the Boxer group. The main short term causes include the continued hatred towards the
Western power and a strong antipathy towards Christianity and its spread, and any Christian converts
whom were considered as traitors.
However, for these short term/immediate causes to occur, one has to look back at the long term causes
how they relate to the rise of the Boxer Rebellion. These long term causes can be dated back to as far as to
the beginning of the 19th century. The main reason can be related to the appearance of foreigners in China,
and their eventual domination over the country, in economic and political terms. This led to strong antiwestern sentiments amongst the population of China. The numerous unequal treaties the foreigners
imposed upon China were seen as humiliating and a sign that Western imperialism has come to China. This
was further reinforced with the scramble for concession in the late 1890’s which basically saw the country
being divided amongst various Western powers. These causes then led to the Qing Dynasty being forced to
introduce reforms such as the self-strengthening movement and the hundred day reform. The failure of
these reforms then could have further led to the Boxer Rebellion as it worsened the plight of the Chinese
population, and they needed a scapegoat where they could push all their problems to.
With numerous causes having been listed, the question that can come to mind is which one had the largest
impact, out of the three categories. There seems to be an equal amount of evidence for both categories
(considering that short term and immediate causes are one category), thus is could be concluded that both
areas are equally important. However, when looking at the impact they had on the country as a whole, one
would have to side with the long term causes. The reason for this is that long term causes are basically
what enable short term causes to exist. They are the prequel to them, and will always be present
throughout times of difficulties. With China in this case, the appearance of the foreign power and the over
conservative nature of the Qing Dynasty can be seen as good pieces of evidence, as they were two main
long term causes that resulted in the Boxer rebellion. The Western dominance enraged much of the
population, resulting in strong anti-western attitude and nationalist feelings, whilst the ineffectiveness of
the Qing Government only worsened matters by failed attempts at reform and their inability to control
their own population. Thus it can be considered that long term causes had a greater impact on the cause of
the Boxer rebellion and China in general, although short term causes must not be discredited even in the
slightest manner, as they are basically the ‘final straw’ and cause the actual event to happen.
During the actual Rebellion, there were numerous events that by the end of the rebellion brought about
the consequences and the wrath of the Western powers. The two main ones were the killing of Western
dignitaries and Missionaries and the killing of Chinese Christian converts. The rebellion was finally brought
down by the combined effort of six Western powers, all which sent troops to put down the rebellion. The
peace treaty that followed had numerous immediate consequences and long term consequences which
will be explored in the following paragraph.
With immediate consequences, it is implied that specific terms of the treaty took effect over a short period
of time, and to some extent did not affect the country for an extended time period. Under long term
consequences, it is implied that certain terms of the treaty affected the country both immediately and over
an extended period of time. Using the criterion mentioned above, there are numerous immediate
consequences as a result of the Boxer Rebellion. Firstly, the Empress Cixi and her court fled to the city of
Xian, leaving behind officials to negotiate peace terms with the Western powers. Furthermore, numerous
executions carried out, where the victims were court officials that supported the boxers, and leading
members of the Boxer group. Other immediate consequences include the abolishment of the traditional
examination system, the erection of monuments that commemorated the victims of the rebellion and the
loss of Territory.
There are three major long term consequences China suffered as a result of the failed Boxer Rebellion and
the Peace treaty that was imposed on them. Firstly, China was to pay a huge reparation bill, which further
burdened its already weak economy. They were also banned from importing military arms for the next two
years. Lastly, the Western powers stationed troops in Beijing for an indefinite period of time, which
displayed the increasing dominance and power of the Western nations over the Chinese.
With the consequences listed, and the Boxer Rebellion suppressed, once could question whether things
could have been different for China if the Qing Dynasty would have taken a different course of action. The
first one that could be considered, of course, is that they should not have supported the Boxer Rebellion in
the first place. This would have spared them the immediate and long term consequences that were
imposed on them, by the Western Powers, in result of the failed Boxer uprising. With this argument
however, it could be said that if the Qing would not have supported the Boxer Rebellion, and asked the
foreign powers for aid, they would have lost the last support the Chinese people had for them. The Boxer
rebellion was seen as an uprising of the common people, and any intervention by the Qing would have
resulted in further aggression towards the Manchu Dynasty. This could lead to the question whether the
Qing could have brought about more support during the actual uprising. The answer to this is most likely a
no. the reason for this, is that in some provinces, the people despised the Qing as much as they did the
foreigners, maybe even more so, thus it would have been difficult if not near impossible to gain more
support of the people. Therefore it could be concluded that the best option the Qing had was to in act
support the Boxers, in hope that they might actually overcome the Western forces, as the other options
would have possibly proven to be even more damaging.
Looking at the evidence above, it is clear that it can be split into immediate, short term and long term,
where short term only really applies for the causes. With the consequences, one could argue their
significance to the downfall of the Qing Dynasty. Considering the fact that the court fled after the rebellion,
and the harsh terms of the treaty onto the Chinese people, it could quite possibly seen as a major factor to
the fall of the Manchu Dynasty. Firstly, the fleeing of the court would have been seen as an act of
weakness by the Qing Government, even cowardice. This would most certainly not have helped the already
ailing image of the Qing Dynasty. Furthermore, the harsh terms of the treaty had a profound effect on
China’s economy and national pride, and the people once again looked for a scapegoat, which of course
would be the Manchu Government. The failure of the Boxer rebellion could partial be blamed on the Qing,
due to their inability to gain more support due to their already unpopular nature amongst the Chinese
people. Therefore, all in all, one could say that the consequences of the Boxer Rebellion did play a major
role in the fall of the Qing Dynasty.