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Boxer Rebellion Research Paper

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The Boxer Rebellion was an uprising that took place in the late 1800s of China because Western influence. A strong majority of the people of China at the time were very upset that the government chose to do little to nothing about it. People were planning to take a stand. They believed that with the strength of their own fists, they could win, hence the name “Boxers”, and thus the Boxer Rebellion was born. Although, the influence of Western culture in China starting in the 1800s brought many positive impacts to China, inevitably, as a result of the Opium Wars, the “Scramble for Concessions”, and Christianity, led to the Boxers taking a stand. A major contributor to why this rebellion took place was because of the previous attempts that had …show more content…

Trade with the West for Opium at this point was being forced unto the Chinese and violence from these Western powers ensued if China refused to trade with them. The trade of opium and along with other goods were very profitable for countries like Britain, which managed to have control over, also now controlled the influence of Chinese culture as well as a large portion of China’s economy. Because of that, many people were upset by it. This majorly contributed because of the forced Western influence as a result from trading. The people were not happy with the lack of control that the government displayed when they allowed Britain to simply walk in and take control over China’s economy and trade. This was very upsetting in many peoples’ minds because this was proof that the government did not seem to know how to handle this situation. As a result, the government not only submitted to the Western powers’ threats, but they then chose to go to war with these powers. Many people felt that this could been handled differently in ways such as negotiating peace treaties sooner. The fighting involved with the trade of Opium is another contributing reason that people were upset over the outcome and way the government handled …show more content…

Many would argue it is the true number one, primary reason that the Boxer Rebellion occurred in the first place. The spread of Christianity in China at this time was an extremely convincing sing of Western influence. Luella Miner was among the westerners that happened to be in China during the Boxer Rebellion. According to her, their motto was essentially “Kill the foreign devils, Kill…Kill…Kill!”. This motto would greatly explain the violence and aggression shown by the Boxers during the rebellion. Many Boxers claim to have been primarily annoyed with the Western influence in China at the time. Christianity would have played a key role in demonstrating Western imperialism, which is what would explain the murdering of thousands of Christian missionaries and Chinese Christians living in China at the time. When considered, there are not many things that scream Western culture more than Western religion itself. Opium was only a substance that many Chinese enjoyed abusing and Western ways of ruling were heavily affected by that country’s religious beliefs. This is why Christianity would have received the primary amounts of hate from the Boxers. Many Chinese Christians and missionaries were murdered as a result of the Boxer Rebellion. Approximately 32,000 and 200 missionaries were murdered. This figure more clearly can demonstrate the hate towards these Christians, and the effects they were having on the development

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