Psycho-American War

After the war, internal conflicts emerged. In 1899, the Boxer Rebellion started with the opposition to foreign spheres of influence. They were angry about the missionaries, and legalization of opium. The Boxers massacred Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox missionaries everywhere and their leader called for a brutal anti Christian policy. But soon, the Great Powers came in the way and defeated them. This event only made the spheres more powerful. Then in 1901, the Boxer Protocol was announced and its intent was to execute

As a result of the Boxer Rebellion, the United States reiterated the Open Door Policy in an attempt to preserve Chinese entity and trading rights. China also had to continue paying indemnities because of the previous treaties. Feelings of contention lingered.

The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) was a conflict between Russia and Japan. In this war, the two nations were fighting for control of Manchuria, Korea, and the island Sakhalin. These three territories offered Russia and Japan many benefits. Manchuria and Korea had abundant resources and were densely populated and Sakhalin was the main source of oil in East Asia. To the surprise of many, Japan was victorious over its enormous neighbor, Russia.

The retaliation of the Japanese had the world concerned by the oppression of military actions and to reveal power during the modern era (1900’s). The strategy of the Japanese

in the Boxer Rebellion. U.S. involvement was necessary because the Boxers acted as a threat and

Even though the direct result of the Treaty of Portsmouth was that it brought an end to the Russo-Japanese war, there were many other consequences. Japan acquired the lands of Manchuria and Korea while Russia was able to keep a portion of Sakhalin Island. President Roosevelt not only won the Nobel Peace Prize for his action, but this started an international relationship between Japan and the United States. As both of their influences and beliefs spread through Asia, they both agreed to respect each other’s claimed territories and interests.

The Boxer Rebellion was an uprising that occurred in China between 2 November 1899 – 7 September 1901, nearing the end of the Qing dynasty. There were several controversial causes that inevitably lead to the Boxer Rebellion, which are still debated between historians. Historians have argued however that the three main causes of the Boxer Rebellion were that it was an anti-foreign movement, an anti-Christian movement and/or an anti-Qing movement. Although all these causes are plausible and significant in their own manners, the most significant cause of the Boxer Rebellion was anti-foreignism, with the least significant cause being that it was an anti-Qing movement due to the evidence shown and the events leading to the Boxer Rebellion. These three causes put together, inevitably lead to the Boxer Rebellion occurring.

The Japanese, having won the war expected to share a pleasant victory. They expected money to built battleships and tanks. President Theodore Roosevelt graciously offered the use of America’s offices to secure peace between Russia and Japan. America acted as a referee to the two countries as the met in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Russians and Japanese settled all territorial expansions but when it came to the money the Russians refused. The Americans supported the Russians decision. In the final agreement between the Japanese and the Russians no money was exchanged. The Japanese public was outraged by the outcome, turning the military victory into a political defeat. A Tokyo newspaper read, “The number one enemy to Japan was the United States.” (Spector 37) Portsmouth brought an end to the Russo- Japanese War but it only worsened the hatred from Japan against the United States. (Spector 37)

In 1894, the Sino-Japanese war broke out, which was the start of Korea’s involvement of independence. The Japanese had easily dominated the Korean peninsula, driving the Chinese out and demanding them to recognize Korea as an independent state. This incident gave shock to most of the western countries as they did not know about Japan’s military prowess and modernization. As a result, the Russians felt intimidated by the Japanese because they did not want anything to happen to Manchuria, the country that gave them easy transport with the Trans-Siberian Railway. However, as they feared, the Russo-Japanese War broke out in 1904, regarding the competition of the control of Manchuria and Korea between Russia and Japan.

During the 20th century, a clash between Russia and the and the Empire of Japan led to the Russo-Japanese War. Nicholas approached the war with confidence and saw it as an opportunity to raise Russian morale and patriotism. Many people were baffled. Nicholas belief was that it wouldn’t be a war. Despite the onset of the war, Nicholas still believed and expected a final victory based on racial inferiority and military weakness of the Japanese. As Russia continued to be defeated by the Japanese, the call for drew. Russia was later defeated.

The mid-1930’s was an extremely turbulent time in the Far East. The Soviets and Japanese had been at each other’s throats since the Russo-Japanese War from 1904 to 1905. The Treaty of Portsmouth ended the war in September 1905, which had given the Japanese South Manchuria and gave them the lease on the Liaotung Peninsula. This important because the Japanese would create the Kwantung Army to defend this area. “The number of regular troops Japan might station in the Kwantung Territory was not stipulated by treaty, but the initial strength of the Kwantung Garrison amounted to two regular army divisions and fortress units stationed at Port Arthur and Dairen.” The Japanese were going to defend their newly acquired territory with this sizeable force. The Japanese also benefitted from World War I because they were able to put more forces into Manchuria and they were able to get concessions from China, which gave them more control over Manchuria. The Japanese had control over this part of the world. The Japanese would also attempt again to take advantage of a great situation. In 1917, the Russian tsar collapsed and plunged Russia into civil war and revolution and they were able to capture most of Manchuria. The Japanese were invited to the Washington armament conference of 1921, but it was because the Allies from World War I were trying to take away the land acquired by the Japanese. The Japanese had agreed to give up the Shantung province and withdrew

The defeat suffered at Port Arthur was the first of many Japanese victories up until the Battle of Tsushima, where Japan delivered the final blow to Russia. After the defeat, Russia not only changed its opinion about Japan, they felt somewhat jealous as the European powers found Japan to be more “European” than Russia. The Japanese victory inspired the new destination and question for the Great Game,

In 1930, Japan realized it needed to expand its territory due to a limited number of resources on the island due to its overpopulation. So, in 1931, they invaded Manchuria, China, ultimately creating a war between them. The United

With the belief being able to get rid of Western and Christianity spread, the Qing court supported the Boxers such as that Dowager Empress Cixi want to turn the Boxer into a real military force to help the Boxer put a stop to the invasion of Western’s building of churches and converting Chinese into Christian, we can see how the Qing court shaped foreign relations by facing the embarrassment of having to apologized for each nation’s loss of lives, and compensate for their crimes and it matters because this just shows that the powerful Qing court wasn’t able to protect its own government and economy, allowing bankruptcy to occurred and resulted in peace settlement such as the Boxer Protocol.

The boxer rebellion−the fight between China and Western countries−has been a debate since the end of 1901. Many people have been wondering how the war happened and what were the reasons that lead to it. Although many researchers have showed the causes they have found, there will be other research that disagrees with them. This paper mainly supports the claim that suggested the three major causes of the boxer rebellion, and refutes the point that the new technologies and innovations that the West had introduced was not one of the causes. It will define three main causes that leaded to the boxer uprising which were the personal and religious belief of Chinese people, the rise of Christianity, and the support of Qing dynasty.