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The Boxer Uprising (1899-1901) was a key event in the history of China, as it reflected the colonial powers increasing influence in Chinese affairs and the weakness of late 19th century China.<ref>For an overview of this period, see: Preston, Diana, and Diana Preston. 2001. The Boxer Rebellion: The Dramatic Story of China’s War on Foreigners That Shook the World in the Summer of 1900. New York: Berkley Books.</ref> The rebellion consisted of an uprising led by a group known as the Boxers, which culminated in a siege of representatives of the eight colonial powers in Beijing. The rebellion began in the Shandong province of China before leading to Beijing and spreading throughout much of the northern countryside, with many foreigners and converted Chinese Christians attacked. The Boxers were mostly peasants who performed a type of shaman act that has come down through Western interpretation as a sort of boxing, giving rise to the term Boxers. <ref>For a discussion on shamanism and its role in the rebellion see: Esherick, Joseph W. 1987. The Origins of the Boxer Uprising. Berkeley: University of California Press, Pg. 5-7, 39.</ref> While it is often believed the Boxers were not supported by or were against the main Chinese court and government at the time, the fact is once the uprising was underway it was indeed supported by the Qing Dynasty and its army.

==Foreign Interests in China==

Western foreigners in China, after the arrival of Marco Polo in the 13th century, began to see China as a place for economic opportunity and for mass conversion to Christianity. In the 19th century, it was mainly Britain and its powerful navy that began to increase its presence in China and control of trade in the region.<ref>For an overview of how trade and drugs in particular fueled British interaction and ultimately increased interest in China see: Lovell, Julia. 2011. Ya Pian Zhan Zheng = The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China. London: Picador.</ref> One particular commodity of interest was opium, which became a product of increased demand in the West in the early to mid 19th century. Two main wars were fought over access to opium, which China had fought to restrict in trade, with the British, assisted by the French and United States in the second war, successfully defeating the Chinese in both wars. The Second Opium War (1856-1860), as it was called, was the most critical, as it was the key war that led to the opening of China to many countries, traders, and missionaries. The presence became affiliated with legations and it allowed the British, French, the United States, and Russia bases of operations and great access to China, including in Beijing and key port cities. This began a period of rapid increase in Western influence in China, which was increasingly seen by many Chinese as largely favoring Western interests and against their own.<ref>See Chow, Gregory C. 2007. Knowing China. New Jersey ;London: World Scientific.</ref>

[[Category:Chinese History]] [[Category:Boxer Rebellion]] [[Category:Imperialism]]

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