China, Insurrection

of the Boxers. The forcible opening of treaty ports in China (1842), following the opium war (1840), was the first step taken by foreign powers towards the ultimate partitioning of that long lived empire of 400,000,000 population. England was first to obtain a permanent foothold, at Hong Kong, and later France, Germany and Ru ia acquired ports which gave them spheres of influence which they have zealously and jealously guarded and sought pretexts to extend. A naturally growing dislike of foreigners has long been felt by the Chinese,; which has been intensified by the activity of Christian mi ionaries, who have taught their doctrines with no little succe , especially in Chinese cities. Interference with anciently established religious teachings is al- ‘ways a dangerous thing, and to this peril, inaugurated by mi ionaries, is the hatred engendered by the threatenings of dismemberment, made by European powers for the purpose of territorial and trade exploitation, until the situation in China came at length to be one of unbearable tension. There was also a fierce contention of native parties over the question of succe orship to the throne, one faction desiring to depose the Empre Dowager, An, and set up the fourteen-year-old prince, Kwang Su, who had several times been reported dead, but who in fact was kept in restraint. These several causes of foreign intrigue and national distemper at length brought about an uprising of a red-handed society known as Boxers, who committed so many depredations on foreigners that on May 21, 1900, a joint note from the Amba adors in Pekin called the attention of the Chinese Government to the outrages. The authorities made no attempt to suppre the Boxers, but secretly encouraged them, until a great part of Northern China was soon in a state of anarchy— murdering Christians and looting their property. So intense was the hatred of foreigners that the Amba adors from all European countries ‘were not permitted to leave Pekin, and their lives were placed in imminent peril. Vice-Admiral Seymour, with a force of 2,000 English soldier a, tried to reach Pekin, but he was beaten back with much lo . On June 17th the Taku forts opened fire on the foreign fleets in the harbor, which in turn bombarded and captured the forts, all foreign men-of-war participating except the United States monitor Monterey, Rear-Admiral Kempff, which abstained from any hostile act. On the following day Baron von Keteler, Germany’s Amba ador, was murdered in Pekin, and the situation had grown critical in the extreme. To protect Americans in China, 3,000 troops were drawn from the Philippines and the command given to Major-General Chaffee, and this force was augmented from time to time later. Ru ia, Germany, France, England and Japan also rushed troops to China with all po ible expedition, and these became allies for the purpose of protecting all foreigners in China and to rescue the legations that were known to be besieged in Pekin. Several times it was reported that all the Amba adors had been murdered, but while these rumors were proven false, the most horrible atrocities were committed by the Boxers on Christians, and humanity demanded that these ferocious crimes should be punished. Foreigners in all parts of China were ma acred after being subjected to indescribable tortures. On July gth Japa-:. Nese troops captured the Tientsin arsenal, but heavy firing continued, and in an attack upon the city, July 3d, in which 300-United States troops were engaged, Colonel Liscum, of the 9th United States Infantry, was killed. Insincere requests for mediation were made by the Empre Dowager, but these failed to deceive the powers to which they were addre ed. The allies were increased by the arrival of troops until pre. paration was made to march upon Pekin. On Sunday, August 5th, a force of 16,000 Americans, English, Japanese and Ru ians became engaged with 30,000 Chinese at Pei-tsang, eight miles from Tientsin. The battle opened at 3 A. M., and continued with great spirit on both sides until 10.30 A. M., when the Chinese fell back, taking their guns with them, and prepared to make further resistance. The lo of the allies ‘was 1,200, but this high rate of casualties failed to check the advance of the allies, who continued to drive back the largely superior force of Chinese until the way was opened to Pekin, when China sued for peace. 486