The Boxer Rebellion

A Boxer

Introduction

Monday, November 26, will be devoted to another in-class exercise similar to the one we did last week.  The exercise will focus on the creation of America's "informal empire" in East Asia.  It will deal in part with the Philippines, but dwell mainly on the Boxer Rebellion in the summer of 1900, a large-scale uprising--covertly sanctioned by the Chinese dowager empress--in which hundreds of western missionaries were killed and the foreign legation in Peking (Beijing) assaulted.


Read the linked documents, below.

Background

The Rebellion

Click map to see foreign spheres of influence in China, 1910
(The site where this map resides, by the way, is great fun.)

Documents

Wilson, James H, General, "America's Interests in China," The North American Review, vol. 166, issue 495 (February 1898).

The Open Door Note, Submitted by U.S. Secretary of State, John Hay, September 6, 1899

Barrett, John, "America's Duty in China," The North American Review, vol. 171, issue 525 (August 1900).

"Disturbance in China," The American missionary vol. 54, no. 3 (July 1900):98-99.

Stephen Bonsal, "What the Chinese Think of Us," The North American Review vol. 171, no. 526 (September 1900): 411-432

A First Person Account by the London Times Correspondent:

"The Siege of the Peking Legations," The Living Age:  A Weekly Magazine of Contemporary Literature and Thought (November 17, 1900):401-415

"The Siege of the Peking Legations," The Living Age: A Weekly Magazine of Contemporary Literature and Thought (November 24, 1900):471-485 (Note:  When you access the issue, you will need to use the "Go to Page #" button.  Enter "471," the first page of the article.)

"The Siege of the Peking Legations," The Living Age: A Weekly Magazine of Contemporary Literature and Thought (December 1, 1900):551-561 (Note:  When you access the issue, you will need to use the "Go to Page #" button.  Enter "551," the first page of the article.)

"The Siege of the Peking Legations," The Living Age: A Weekly Magazine of Contemporary Literature and Thought (December 8, 1900):642-648 (Note: When you access the issue, you will need to use the "Go to Page #" button. Enter "642," the first page of the article.)

Other Resources

UCSD Modern Chinese History Site

Discovering China:  History - developed by ThinkQuest, a global network of students, teachers, parents and technologists dedicated to exploring youth-centered learning on the Net.  Basic but reliable history and beautifully packaged.

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