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The Chinese Boxer Rebellion Of 1900

      Around 1900, after many years of succumbing to the superior
military of the West, the Chinese stood up for their country. China
was a weak, backwards, country, exploited by the West. They felt that
they could counter the foreign domination, but reforms were useless
because they needed the West to help with the reforms. But something
sparked their confidence, and they believed themselves to be able to
conquer any foreign power. This spark was the Society of Harmonious
Fists, commonly known as "Boxers." Combined with unhappy people, and
new weapons technology, the Chinese rebelled against the foreign
powers.

      The first reason of this confidence was the Boxer Society, which
formed in North China after the Sino-Japanese war, but wasn't well
known until 1898 in Shantung. This organization was actually a cult,
following strange and absurd practices of defense. It had no central
leaders, and the practices varied in different locations. Their goal
was to rid China of the foreign menace. The boxers were different from
most other rebels of their time. They would conduct public physical
exercises that were supposed to make a magical shield to protect one
against foreign bullets and shells. These looked similar to a boxers
training exercises so the westerners nicknamed the members of the
Society of Harmonious Fists "Boxers." Rather then using foreign
weapons, they relied on magical spirits and swords, knives, staves,
and polearms to drive the foreign devils from their precious home
country. The membership of this group consisted of mostly the
criminals, poor, and illiterate of China who wore a simple uniform
consisting of a red armband, sash, or waistcloth. These people truly
believed that magic would protect them, and help remove the foreigners
from China. That gave them enough confidence to try to destroy the
foreigners. Missionaries were killed, railroads were destroyed, and
churches were burned all in the...