The Boxer Rebellion was a revolting of Chinese patriots in 1900 who opposed foreign control of China. The rebellion had catastrophic consequences, as it caused a great loss of life, destabilized the country, and led to further foreign domination of the nation.
The immediate consequence of the rebellion was a massive loss of human lives and property. On the Chinese side, thousands of Boxers and Chinese imperial troops were killed during the fighting. The foreign troops were responsible for an even larger death toll. British forces, for instance, killed around 1,500 Chinese villagers in one week during their operations in northern China. Rebels were also summarily executed, and a large number of Chinese civilians were killed by foreign troops through bombing and shelling. Additionally, property and business throughout China were damaged or destroyed by the conflict.
The political consequences of the rebellion were far reaching. After the revolution, the Qing dynasty was forced to accept foreign rights in China that it had previously denied, such as allowing foreigners to own property and conduct business in the country. This paved the way for the establishment of the foreign concessions in China, and the foundation of the “unequal treaties” between China and other foreign powers. In order to pay foreign countries reparation fees and loans, the Qing used up a large part of the country’s budget surplus, which weakened its financial situation.
The rebellion also caused considerable social upheaval in China. Many Chinese intellectuals and elites blamed the Qing government for being too weak to stand up to foreign pressure, and used this as an impetus to begin a revolution to overthrow the Qing. This led to the collapse of the dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912.
Furthermore, the revolution demonstrated to the Western world that China was not a unified nation, but instead a nation divided amongst itself with different factions vying for power. As a result, Western countries began to see China as a “barbarian” nation that needed to be civilised, and thus launched a wave of imperialism in the region. This period of foreign rule over China lasted for almost a century, until the Chinese Communist Party gained control in 1949.
In conclusion, the Boxer Rebellion had devastating consequences, leading to the loss of thousands of lives, further foreign domination of the country, and greater divisions amongst Chinese people. The rebellion irrevocably changed the course of Chinese history and led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty, the establishment of a republic, and the start of a period of imperialist domination.