Eight-Nation Alliance

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Military of the Powers during the Boxer Rebellion, with their naval flags, from left to right: Italy, United States, France, Austria-Hungary, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia. Japanese print, 1900.

The Eight-Nation Alliance (simplified Chinese: 八国联军; traditional Chinese: 八國聯軍; pinyin: bāgúo liánjūn) was an alliance made up of Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States whose military forces invaded China while putting down the Boxer Uprising in August of 1900. The troops were sent after the Boxers attacked and murdered Chinese Christians and foreign missionaries across north China, then converged on Beijing and besieged foreign diplomats and civilians who had taken refuge in the Legation Quarter. After their initial landing failed, the Allied militaries eventually defeated the Boxers and the Imperial Chinese Army, and then looted and pillaged the capital.

At the end of the campaign, the imperial government was forced to sign the unequal Boxer Protocol of 1901.^[1]

[edit] Leading factors

At the end of the 19th century, resentment towards foreigners was on the rise due to continued foreign involvement within China, extraterritorial legal and trading privileges and influence over China, with Empress Dowager Cixi's passive approval. The Chinese coastline was cut up into spheres of influence for each of the eight nations. Invasion by the Eight-Nation alliance was carried out throughout the entire Eastern region of China.

Pillage and destruction of ancient, cultural artifacts and buildings created resentment. These resentments grew to the extent that destruction and violence against foreign companies, personnel, and even items such as violins, automobiles, phone lines etc. was carried out. Diplomats were assassinated, businesses vandalized and items were set on fire in the streets. Although the Qing government formally condemned these violent actions, they failed to prosecute the people that carried out the acts.

With their commercial interests in China under threat and the necessity to relieve the joint legations under siege in Beijing by the Boxers, the eight-nation alliance sent troops to suppress the uprising.

[edit] Events

Troops of the eight countries invaded and occupied Beijing on August 14, 1900. Empress Dowager Cixi, the Emperor, and higher officials fled the Imperial Palace for Xi'an, and sent Li Hongzhang for peace talks.

Zhengyangmen after being demolished by the Eight-Nation Alliance

Missionaries followed the Eight-Nation alliance closely. Roman Catholic Vicar Apostolic of North Chihli Pierre-Marie-Alphonse Favier (1837-1905) was accused of taking an estimated 1,000,000 Liang silver (around 50 million grams) from one civilian house in Wangfujing.

Alfred von Waldersee, the former German field marshal, stated in November 1900, "the cost of the demolition and robbery to China will never be calculated. But the number must be tremendous.""the numbers of rapes, barbarity, slaughter and incendiarism which happened this time was countless as well. This is another reason of suffering for civilians."^{[citation needed]}

Participants of the Eight-Nation Alliance were responsible for the ransacking and pillaging of many historical artifacts of Chinese origin, and instigated the burning of many prominent Chinese buildings in an effort to rout the Boxer rebels. "Following the taking of Peking, troops from the international force, except British and American, looted the capital city and even ransacked the Forbidden City, with many Chinese treasures finding their way back to Europe."^[2]

[edit] Austro-Hungarian contribution

As a member of the Allied nations, the Austro-Hungarian Navy sent two training ships and the cruisers SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia, SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth, SMS Aspern, and SMS Zenta and a company of marines to the North China coast in April 1900, based at the Russia concession of Port Arthur.

In June they helped hold the Tianjin railway against Boxer forces, and also fired upon several armed junks on the Hai River near Tong-Tcheou. They also took part in the seizure of the Taku Forts commanding the approaches to Tianjin, and the boarding and capture of four Chinese destroyers by Capt. Roger Keyes of HMS Fame. In all K.u.K forces suffered only several casualties during the rebellion.

After the uprising a cruiser was maintained permanently on the China station and a detachment of marines was deployed at the embassy in Peking.

Lieutenant Georg Ludwig von Trapp, made famous in the musical The Sound of Music, was decorated for bravery aboard the SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresa during the Rebellion.

[edit] Summary

The reaction of the Boxers against foreign imperialism in China is regarded by later historians as patriotic, ignoring the long standing Chinese causes of the occupations going back to the early 1800s. Primarily the Chinese Emperor's ideology that "China is the center of the world and has everything we could possibly want so there is no need to trade with other nations" and his demand that "all outside trade be paid for in silver coin or boullion" since the 18th century. Some historians claim that these demands prevented the Chinese peasants from becoming self-sufficient or acquiring manufactured goods from outside China. The Eight-Nation Alliance is seen by historians as a process of invasion into China by western imperialists, coveting the wealth of China, with the Chinese military of the time being weak.^[3] The Boxer Rebelion is interpreted as a series of regional reactions to the effect of cultural and political invasion by Western imperialists. The social crisis was further fractured by the Eight-Nation Alliance who waged aggressive war against the local population. This destabalising series of events, of increasing and competing military presence and control, culminated in Japan's hegemony in the 1930's

[edit] See also

• Great power

[edit] References