Peking 1900: The Boxer Rebellion

Osprey Campaign #85

by Peter Harrington, Michael Perry (Illustrations)

Osprey's study of the violent Boxer Rebellion, which swept northern China in 1900. The Boxers were a secret society who sought to rid their country of the pernicious influence of the foreign powers who had gradually acquired a stranglehold on China. With the connivance of the Imperial Court they laid siege to the legation quarter of Peking. Trapped inside were an assortment of diplomats, civilians and a small number of troops. They were all Sir Claude Macdonald, the British Minister in Peking, had to defend against thousands of hostile Boxers and Imperial troops. It would now be a race against time. Could the rag-tag defenders hold out long enough for the gathering relief force to reach them? This book describes the desperate series of events as the multinational force rushed to their rescue.

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction, Military History, War

96 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2001

About the author

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Peter Harrington, 1954-....

Reviews

[James Crabtree · Rating 4 out of 5]

When foreigners began to be murdered by a group called the "Boxers" in China the great powers of the time responded with a multinational effort to rescue the diplomats and traders threatened by the group... especially those in Peking. The author does a good job of discussing the events which led up to Chinese hostility to the presence of foreigners and to the actual events (and rumors!) which resulted in intervention. An all-but-forgotten chapter in military history today, but still a neat read. Well-illustrated with photographs, maps and original artwork.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the beginning if the twenith century China was dominated by European powers that had outposts in the country. When the dowdage ruler of China started a rebellion, she attempted to defeat the diplomatic legations in Peking. The Europeam powers and America resisted.

[Cimuchowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, but serviceable, book on a relatively unknown period of East Asian history.