Longyu Orders Foreigner Deaths: Boxer Rebellion Escalates
Empress Dowager Cixi issued an imperial edict on June 21, 1900, formally declaring war on all foreign nations with diplomatic presence in China. The declaration came amid the Boxer Uprising, when anti-foreign militants besieged the Legation Quarter in Beijing. Cixi had initially tried to suppress the Boxers but reversed course when she came to believe the foreign powers intended to restore the deposed Emperor Guangxu. Regular Chinese imperial troops joined the Boxers in attacking the legations. The siege lasted 55 days, defended by a small multinational force of 409 soldiers and armed civilians. An eight-nation relief expedition of 20,000 troops marched from Tianjin and captured Beijing on August 14. The Boxer Protocol imposed the largest indemnity in history: 450 million taels of silver, payable over 39 years at 4% interest.
June 18, 1900
126 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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