The Boxer Rebellion and The Great Game in China by David...

As written in the book The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China by David J. Silbey, the author gives an account of the Boxer Rebellion. David J. Silbey, the author gives an account using allied soldier and diplomat’s letters and diaries of the Boxer Rebellion. The Boxer Rebellion is an anti-foreigner movement in China during 1900. The conclusion of this rebellion lead to China having signed the Boxer Protocol in September 1901(Page 225). This treaty entailed the Chinese paying reparations to the United States, Russia, Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. Aptly named the Boxer Rebellion, the first question you must ask if who the Boxers are. The Boxers is the name used by western society to call the†¦show more content†¦As Sibley mentions, the Boxers used a different form of fighting then their enemies. In the initial start of the Rebellion, the Boxers used vulnerable yet slightly effective form of hand to hand combat in close quarters. They fought using their environment to damage their enemy such as fighting on a hill or in rice fields. They also knew when the best time to retreat was and had the belief that the Boxers who died in combat were not â€Å"true boxers† thus secured their philosophy of imperviousness. However one weakness that was quickly discovered by the Boxer and by the Western powers ,was their introductory rituals before battle. The western powers used this time to attack with their weapons giving them the advantage in the fight. Both group learned to improvise their techniques such as the Boxers gaining more guns in battle. The general disconnect between the local people of China and the government under the Empress Dowager is in my belief, the Boxer Rebellion greatest weakness. The hesitance of the Dowager and her government in resolving or affirming the ties with Boxers lead to the Rebellion starting without Chinese government interference. When the diplomats address the Dowager about the Boxer attacks, she considered them to be local disagreements and use of self-defense, which anger the foreign powers such as Germany and Japan. By the time the Dowager declares War, it is already in full swing. Despite having the foreign powers