An Analysis of the Causes and Effects of the Boxer Rebellion in China Essay

The decade before the end of the nineteen-century has been described by many historians as a period of great discontent for Chinese population as a result of frequent natural disasters, such as river floods and droughts. Historically, these events had severe repercussions on both economy and social life of the entire country, as they created a state of imbalance between man and nature at all levels. At the lowest levels, creating instability among the masses and leading them to rebel, and at the highest levels, threatening seriously the existence of the dynasty in power. Taking this into consideration, it seems appropriate to attribute the rebellion of the Boxers as the consequence of natural disasters. However, studies on the origins of this secret society and the events prior to its uprising in the summer of 1900, led me to consider the floods that struck on China just before the end of the century, in conjunction with other events of the period, as an important cause of the Boxer uprising. Given that there also are clear divergences in scholars opinions on the Boxers, in this essay I will attempt to discuss the relevance of droughts in causing the uprising as well as other decisive events.Generally, uprising and mass rebellions have been identified, in Chinese history, with natural disasters, which were considered as a heavenly sign to preannounce the fall of a dynasty and the rise to power of a new one. This was not precisely the outcome of the Boxer uprising, but China, eventually, did experience a change of guards to leave space to a new ruling class. According to Wakerman (1975), the rural class must be taken into consideration as origin of those movements, because this represented the rebellious and most unstable class. When nature was merciful peasants were dedicated to their job and loyal to the state in times of famine instead, they were the first victims of poverty and death, therefore they raged against...