Boxer Rebellion

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more........................

Subsequent operations.

In January 1901, the committee met to develop rules for the handling of criminal cases in Peking. They elected to dispense with any sort of international court and instead allowed each nation to conduct legal affairs in their own districts of the city. They recommended, however,
that a Chinese lawyer be present for all proceedings. Military commanders would retain the right to veto or approve death penalties, which would pertain to involvement in the Boxer movement, attacks on foreigners, murder, attempted murder, robbery, counterfeiting, plundering, burglary, and rape. Convicted Chinese were to be held in a Chinese prison located in the American sector and guarded by Chinese under foreign supervision—the entire operation was paid for by the city of Peking. The committee went on to declare that no Chinese police may arrest a foreigner.

The rules were harsh, but the committee was also interested in restoring a normal life for the Chinese citizenry. Along with collecting taxes to defray the expense of street cleaning and lighting, the members insisted that no foreigners were permitted to confiscate Chinese property. “The only way to regain the confidence of the people is to assure them of non-interference in the execution of their daily labor. It is also to the interest of all to have eatables as well as coal brought in in large quantities from outside the city.” The committee also specified that there would be no more tearing down houses for firewood.

The imposition of martial law on Tientsin and Peking in the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion could in no way be deemed equitable. The behavior of the international contingents at times violated what little international law existed at the time. The bigotry and high-handedness of the conquerors frequently brutalized the hapless Chinese and made little distinction between those who had been guilty of violence against foreigners and those who had not. But the firmness of the military rule did produce some benefits. It effectively quelled any further Boxer violence, and for the average citizen, life gradually improved. Markets reopened, and the economy began to pick up. Once commanders got their own troops in line, violence against innocent citizens diminished. The techniques were questionable, but the allied occupation forces did achieve conditions that led to the eventual withdrawal of foreign armies and restoration of the Imperial government.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html
Tientsin China in 1900. Glen Shagren Utah State University
The China Relief Expedition Joint Coalition Warfare in China Summer 1900.
That memorable campaign: American experiences in the China Relief Expedition during the 1900. Boxer Rebellion. Eric T. Smith

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more........................

The Boxer Protocol and Beyond.

Treaty negotiations began slowly. The first tentative meetings between the allies and the Chinese began in December 1900 but accomplished little at first. Each nation wanted retribution for those Chinese officials who had allied themselves with the Boxers, but they also desired varying amounts of monetary compensation and land concessions. It took a little over a year for the final treaty to be signed. The official title of the document was “Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, United States and China—Final Protocol for the Settlement of the Disturbances of 1900,” but it became more generally known simply as “The Boxer Protocol.”

Compensation was fixed at 450 million taels (about 350 million U.S. gold dollars) to be paid over thirty-nine years. The figure derived from a simple calculation: one tael for each of the estimated population of 450 million Chinese. Of that sum, Russia would collect the lion’s
share, a little more than 28%, followed by Germany with 20%, France with 16%, Great Britain with 11%, Japan with 8%, the United States and Italy with 7% each, and the remaining smaller portions going to Belgium, Austria-Hungary, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and Norway.

To preclude any further violence, the allies insisted on a two-year ban on weapons imports, and all anti-foreign societies were declared illegal. The Taku forts were destroyed, and the allies were to be permitted the right to station garrisons in Peking and Tientsin. Foreign diplomatic missions were to have exclusive use of the Legation Quarter, and no Chinese were to be allowed to live there.

At that time, the withdrawal of the allied forces has already been underway. On 28 MarchWaldersee expressed fear that the German expeditionary force could be drawn into British-Russian hostility. On 6 April 1901 Field Marshall Waldersee proposed partial retreat of foreign contingents. On 3 June 1901 German Field Marshall himself left China for good. He arrived to Hamburg at the beginning of August; on 12 August he met the Emperor in Homburg; and he returned to his post of Inspector-General of the Third Army. Similarly, the allied forces were gradually withdrawing from Zhili. In July 1906 there were still more than 5,000 foreign soldiers, excluding the legation guards; 450 of them were German.

On 7 January 1902, Chinese Imperial court returned to Beijing. The entire diplomatic corps was invited to observe its return. On 24 January 1902, the Empress Dowager and the Guangxu Emperor granted an audience to foreign representatives in Beijing. At this occasion, those diplomats presented their credentials. It was clear that the Boxer Uprising was over; but the dynasty was almost over as well.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html
Tientsin China in 1900. Glen Shagren Utah State University
The China Relief Expedition Joint Coalition Warfare in China Summer 1900.
That memorable campaign: American experiences in the China Relief Expedition during the 1900. Boxer Rebellion. Eric T. Smith

Cheers. Raúl M .

[Chris Dale]

Thanks for posting all this, took me a while to read it all. Some good info in there...
Cheers
Chris

[tigre]

Hello to all ; More. Vessels of the German East Asia squadron off the coast of Taku Forts, China, August, 1900.

Sources: https://repository.duke.edu/dc/friedric ... t001001079
https://repository.duke.edu/dc/friedric ... t001001077

Any idea which ones? Cheers. Raúl M .

[Chris Dale]

Thanks for posting the photos, sadly I don't recognise the ships.

[Tanzania]

Image 049 should be the Big Cruiser / Protected Cruiser SMS "Victoria Louise" (or one of the sister ships) SMS "Hertha", SMS "Freya", SMS "Vineta", SMS "Hansa". All ships looks very simmilar, but only "Hertha", "Vineta" and "Hansa" have been in oversee (China?) at that time. Experts for this event should be knowing more. I expected all other ships are from other countires.
Cheers Holger

[tigre]

Hello to all ; More. Vessels of the German East Asia squadron off the coast of Taku Forts, China, August, 1900.

Sources: http://seawarpeace.ru/deutsch/grossekre ... freya.html

Thanks for that tip Holger . Cheers. Raúl M .