The Siege at Peking

On 29 June 1900 the foreign legations at Peking were attacked by troops of the Boxer rebellion and Imperial Chinese troops. The ensuing siege lasted fifty-five days and shook the world. China at the end of the nineteenth century was a country in crisis. The Manchu dynasty was in its death throes, held together by the will of the Dowager Empress. Foreign powers were dis-mantling her Empire and treating her age-old civilisation with contempt. The siege was the cry of a humiliated, ancient culture. The armed forces of eight European powers took part in its relief and the results were disastrous for China. Aside from an indemnity of sixty million pounds, the Western powers quickened the pace of change. The Siege directly led to the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty in 1911. It was the last great co-operative endeavour of the European powers before the First World War.