The
Boxer Protocol was a
protocolProtocol can mean any logbook or other artifact of a political meeting between persons from different nations, such as the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. The most notorious example of a forged logbook is "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion"....
signed on September 7, 1901 between the
Qing EmpireThe Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912...
of China and the
Eight-Nation AllianceThe Eight-Nation Alliance was an alliance made up of Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States whose military forces invaded China while putting down the Boxer Rebellion in August of 1900...
—
Austria-HungaryAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
—plus
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
and the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
after China's defeat in the intervention to put down the
Boxer UprisingThe Boxer Rebellion, more properly called the Boxer Uprising, or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in Chinese, was a violent anti-imperialism, anti-Christian movement by the "Righteous Fists of Harmony,” Yihe tuan义和团 or Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists in China , between 1898 and 1901...
at the hands of the Eight-Power Expeditionary Force. It was often regarded as one of the
Unequal TreatiesUnequal Treaties is a term used in reference to the type of treaties signed by several East Asian states, including Qing Dynasty China, late Tokugawa Japan, and late Joseon Korea, with Western powers and the post-Meiji Restoration Empire of Japan, during the 19th and early 20th centuries...
.
In Western countries, it was also known as the
Treaty of 1901,
Peace Agreement between the Great Powers and China.
The
Boxer Protocol was a
protocolProtocol can mean any logbook or other artifact of a political meeting between persons from different nations, such as the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. The most notorious example of a forged logbook is "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion"....
signed on September 7, 1901 between the
Qing EmpireThe Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912...
of China and the
Eight-Nation AllianceThe Eight-Nation Alliance was an alliance made up of Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States whose military forces invaded China while putting down the Boxer Rebellion in August of 1900...
—
Austria-HungaryAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
—plus
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
and the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
after China's defeat in the intervention to put down the
Boxer UprisingThe Boxer Rebellion, more properly called the Boxer Uprising, or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in Chinese, was a violent anti-imperialism, anti-Christian movement by the "Righteous Fists of Harmony,” Yihe tuan义和团 or Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists in China , between 1898 and 1901...
at the hands of the Eight-Power Expeditionary Force. It was often regarded as one of the
Unequal TreatiesUnequal Treaties is a term used in reference to the type of treaties signed by several East Asian states, including Qing Dynasty China, late Tokugawa Japan, and late Joseon Korea, with Western powers and the post-Meiji Restoration Empire of Japan, during the 19th and early 20th centuries...
.
Names
In Western countries, it was also known as the
Treaty of 1901,
Peace Agreement between the Great Powers and China. The full name of the protocol is:
Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Netherland, Russia, Spain, United States and China —Final Protocol for the Settlement of the Disturbances of 1900, reflecting its nature as a diplomatic protocol rather than a peace treaty at the time of signature.
In
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, it was known as the
Xinchou Treaty. It was later regarded as one of the "
Unequal TreatiesUnequal Treaties is a term used in reference to the type of treaties signed by several East Asian states, including Qing Dynasty China, late Tokugawa Japan, and late Joseon Korea, with Western powers and the post-Meiji Restoration Empire of Japan, during the 19th and early 20th centuries...
".
Signatories
Prince Qing and
Li HongzhangLi Hongzhang , Marquis Suyi of the First Class , GCVO, , also spelled Li Hung-chang, was a Chinese general who ended several major rebellions, and a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire...
signed the protocol on behalf of the Qing Empire, while Alfons Mumm (Freiherr von Schwarzenstein), Ernest Satow and
Komura Jutarowas a statesman and diplomat in Meiji period Japan.-Biography:Komura was born to a humble family in the Obi clan at Nichinan, Hyuga province . He attended the Daigaku Nanko . In 1875, he was selected by the Ministry of Education as one of the first students to study abroad under a government...
signed on behalf of Germany, Britain and Japan respectively.
The Clauses
450 million
taelTael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael , a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency . There were many different weighting standards of tael depending on the region or type of trade. In general the silver tael...
s of silver were to be paid as indemnity over a course of 39 years to the eight nations involved (982,238,150 taels in total with the interest). Under the
exchange rateIn finance, the exchange rates between two currencies specifies how much one currency is worth in terms of the other. It is the value of a foreign nation’s currency in terms of the home nation’s currency...
s at the time, 450 million taels was equal to
US$The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
335 million gold dollars or
£The pound sterling , often simply called the pound, is the currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory...
67 million, approximately equal to US$6.653 billion today.
The Chinese paid the indemnity in gold on a rising scale with a 4%
interest chargeInterest is a fee paid on borrowed assets. It is the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or, money earned by deposited funds. Assets that are sometimes lent with interest include money, shares, consumer goods through hire purchase, major assets such as aircraft, and even entire factories in...
until the debt was
amortizedAmortization or amortisation is the process of increasing, or accounting for, an amount over a period of time. The word comes from Middle English amortisen to kill, alienate in mortmain, from Anglo-French amorteser, alteration of amortir, from Vulgar Latin admortire to kill, from Latin ad- + mort-,...
on December 31, 1940. After 39 years, the amount was almost 1 billion taels (precisely 982,238,150).
The sum was to be distributed as follows: Russia 28.97%, Germany 20.02%, France 15.75%, United Kingdom 11.25%, Japan 7.73%, United States 7.32%, Italy 7.32%, Belgium 1.89%, Austria-Hungary 0.89%, Netherlands 0.17%, and Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and Norway 0.025%。 Also, additional 16,886,708 taels was paid at local level in 17 provinces. By 1938, 652.37 million taels had been paid. The interest rate (of 4% per annum) was to be paid semi-annually with the first payment being the 1st July 1902.
The Qing government was also to allow the foreign countries to base their troops in
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
. In addition, the foreign powers had placed the Empress Cixi on their list of war criminals, although provincial officers such as
Li HongzhangLi Hongzhang , Marquis Suyi of the First Class , GCVO, , also spelled Li Hung-chang, was a Chinese general who ended several major rebellions, and a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire...
and
Yuan ShikaiYuan Shikai was an important Chinese general and politician famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the...
defended her, claiming that she had no control whatsoever over the whole escapade. She was later removed from the list, though she was to step down from power and discontinue any participation in the affairs of state.
Other clauses included:
- To prohibit the importation of arms and ammunitions, as well as materials for the production of arms or ammunitions for a period of 2 years, this could be extended to a further terms of 2 years as the Powers saw necessary. - the ban of imports of weapons till 1903-1905.
- The destruction of Taku Forts
The Taku Forts , also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River estuary, in Tanggu District, Tianjin municipality, in northeastern China. They are located 60 km southeast of Tianjin City.-History:The first fort was built during the reign of the Ming Emperor, Jiajing, between 1522...
.
- Legation Quarters
The Beijing Legation Quarter was the area in Beijing where a number of foreign legations were located between 1861 and 1959. In Chinese, the area is known as Dōng jiāomín xiàng , which is the name of the hutong running through the area...
occupied by the Powers shall be considered as a special area reserved for their use under exclusive control, in which Chinese shall not have the right to reside, and which may be defensible. China recognised the right of each Power to maintain a permanent guard in the said Quarters for the defense of its Legation.
- Boxer and Government officials were to be punished for crimes or attempted crimes against the foreign Governments or their nationals. Many were either sentenced to execution, deportation to Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan and Turkharistan is a region in Central Asia, which today is largely inhabited by Turkic peoples. It has been referenced in many Turkic and Persian sagas and is an integral part of Turan...
, imprisoned for life, commit suicide, or suffer posthumous degradation.
- The "Office in Charge of Affairs of All Nations
Zongli Yamen was the name of the government office/department of foreign relations of imperial China during the Qing dynasty...
" (Zongli YamenZongli Yamen was the name of the government office/department of foreign relations of imperial China during the Qing dynasty...
) was replaced with a Foreign Office, which ranked above the other six boards in the government.
- The Chinese Government was to prohibit forever, under the pain of death, membership in any anti-foreign society, civil service examinations were to be suspended for 5 years in all areas where foreigners were massacred or subjected to cruel treatment, provincial and local officials would personally be held responsible for any new anti-foreign incidents.
- The Emperor of China
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning since the founding of China, united by Fu Xi in 2852 BCE until the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title created no later than Shang Dynasty, the Emperor was recognized...
was to convey his regrets to the German Emperor for the assassination of Baron von KettelerClemens August Freiherr von Ketteler was a German career diplomat. He was killed during the Boxer Rebellion, an event which prompted the Eight-Nation Alliance to declare war on China.-Family and early career:...
.
- The Emperor of China was to appoint Na't'ung to be his Envoy Extraordinary
Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Over time it has been formalized on an international basis.-Ranks:...
and direct him to also convey to the Emperor of JapanThe of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. He is also the highest authority of the Shinto religion...
, his expression of regrets and that of his Government at the assassination of Mr. Sugiyama.
- The Chinese Government would have to erect on the spot of the assassination of Baron von Ketteler a commemorative arch inscribed in Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
, GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
, and Chinese languages.
- Concede the right to the Powers to occupy the following places:
| Traditional Chinese |
Simplified Chinese |
English names |
Translated names from early text |
| 黃村 |
黄村 |
- |
Huang-tsun |
| 郎坊（廊坊） |
郎坊(廊坊) |
Langfang Langfang , Hebei province, China, is a prefecture-level city located approximately midway between Beijing and Tianjin with a total population of 3.85 million and an urban area population of 763,700. Its total area is around 6,429 km².-Geography:...
|
Lang-fang |
| 楊村 |
杨村 |
- |
Yang-tsun |
| 天津 |
天津 |
Tianjin ' is the sixth largest city of the People's Republic of China in terms of urban population. Administratively it is one of the four municipalities that have provincial-level status, reporting directly to the central government...
|
Tien-tsin |
| 軍糧城 |
军粮城 |
Junliangcheng |
Chun-liang-Cheng |
| 塘沽 |
塘沽 |
Tanggu Tanggu District is a district in the Tianjin municipality on the coast of northeastern China. It is on the Hai River where it enters the Bohai Sea, and is a port for Tianjin, which is about 30 miles upriver...
|
Tong-ku |
| 蘆臺 |
芦台 |
- |
Lu-tai |
| 唐山 |
唐山 |
TangshanTangshan is a mainly industrial prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It became known after the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, 7.5 on the Richter scale which flattened the city...
|
Tong-shan |
| 灤州 |
滦州 |
Luanzhou |
Lan-chou |
| 昌黎 |
昌黎 |
Changli |
Chang-li |
| 秦皇島 |
秦皇岛 |
Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao is a city in Hebei province, China. It is about 300 km east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea.-Geography:...
|
Chin-wang Tao |
| 山海關 |
山海关 |
Shanhaiguan |
Shan-hai Kuan |
Political
This event also further marked the increased decentralization of power in China, from the central government to the provinces. This is as both Li Hongzhang and Yuan Shikai had delayed and then disobeyed orders from the Qing Government to join the Boxers in the Boxer Rebellion. These two provincial officers had in their hands very powerful armies, namely the
Beiyang ArmyThe Beiyang Army was a powerful, Western-style Chinese military force created by the Qing Dynasty government in the late 19th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of China's military system. The Beiyang Army played a major role in Chinese politics for at least three decades...
and the
New ArmyThe New Armies were the modernized Qing armies, trained and equipped according to western standards...
, which were later merged under Yuan Shikai after Li Hongzhang's death. Lastly, the defeat in the rebellion and the severity of the protocol initiated the Late-Qing Reforms, which were basically a follow-up of the
Hundred Days' ReformThe Hundred Days' Reform was a failed 104-day national cultural, political and educational reform movement from 11 June to 21 September 1898 in late Qing Dynasty China. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu Emperor and his reform-minded supporters led by Kang Youwei...
, and led to the 1911 Revolution.
Economic
The huge indemnity of 450 million taels of silver was a large burden on the common folks in China, who had to foot it with increased taxes. It is estimated that the entire Qing government income was only about 250 million taels at the time, making these payments worth almost twice the value of the entire government.
Social
The Boxer Protocol was a further blow to what little integrity the Qing government possessed. Some people in China were already dissatisfied with the corrupt and inefficient Qing government, and this only proved that their sentiments were well founded. They had become convinced that the Qing government was utterly incapable of ruling their country, and believed that a revolution was the only way the country could be restored to peace and prosperity.
Remittance
The following government, the
Republic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition and jurisdiction over China into a democratic state with limited international recognition and jurisdiction only over Taiwan and minor islands, though it...
, managed to persuade all the countries to remit 98% of the total indemnity.
See also
- Anglo-Chinese relations
British-Chinese relations , also known as Sino-British relations and Anglo-Chinese relations, refers to the interstate relations between China and the United Kingdom. Although on opposing sides of the Cold War, both countries were allies during World War II, and are members of the UN...
- China Relief Expedition
The China Relief Expedition was the United States military term for the rescue of Americans, Europeans, and other foreign nationals in the wake of the Boxer Rebellion. The China Relief Expedition was a multi-national effort and the United States contributed troops between 1900 and 1901...
- Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, more properly called the Boxer Uprising, or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in Chinese, was a violent anti-imperialism, anti-Christian movement by the "Righteous Fists of Harmony,” Yihe tuan义和团 or Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists in China , between 1898 and 1901...
- Beijing Legation Quarter
The Beijing Legation Quarter was the area in Beijing where a number of foreign legations were located between 1861 and 1959. In Chinese, the area is known as Dōng jiāomín xiàng , which is the name of the hutong running through the area...
External links