Why did the boxers hate foreigners?

Answer 1

The boxers specifically hated the Western Catholic and Protestant missionaries for undermining ancient Chinese values and beliefs and introducing all kinds of foreign and 'false' beliefs.

Later it spread to a general dislike of all foreigners mostly because they had arranged themselves not to be subject to most Chinese laws and taxes and because of their condescending attitude towards the Chinese population.

This answer requires a major edit. Background information will give a better insight to the Boxer Rebellion and why it came to be a force to be reckoned with.

The Boxers were a Chinese society that were encouraged by many Chinese government officials as the top leaders of the Manchu dynasty created policies towards the West were deemed to be lackluster and in fact weak. The Manchu's were the last dynasty to rule in China. In contrast to the days of the Boxers, the Manchu's were once a powerful dynasty. The instability and rebellions during the period of the Ming dynasty, left an opening for new invaders to take advantage of the situation. The Manchu's swept down from Manchuria and seized control of the country. The Manchu's required Chinese men to adopt the Manchu's appearances a sign of loyalty to the new regime. This meant shaved heads with a pigtail in the back of the head. Under the Manchu's the Chinese empire became larger than any prior dynasties. The empire included the huge Chinese mainland, the island of Formosa, the outer provinces of Manchuria, Mongolia, Sinkiang, and Tibet. The early Manchu's received annual tributes from Korea, Burma, and Nepal. The Manchu's maintained military forces throughout strategic places in China in order to curtail any rebellions at the earliest time possible. The Manchu's were not "Chinese" by ruled as "Chinese Emperors" creating a real Chinese bureaucracy to carry out the policies of the Manchu's.

The Manchu's were wise in that they observed the Chinese people's customs and traditions. Strength and prosperity became the way of life in China until the stroke of Western Imperialism.

In the years beginning the 1800's the Western powers sought the decline and weakness of the Manchu's in order to further their own goals.

The size and wealth of China caught the attention of the West. The Manchu policies of allowing the West to gain a foothold in China would eventually lead to the demise of the dynasty. Larger numbers of Westerners began to seek influence in China. More and more missionaries, merchants, foreign diplomats, arrived from Western Europe and even from Russia.

France and Great Britain became major influences in China as well as with Russia. In 1784 the first American merchant ship arrived in China.

Over the prior centuries, the Chinese and whomever were the rulers there, had a sense of ethnocentric behavior. This held true for the Mnachu's as well. As a result of this the Manchu's created policies that reflected this. As example:

A. Westerners were viewed as inferior peoples and the Manchu's denied diplomatic recognition of Western countries as this would imply equality.

B. Manchu scholars considered the West to be barbarians compared to Chinese culture and refused to learn about western civilizations and what they might gain from them.

C. As a result of this, the Mnachu's used economic measures to keep the Westerners in check, while of course initially benefiting from the commercial trade.

D. Western merchant ships were restricted to one port, Canton. The manchu's imposed high import duties, demanded bribes, and also subjected the merchants to what can be described as personal indignities.

Despite all of this both China and the Western merchants prospered from the trade that developed. Interaction between the Manchu's and the West gave the West a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of the Manchu's while the Manchu's were distictly unaware of the power that stood behind the merchants. ( The power of imperialism backed by military strength )

From the beginning of the 1840's the Western powers began looking at China as a narrow minded government with a lack of international experience. China's lack of allies, and its relative isolation were weaknesses that the "new invaders" would soon take full advantage of.

China then as it is now, offers a huge population that was a market for manufactured goods. China remains a nation with low labor costs which was and now, an asset to foreign owned enterprises.

At the time of Western imperialism, China was also a source of Natural Resources. China's wealth of tea and raw silk found markets in the West.

At that time, and onward to 1931, China's miitary power was incomparison, weaker than the West's and when speaking about 1931, weaker than the military power of Japan.

The Chinese Boxers were uncomfortable with the advantages of the West. Later in the 19th century, China would have to contend with Japan. ( this is placed here as an aside )

At this juncture we can now see the full extent of the problem the Boxers had with the West & their own government. It was the result of a long history of abuse by the West. Without this background information, the Boxers cannot be fully understood.

The major imperialistic nations were:

Great Britain; 1. The British brought on the Opium War ( 1839-1842 ) The British Empire's influence compelled the Manchu's to allow the import of Opium. ( this is almost unbelievable but true )

2. Britain annexed Hong Kong.

3. The Manchu's were forced to agree with extraterritoriality; meaning an Englishman charged with a crime in China would be tried in a British Court.

4. The British began "running things " in the Yangtze River Valley.

Germany; Acquired a sphere of influence over the Shantung Peninisula.

France; Annexed Indo-China

Russia; Annexed the Amur River district, the Pacific seaport & called it Port Vladivostok, annexed Sinkiang Province and began to establish a sphere of influence over Manchuria.

Japan; Annexed Taiwan, later annexed Korea

Boxer Rebellion

The Boxers staged an uprising in 1900 to drive out all foreigners and restore China. International military intervention suppressed the rebellion.

The Western nations then demanded monetary reimbursement for the costs of the war.

Thus as stated by the first contributor, the Boxers hated the West.