Ithe late 19th century the Boxers began to increase their strength in the provinces of North China. Christian missionary activities helped provoke the Boxers. By May 1900, Boxer bands were roaming the countryside around the capital at Peking. In early June an international relief force of 2,100 men was dispatched from the northern port of Tientsin to Peking. On June 13 the empress dowager ordered Imperial forces to block the advance of the foreign troops, and the small relief column was turned back. Meanwhile, in Peking the Boxers burned churches and foreign residences and killed suspected Chinese Christians on sight. On June 18 the empress dowager ordered that all foreigners be killed. The German minister was murdered, and the other foreign ministers and their families and staff, together with hundreds of Chinese Christians, were besieged in their legation quarters and in the Roman Catholic cathedral in Peking.

On Aug. 14, 1900, an international force captured Peking, relieving the foreigners and Christians besieged there since June 20. While foreign troops looted the capital, the empress dowager and her court fled to Sian, leaving behind a few Imperial princes to conduct the negotiations. After extensive discussions, a protocol was finally signed in September 1901, ending the hostilities and providing for reparations to be made to the foreign powers.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

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