China War Medal 1900

 

The Third China War 1900 (The Boxer Rebellion).

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

The China War Medal 1900 was a British Empire campaign medal presented for service during the Third China War. The medal was instituted in 1901 and was awarded to British and Imperial land and sea troops who fought during what was also known as the Boxer Rebellion of 1900.

 

The medal used the same reverse as the two previous China War medals.

 

The medal was also awarded to 555 naval personnel of the Colonial navies of Australia without a clasp: 256 men with the New South Wales Contingent, 197 with the Victorian, and 102 on the South Australian gunboat 'Protector'.

 

 

The medal is circular, 36mm in diameter and was struck in either silver or bronze. The obverse of this medal has the crowned bust of Queen Victoria looking left with the inscription; 'VICTORIA REGINA ET IMPERATRIX'. 

 

The reverse is the same as the First and Second China War medals with the coat of Royal Arms on a shield in front of a cannon and the inscription; ‘ARMIS EXPOSCERE PACIM’. The main difference is the date '1900' below the word 'CHINA'.

 

The ribbon suspender is of the plain, straight and swivelling style riveted to the medal.

 

The medal was issued in silver to combatants and in bronze to native, namely Indian bearers, drivers and servants.

 

The recipient's details can be found on the medal's rim and can be found in engraved and impressed form including running script for the Royal Field Artillery and Indian units.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 32mm wide and is crimson in colour with a narrow gold stripe along either edge.

 

 

This medal was issued with the following clasps:-

 

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.

 

** The individual medal value will vary considerably based on the recipient’s details.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The Boxer Rebellion.

- The Taku Forts.

- The Defence Of The Legations.

- The Relief Of Pekin.

 

The Boxer Rebellion - The Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising or Yihetuan Movement was a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian movement which took place in China towards the end of the Qing dynasty between 1899 and 1901. It was initiated by the Righteous Harmony Society (Yihetuan),known in English as 'Boxers', and was motivated by proto-nationalist sentiments and opposition to foreign imperialism and Christianity. The Great Powers intervened and defeated Chinese forces.

 

The uprising took place against a background of severe drought and the disruption caused by the growth of foreign spheres of influence. After several months of growing violence against foreign and Christian presence in Shandong and the North China plain, in June 1900 Boxer fighters, convinced they were invulnerable to foreign weapons, converged on Beijing with the slogan 'Support the Qing, exterminate the foreigners'.

 

Foreigners and Chinese Christians sought refuge in the Legation Quarter. In response to reports of an armed invasion to lift the siege, the initially hesitant Empress Dowager Cixi supported the Boxers and on June 21 authorized war on foreign powers. Diplomats, foreign civilians and soldiers, and Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter were under siege by the Imperial Army of China and the Boxers for 55 days.

 

Chinese officialdom was split between those supporting the Boxers and those favouring conciliation, led by Prince Qing. The supreme commander of the Chinese forces, Ronglu, later claimed that he acted to protect the besieged foreigners. The Eight-Nation Alliance, after being initially turned back, brought 20,000 armed troops to China, defeated the Imperial Army, and captured Beijing on August 14 (Siege of the International Legations), lifting the siege of the Legations.

 

Uncontrolled plunder of the capital and the surrounding countryside ensued, along with the summary execution of those suspected of being Boxers.

 

The Boxer Protocol of September 7, 1901 provided for the execution of government officials who had supported the Boxers, provisions for foreign troops to be stationed in Beijing, and an indemnity of 67 million pounds (450 million taels of silver) - more than the government's annual tax revenue, to be paid as indemnity over a course of thirty-nine years to the eight nations involved.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Taku Forts - The first fort was built during the reign of the Ming Jiajing Emperor between 1522 and 1527. Its purpose was to protect Tianjin from attack by wokou sea raiders.

 

Later, in 1816, the Qing government built the first two forts on both sides of the Haihe estuary in response to increased concerns about seaborne threats from the West. By 1841, in response to the First Opium War, the defensive system in Dagukou was reinforced into a system of five big forts, 13 earthen batteries, and 13 earthworks.

 

In 1851, Imperial Commissioner Sengge Rinchen carried out a comprehensive renovation of the forts, building 6 large forts: two on the south of the estuary, three to the north, and the sixth, was built on a small ridge on the northern shore.

 

Each fort had three large guns and 20 small caliber guns. Forts were constructed of wood and brick with an external curtain of two feet of concrete, the layering designed to avoid spalling and minimize penetration by artillery rounds. The forts were around 10 to 15 metres (33 to 49 ft) high, which located as they were in an exceedingly flat landscape, provided a critical vantage point.

 

The Battle of Taku or Dagu Forts during the Boxer Rebellion was between the Chinese military and allied Western and Japanese naval forces. The Allies captured the forts after a brief but bloody battle.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Defence Of The Legations - The Siege of the International Legations occurred during the Boxer Rebellion in the Chinese city of Beijing (Peking). Menaced by the Boxers, an anti-Christian, anti-foreign peasant movement, 900 soldiers and civilians, largely from Europe, Japan, and the United States, and about 2,800 Chinese Christians took refuge in the Beijing Legation Quarter.

 

The Qing government took the side of the Boxers. The foreigners and Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter survived a 55-day siege by the Qing Army and the Boxers. The siege was broken by an international military force which marched from the coast of China, defeated the Qing army, and occupied Beijing. The siege was called by the New York Sun '…the most exciting episode ever known to civilization'.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Relief Of Pekin - After thousands of European and Chinese Christians were trapped in the legation compound at Peking by Boxer insurgents in 1900. An eight-nation International Relief Force of European, American and Japanese troops maneuvered to the rescue. Since Kaiser Wilhelm II’s minister to China, Baron Clemens von Ketteler, was murdered by the Boxers, the Germans '…claimed a certain priority in the crusade against Chinese barbarism'.

 

The now semi-retired, sixty-eight-year-old, but for the occasion newly promoted Field Marshal Alfred Count von Waldersee, was proposed by the Tsar of Russia, and seconded by the Japanese, as the first Allied Supreme Commander of modern times.

 

Waldersee arrived at the frontlines of Peking too late to direct his multinational force in any fighting of note, but was in charge of the pacification of the Boxers.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.