The Boxer Rebellion was a revolt spearheaded by a secret society – ‘Boxers United in Righteousness‘ (Yihequan)- that aimed to remove foreign influence over China after years of military defeats and trade concessions. In June 1900 the Boxers, with support from the Imperial court, laid siege to the Legation Quarter of Beijing (Peking) for 55 days until it was relieved by an eight-nation alliance.
This picture, partly based on a black-and-white photograph, depicts the makeshift cannon used by the Legation defenders – a ragtag force of marines, sailors, and civilian volunteers.
Known as ‘Betsy’ or the ‘International’, the cannon was assembled from an old smoothbore gun discovered on 7th July and mounted on an Italian 1-pounder gun carriage. It was supplied with Russian shrapnel and 9-lb shells which had been mistakenly brought up from Tientsin instead of rifle ammunition.
The ‘International’ bombarded Chinese barricades during the siege and was taken to different locations, including the city wall overlooking the Legation Quarter.
By Ibrahim Zamir
Empire of History 