The Taipang Rebelion

The Taiping Rebellion was a revolt that took place during the Qing dynasty and was against the Qing Dynasty as well. Hong Xiuquan who believed that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ because of visions that he had led the rebellion. His goal was to eliminate Manchu rule from China. Xiuquan gathered more than one mission people in his rebellion. The rebels took over Nanjing in 1853. They renamed it Tianjing Meaning "Heavenly Capital" and they made it their capital. The rebels moved on to other places in China where they were unsuccessful such as Beijing. This defeat didn't stop them; they kept moving north towards the Yangtzee River. There they had plenty of victories.

After a while the rebels could not rule their lands properly. This was because the rebellion had destroyed the upper-classes, which provided items for the other classes. And, now the rebels could not provide those items. Now that the rebels had started to lose control, other forces tried to take their land over. In 1860, the rebels tried to take over Shanghai, but American, British, and other Chinese forces stopped them. These forces were working together for one cause. If the rebels kept going, they might have destroyed the whole Manchu Dynasty. And if the dynasty were destroyed, trade with foreign lands would be destroyed as well. Thinking this, foreign forces along with Chinese forces teamed up to break apart the rebellion. These forces tried to capture the rebels, and many of them did get captured. But, many others preferred death. The results of the rebellion were devastating. 17 provinces were destroyed, 20 million lives were lost, and the Qing government was unable to take a successful rule on China.

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