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The siege of the International Legations occurred in 1900 in Peking, the capital of the Qing Empire, during the Boxer Rebellion. Menaced by the Boxers, an anti-Christian, anti-foreign peasant movement, 900 soldiers, sailors, marines, and civilians, largely from Europe, Japan, and the United States, and about 2,800 Chinese Christians took refuge in the Peking Legation Quarter. The Qing government took the side of the Boxers after the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Tianjin at the Battle of the Taku Forts (1900), without a formal declaration of war. The foreigners and Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter survived a 55-day siege by the Qing Army and Boxers. The siege was broken by an international military force which marched from the coast of China, defeated the Qing army, and occupied Peking (now known as Beijing). The siege was called by the New York Sun "the most exciting episode ever known to civilization."
The Legation Quarter was approximately 2 mi (3.2 km) long and 1 mi (1.6 km) wide. It was located in the area of the city designated by the Qing government for foreign legations. In 1900, there were 11 legations located in the quarter as well as a number of foreign businesses and banks. Ethnic Chinese-occupied houses and businesses were also scattered about the quarter. The 12 or so Christian missionary organizations in Beijing were not located in the Legation Quarter, but rather dispersed around the city. In total, there were about 500 citizens of Western countries and Japan residing in the city. The northern end of the Legation quarter was near the Imperial City where the Empress Dowager Cixi resided. The southern end was bounded by the massive Tartar Wall which ringed the entire city of Beijing.[2] The eastern and western ends were major streets.
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