Trouble had been brewing in China for years. Foreign exploitation by various countries had escalated to the point that the outright partitioning of China into international zones seemed likely. This aroused a violent movement among the Chinese to rid their country of foreign influence. At its vanguard was a group that called itself the "righteous harmony fists" The foreign press labeled the group the Boxers.
In early 1900, Boxers in China's Northern provinces attacked and killed hundreds of Chinese Christians and foreign missionaries. The violence culminated on June 20, with the killing of the German Minister in Peking (Beijing). Most foreigners and many Chinese converts fled to the foreign legations in Peking and were promptly besieged by a large force of Boxers supported by Chinese imperial troops.
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