The Boxer Rebellion was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, anti-Christian uprising in China, reaching Peking on 21st June, 1900, when Empress Dowager Cixi declared war on all foreign powers and demanded that they depart the country at once.
The rebels were known as the “Boxers” in English, because many of its members practiced Chinese martial arts; in their n ... Show More
Jul 15
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!
The inventor of margarine, French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès, patented his butter substitute on 15th July, 1869. Inspired by a competition launched by Emperor Napoleon III to find a cheaper, longer-lasting alternative to butter for the French Navy, Mège-Mouriès called his cre ... Show More
12m 6s
Apr 2025
A Concubine Rises to Rule China
April 27, 1856. In Beijing’s Forbidden City, one of the emperor’s consorts, a woman named Cixi, has given birth to a son – the emperor’s first heir. This landmark event is met with mass celebration. But in just five years time, the emperor will be dead and Cixi will be planning a ... Show More
35m 10s