Episode 16 - He's Not The Messiah: The Taipeng Rebellion

Uploaded: 22 May 2018

All Python references aside, the Taipeng Rebellion is probably one of the bloodiest events in the history of the world and is almost certainly the bloodiest of the nineteenth century. 

While the Opium Wars raged just off the corner of the Eastern hemisphere, a little-known peasant in the interior of the Chinese Empire was experiencing his first biblical visions. A short time later the supposed "Brother of Jesus Christ", Hong Xiuquan, marched at the head of a horde of self-titled demon slayers which had been convinced - one way or another - that they had been set the holy task of destroying the Qing dynasty of Imperial China. The period of the rebellion was one of Total War - which is a polite way of saying everybody and everything that got in the way would be killed.

In this episode we'll look at the details of the rebellion and try to make some sense out of this semi-religious movement and their bizarre leader.

The Taipeng territories at 1854 - the red section is the Heavenly Kingdom

Further sources: (also visit footnotesofhistory.com/12 and footnotesofhistory.com/15​​​​​​​)

R. Bickers, The Scramble for China: Foreign Devils in the Qing Empire, 1832-1914​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​https://amzn.to/2IdXVyF

J. Lovell, The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China​​​​​​​https://amzn.to/2HNwdJv​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​E. Ringmar, Liberal Barbarism (Cultural Sociology)
​​​​​​​https://amzn.to/2JP8IfR