The fall of Nanking, the capital of the unrecognised rebel state in China, on 19 July 1864, which finally brought an end to the bloodiest civil war in history.
First, let’s do some scene setting.
We’re in the thick of what China will later call their Century of Humiliation, a period of time where everyone is doing their thang in the middle country. Between 1839 to 1949, Japan and a bunch of Western Powers intervene, invade, bully, subjugate, and carve up China as they please. It’s good ole’ fashioned geopolitical greed.
Adding to the fire is a series of internal insurrections against the Manchu-led Qing dynasty. After a period of general stability and progress, the Great Qing is now fighting conflicts on all fronts, but none is more catastrophic than the Taiping Rebellion. This religious revolt will go down in history as the bloodiest civil war of all time anywhere and kill an estimated 20–30 million people, a feat comparable to World War I. Holy mackerel!
As rebellions often do, this movement starts with one man…
