The world in the Age of RevolutionSociety and economy
White Lotus Rebellion
A peasant rebellion under the banner of the secret Buddhist teaching of the White Lotus in the mountain districts of Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces. Its suppression took almost ten years and sapped the strength of the Qing Empire.
- Date
- between 1794 and 1796 – 1804start: exact date unknown: an interval is given; end: year known · duration: ≈ 9 years
- Place
- Daba Mountains (where Sichuan, Hubei and Shaanxi meet)approximate locationtoday: China · East Asia
- Participants
- Qing dynasty, Jiaqing Emperor
- Threads
- The world in the Age of Revolution
English-language scholarship usually dates the start of the rebellion to 1794, Russian sinology to 1796, when in February the peasants of Hubei rose under the sect’s leadership. The rebels, who expected the imminent coming of the Buddha, rose against extortionate levies and official abuses.
Manchu troops were too few, and the government had to rely on Han Chinese units and local militias; the rebellion cost the lives of an estimated 100,000 rebels.
Connections
Related events
- Abdication of the Qianlong Emperor9 February 1796 · East Asiaby the Russian dating, the rebellion broke out in February 1796, in the first weeks of Jiaqing’s reign, when real power still lay with the abdicated Qianlong
Adjacent events in the thread
- Fall of Seringapatam and death of Tipu Sultan5 April – 4 May 1799 · South Asia
- Voltaic pile20 March 1800 · Western and Central Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within a year of this event
Western and Central Europe
- Coup of 18 Brumaire9–10 November 1799
- Voltaic pile20 March 1800
- Suvorov’s Swiss campaign10 (21) September 1799 – 27 September (8 October) 1799
- Battle of Marengo14 June 1800
- Suvorov’s Italian campaign3 (14) April 1799 – 31 August (11 September) 1799
+ 10 events
Eastern Europe
- Assassination of Paul I12 (24) March 1801
- Death of Catherine the Great6 (17) November 1796
- Third Partition of Poland13 (24) October 1795
- First Russian circumnavigation26 July (7 August) 1803 – 7 (19) August 1806
- Second Partition of Poland12 (23) January 1793
Balkans and Anatolia
- Siege and capture of Corfu24 October (4 November) 1798 – 20 February (3 March) 1799
- First Serbian Uprising14 February 1804 – 7 October 1813
Middle East and Egypt
- French invasion of Egypt and Syria19 May 1798 – 2 September 1801
- Battle of the Nile1–3 August 1798
- Battle of the Pyramids21 July 1798
- Muhammad Ali becomes ruler of EgyptMay 1805
Africa
- Mungo Park’s first expedition to the Niger2 December 1795 – 10 June 1797
- Jihad of Usman dan Fodio21 February 1804 – 1808
Central and Northern Asia
- Syrym Datuly’s uprising1783–1797
- Billings–Sarychev expedition25 October (5 November) 1785 – March 1794
South Asia
- Fall of Seringapatam and death of Tipu Sultan5 April – 4 May 1799
- Ranjit Singh proclaimed Maharaja of the Punjab12 April 1801
- Battle of Assaye23 September 1803
Southeast Asia and Oceania
North America
- Louisiana Purchase30 April – 20 December 1803
- Lewis and Clark Expedition14 May 1804 – 23 September 1806
Latin America
- Haitian Revolutionbetween 21 August and 22 August 1791 – 1 January 1804
- Haitian Declaration of Independence1 January 1804
- Balmis Expedition30 November 1803 – 14 August 1806