China 1911-1989

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The Wuchang Rebellion, 1911 - 1912

CAUSES:

Failure of the Manchus

In 1911 China entered a period of economic difficulty.

The harvest failed in all the central areas of the country.

Worst crop failure for 40 years.

Peasants were unhappy

The wealthier classes were also discontented

Increased tax for new Red Army

Use of foreign loans and technical assistance to build railways.

Short Term Trigger

In September 1911, a rebellion against the government broke out in the Sichuan province

During this, the police opened fire and killed many of the demonstrators

Agents of Sun Yatsen's 'Sworn Chinese Brotherhood' went to Sichuan to help spread the Rebellion.

The Wuchang Rebellion

On 10 October, soldiers of the New Army in Wuchang joined the rebellion.

Once the rebellion took control over Wuchang, it quickly spread through central and southern China.

By November 15 out of 18 provinces had joined.

The rebels set up a provisional government in Nanjing, in opposition to the Manchu government in Beijing.

The Government recalled the general Yuan Shikai and ordered him to crush the rebels.

He quickly defeated the rebels and recaptured Wuchang.

But instead of handing it back to the government he made a deal with the rebels.

In return for their support, he promised that he would help them achieve their aims to overthrow the government.

China was made into a republic and Yuan Shikai took the office of its President.

The Contest for Leadership

On the 24th December 1911, Sun Yatsen returned from America.

A week later he was elected as the President of "The United Provinces of China" by the assembly of rebels in Nanjing.

Although Sun Yatsen was the democratic choice of the party, Yuan Shikai had the support of the army.

Because of this, he was able to persuade the assembly to elect him as president in February 1912

Sun Yatsen resigned without protest in order to avoid a civil war.

On February 12th 1912, Prince hun and Emperor Puyi stepped down from the throne of the Manchus.

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Warlord China, 1912 - 1927

The Presidency of Yuan Shikai, 1912 - 1916

The 'constitutional republic', set up in 1912, was supposed to be a democracy, with an elected parliament sharing the tasks of the government with President Yuan Shikai.

Elections for the parliament known as the National Assembly were held in 1913.

The Guomingdang won the majority of the seats in the National Assembly

But Yuan Shikai was not interested in sharing power with a parliament dominated by Sun Yatsens party.

He began to ignore the National Assembly's decisions, with the intention to rule China as a Dictator.

In 1914, Yuan Shikai dissolved the National Assembly and claimed Presidency for the next 10 years.

By the end of 1914, 12 out of 18 provinces were under the control of Yuan, and their loyalty was assured by military dominance.