1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,760 Speaker 1: Hey, they're history fans. We're taking the day off, but 2 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: don't worry. We've got plenty of classic shows to tide 3 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: you over. Check out these selections from previous years of 4 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:11,480 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class, and I'll meet you back 5 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: here tomorrow with a brand new episode. See you then. 6 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:20,160 Speaker 2: Hey, I'm Eves and welcome to This Day in History Class, 7 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 2: a show that uncovers history one day at a time. 8 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 2: The day was June twentieth, nineteen hundred. The Siege of 9 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,519 Speaker 2: the Legation Quarter in Beijing, China, began when boxers and 10 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:43,159 Speaker 2: the Chinese Imperial Army attacked the thousands of foreigners and 11 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 2: Chinese Christians who had taken refuge there. The Boxer Rebellion 12 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 2: erupted in China in the late eighteen nineties in response 13 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 2: to growing Western influence in the country. After China had 14 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 2: taken losses in the Opium Wars and the First Sino 15 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 2: Japanese War, people had grown frustrated with foreign control in 16 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 2: Chinese economic affairs. Western culture and technology were up ending society. 17 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 2: A lot of the ire directed toward Western influence targeted 18 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:18,040 Speaker 2: Chinese people who had converted to Christianity. Christian missionaries took 19 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 2: the side of Chinese Christians and non Christians in the 20 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 2: country took offense to this. This is where the Boxers 21 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 2: come in. Also known as the Righteous and Harmonious Fists. 22 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,680 Speaker 2: The name of Boxers, given to the group by foreigners, 23 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 2: came from the martial arts they practiced, which they believed 24 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 2: gave them special powers. The Boxers were largely unemployed peasants 25 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 2: and farmers. They harbored anti foreign sentiments, and they often 26 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 2: resorted to violent action to express their anger with foreign influence. 27 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 2: Many boxers were from Shandong Province, a place that had 28 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 2: faced lots of natural disasters and had been carved up 29 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 2: by Western imperial powers. Vents became a center of the uprising. 30 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 2: Boxers spread rumors about foreigners, and soon they had resorted 31 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 2: to rioting, killing and raping Christian missionaries and converts. At first, 32 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 2: Qing troops attempted to suppress the Boxers, but in January 33 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:21,639 Speaker 2: of nineteen hundred, Empress dowager Chi ordered that they not 34 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 2: be considered criminals. Qing officials encouraged Boxers in their anti 35 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 2: foreign and anti Christian actions, despite the fact that violence 36 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 2: was escalating. Many people who faced persecution chose to stay 37 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,919 Speaker 2: or did not have the resources to leave. By mid 38 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 2: nineteen hundred, the rebellion had reached Beijing. Boxers were burning 39 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 2: churches and intimidating and killing people who tried to quell 40 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 2: the rebellion. On May thirtieth, foreign ministers in Beijing requested 41 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:56,640 Speaker 2: troops be sent to Beijing, and international forces began arriving 42 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 2: in the following days to protect Westerners and Christians, But 43 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:05,360 Speaker 2: the Boxers were wreaking havoc around Beijing, destroying technology and 44 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 2: infrastructure and committing gruesome murders. They even cut the telegraph 45 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 2: wires going out of Beijing. Great Britain's senior foreign minister, 46 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 2: Sir Claude MacDonald, had called for help, and a multinational 47 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,239 Speaker 2: relief force of twenty one hundred people was sent from 48 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 2: Tanjin to Beijing, but the Empress Dowager ordered Imperial troops 49 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 2: to block their advance and they were turned back. She 50 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 2: also ordered that all foreigners must leave Beijing, as they 51 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 2: were not able to or feared to do so, many 52 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 2: foreigners were stuck in Beijing. On June twentieth, the German 53 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 2: minister was killed and boxers besieged the Legation quarter in Beijing, 54 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 2: or the diplomatic district. The quarter was home to diplomats 55 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 2: from many Western countries, Japan and Russia, and it contained 56 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 2: many international shops, missionaries, journalists, and travelers. A few thousand 57 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 2: foreign soldiers, foreign civilians, and Chinese Christians lived or had 58 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 2: taken refuge in the district. After the siege began, the 59 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 2: Empress Dowager escalated tensions, opposing foreigners and aligning with the Boxers. 60 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 2: In Beijing, a library was burned, a mine was set 61 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:23,920 Speaker 2: off under French legation, and people were killed. Violence continued 62 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 2: outside of Beijing as well. The Qing government declared a 63 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 2: ceasefire on legations on July seventeenth, but the siege would 64 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:37,159 Speaker 2: last for fifty five days. Another international relief force of 65 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,799 Speaker 2: about twenty thousand people was sent from Tanjin to Beijing 66 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 2: in early August, reaching the city on August fourteenth. Empress 67 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:50,839 Speaker 2: Dowager she fled to present day Chian The Boxer rebellion 68 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 2: ended when the Boxer Protocol was signed in September of 69 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 2: nineteen oh one. China was ordered to pay millions of 70 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,480 Speaker 2: dollars in reparations to foreign nations involved in the conflict. 71 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 2: Boxers and Chinese officials implicated in the rebellion were ordered 72 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,039 Speaker 2: to be punished, and Western nations were allowed to keep 73 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 2: troops stationed in Beijing. Estimates of the death toll in 74 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 2: the Boxer Rebellion vary, but many of the people killed 75 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 2: were civilians, particularly Chinese Christians. The Qing Dynasty fell about 76 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 2: ten years after the end of the rebellion. I'm Eve 77 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 2: Jefcote and hopefully you know a little more about history 78 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:34,160 Speaker 2: today than you did yesterday. If you feel like correcting 79 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 2: my pronunciation or my accent on anything that I've said 80 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 2: in the show, feel free to leave a very kind 81 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 2: comment on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook at TDHC podcast. And 82 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 2: if you'd like to learn more about the Boxer Rebellion, 83 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 2: check out the episode of Stuff You Missed in History 84 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:57,799 Speaker 2: Class called Boxer Rebellion. And if you haven't listened already, 85 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:01,799 Speaker 2: you can check out another show I host called Unpopular. Unpopular. 86 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:04,239 Speaker 2: It is about people in history who challenge the status 87 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 2: quo and sometimes had to face really harsh consequences for it. 88 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 2: Thanks again for listening and we'll see you tomorrow. Hey, y'all, 89 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 2: I'm Eves and welcome to This Day in History Class, 90 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 2: a podcast that brings you a tidbit of history. Every 91 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 2: day today is June twentieth, twenty twenty. The day was 92 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:42,600 Speaker 2: June twentieth. Nineteen seventy five, the thriller film Jaws was released, 93 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 2: directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a nineteen seventy 94 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 2: four novel by Peter Benchley. The movie was at one 95 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 2: point the highest grossing film. It didn't hold that title 96 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 2: for long, but it remains a pivotal blockbuster in Hollywood history. 97 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,160 Speaker 2: The novel Jaws is about a great white shark that 98 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 2: attacks people in a resort town and the subsequent effort 99 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 2: to kill the shark. The author of the book, Peter Benchley, 100 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 2: had been interested in sharks for a while and was 101 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 2: considering writing a story that had to do with a shark. 102 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 2: He read an article about a great white shark that 103 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 2: fisherman Frank Mundescott in nineteen sixty four and found more 104 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 2: inspiration to write Jaws. Benchley was also inspired by events 105 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 2: like the Jersey Shore shark attacks of nineteen sixteen. After 106 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 2: the book was published in nineteen seventy four, it was 107 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 2: picked up by book sales clubs and gained a lot 108 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,680 Speaker 2: of traction. Richard d Zanuk and David Brown. Producers at 109 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 2: Universal Pictures read the book and purchased the film rights. 110 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 2: Steven Spielberg, who had just directed his first theatrical feature, 111 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 2: The Sugarland Express, was chosen to direct Jaws. Filming began 112 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,119 Speaker 2: in May of nineteen seventy four in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. 113 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 2: Mechanical sharks were made for production, and they shot the 114 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 2: movie in the ocean. Technological issues and delays put production 115 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 2: over budget, but the malfunction and delays are said to 116 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 2: have helped the movie since they required Spielberg to shoot 117 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 2: many scenes where the shark was not visible and its 118 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 2: presence was only hinted at. Barrels were used to represent 119 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 2: the shark's location, and many of the shots were just 120 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 2: of the shark's dorsal fin. The suspense built from not 121 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 2: seeing the shark has become one of the film's most 122 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 2: defining and memorable features. John Williams composed the score for 123 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 2: the movie, which is known for its ominous shark theme. 124 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:33,600 Speaker 2: Principal photography went more than one hundred days over schedule. 125 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 2: Spielberg commented that he thought his career was over because 126 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 2: the film was so delayed, but Universal spent a lot 127 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 2: of money on marketing the film Spielberg. Eventually, Zanduk and 128 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 2: Brown toured cities promoting the book, and Movies Universals spent 129 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 2: seven hundred thousand dollars on a TV ad campaign. On 130 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,679 Speaker 2: June twentieth, nineteen seventy five, Jaws was released in around 131 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,679 Speaker 2: four hundred and sixty movie theaters in the US and 132 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 2: can As the novel garnered more attention, the film gained 133 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 2: more steam at the box office. On June twenty third, 134 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:11,200 Speaker 2: Jaws landed on the cover of Time magazine. The film 135 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 2: was successful, so a bunch of merchandise was created to 136 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:18,239 Speaker 2: promote its release. It was expanded to hundreds more theaters, 137 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 2: and by early nineteen seventy six, it had become the 138 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 2: highest grossing film in the world. The film and its 139 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 2: score won several awards. Film historians credit Jaws with paving 140 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 2: the way for later summer Hollywood blockbusters like Star Wars. 141 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 2: It influenced the popularity of the summer movie season, but 142 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 2: it also influenced a lot of films revolving around large 143 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 2: predatory animals and left a huge mark on pop culture. 144 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 2: I'm Eves Jeffcote, and hopefully you know a little more 145 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 2: about history today. Than you did yesterday. And if you 146 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,200 Speaker 2: have any comment star suggestions, you can send them to 147 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 2: us at this day at iHeartMedia dot com. You can 148 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 2: also follow us on social We're at t d HC podcast. 149 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 2: Thanks so much for listening to the show and we'll 150 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 2: see you tomorrow. 151 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:18,079 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 152 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.