In what way was Belgium a part of Chinese politics around 1900, for example, the Boxer rebellion?

author

I ask because Belgium and Netherlands were one of the fewcountries to have a legation in Beijing at the time. The other countries with such a legation were the superpowers which all had their own colonies in China. But why Belgium/Netherlands, who had no colonies? Quote: The legations of the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, Russia and Japan were all located on the Legation Quarter close to the Forbidden City. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_rebellion Oct 29 07, 4:30 PM

queproblema

Many countries had legations or embassies in China at that time. That quote from the Wiki article isn't intended to be exhaustive. Further on in the same paragraph the legations of Spain and Germany are mentioned. Wiki has an article on the legation quarter that also names tributary missions from Vietnam, Mongolia, Korea and Burma. Click on a map that includes the legations of Italy, Portugal,and Mexico. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Legation_Quarter I've been unable to quickly find a complete list. Oct 29 07, 6:10 PM