Dungan Revolt

AD – MPE: 0.03

ND – MPE: 0.97

White cites estimates for the number of people killed during the Dungan Revolt in China from 1862 to 1877, which range from 0.3 to 0.64 million. But the provinces affected by this civil war saw a large population decline which may have exceeded a million. So the numbers cited by White are probably too low.

Historian Hodong Kim’s book “Holy War in China” is the definite account of the Muslim Rebellion in Chinese Central Asia, Ya’qub Beg’s reign and the reconquest by Qing armies. He underlines the fact that the exact number of victims will never be known. But he presents evidence that tens of thousands of civilians were killed. All war parties besieged cities and towns.

The book suggests that direct killings and sieges were not the only reasons for the population decline. Mass emigration was another highly significant factor. It is also clear that the war led to economic hardship which was not intended by anyone.

I found no credible estimates for the number of innocent victims. The total population of Chinese Central Asia had probably been around one to two million before the rebellion. The Qing used tens of thousands of soldiers to defeat the Muslim state. The Muslim army had around 400,000 soldiers. So it is very unlikely that they killed millions of people. Plausible estimates for the number of innocent people killed during the revolt range from 0.3 to 1.6 million. I choose one million as the most plausible estimate. I couldn’t find credible evidence for much higher numbers.

Britain supported the rebel forces with arms and diplomacy. They also had indirect responsibility for the outbreak of the rebellion. Hodong Kim shows that British colonialism in China contributed to the economic hardship which was a major cause of the Muslim rebellion. I blame them for 2 to 4 percent of the victims. The most plausible estimate for the number of civilians killed by democratic pioneers is 0.03 million.