4. Taiping Rebellion
Hong Xiuquan, a Chinese Christian convert who believed that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, founded a movement that gathered momentum in China in the 1840s. In 1850 Hong proclaimed the establishment of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace with himself leader of a new dynasty. The Taiping rebellion, and ensuing civil war against the Qing dynasty, led to widespread devastation and the death of 20 million...