In the late 19th century, anti-foreign sentiments merged with rural unrest and mystical cults to give rise to the Boxer movement. Practicing martial arts and espousing a slogan of “support the Qing, destroy the foreign,” the “Boxers United in Righteousness” targeted all foreigners and Chinese Christian converts, who suffered violent attacks. The Uprising reached a peak in the spring and summer of 1900 when Boxer forces marched on Beijing, with the support of the Qing court. For two months the Boxers occupied the capital and besieged the foreign legation district, where the foreign community and a large group of Chinese Christians barricaded themselves within the legations.