Part 1 of 5 · freeIntroduction
The deadliest war in history? Many people answer at once: World War II. But it all depends on how you count. Some historians count only those who died in battle. Others add the civilians carried off by the famine and disease that war drags behind it.
By that second method, the leading candidate is the Taiping Rebellion, the huge uprising that shook China between 1850 and 1864. Conservative estimates speak of 20 to 30 million dead, others go higher, and the exact figure will never be known. Most surprising of all, it began as a religious movement. How did a new faith set off a war on such a scale?
The rest is in the Sophia app.The remaining parts, the open-book quiz and the full glossary. Free to start; Premium unlocks everything.
- 2Hong Xiuquan, younger brother of Jesus
- 3A religious movement turned state
- 4Nanjing, the Heavenly Capital
- 5The end of God's Kingdom
Open-book quiz8 questions whose answers are in the text.
Glossary7 terms explained in a tap.
30 languagesThe same course, from French to Japanese.
