alternatehistory.com

The Red Turbans finds it's roots in the various secret societies, self-defense and criminal organizations located in the Guangdong with these disparate groups coming together with the goal of throwing off the Manchu yolk and restoring the Ming, the last Han dynasty of China . Located in the far South of China, Guangdong faced perfect storm of discontent against the Qing as the province suffered from drought the previous decade, a ruined harvest in 1852 due heavy rains and heavy taxes on the peasantry levied by the local government . These heightened tension came to a head with the success of the Taping encouraging rebellion with the Red Turbans taking the helm.

The rebellion by it's very nature was decentralized, but begin to come together as two men who were elected by the strongest of the factions would come to led in April, Li Wenmao and Chen Kai[1]. The capture of Guangzhou(Canton) saw a massive increase in support for the Red Turbans with a growing number of peasants and defectors joining the cause with further uprisings in Southern China. Unlike the Taiping to the North with their unique form of Christianity, The Red Turbans did not seek to destroy the centuries long social order of China as such had a larger appeal to the average Chinese with millions joining the cause. Qing presence in coastal Southern China vanished with the Red Turbans taking the rest of Guangdong, the Southern Half of Fujian, parts of other neighboring provinces within 9 months of the capture of Guangzhou aided by the lack of Qing troops. The nascent state held a shaky peace with the British in Hong Kong and the Taping to the North as it focused on the Qing.

[1] Elected earlier due to an earlier rebellion