Current Status: Non-nation.
Homeland of the Uyghurs, currently under Chinese occupation.
The Manchus who set up a huge empire in China, invaded the Uyghur Kingdom of Eastern Turkestan in 1759 and dominated it until 1862. During this period the Uyghurs revolted 42 times against the Manchu rule with the purpose of regaining their independence. In the last revolt of 1863, the Uyghurs were successful in expelling the Manchus from their motherland, and founded an independent kingdom in 1864. The kingdom was recognized by the Ottoman Empire, Tsarist Russia, and Great Britain. But for fear of Tsarist expansion into Eastern Turkestan, Great Britain persuaded the Manchu court to conquer Eastern Turkestan. The money for the Manchu invasion was granted by the British Banks. Large forces under the overall command of General Zho Zhung Tang attacked Eastern Turkestan in 1876. After this invasion, Eastern Turkestan was given the name Xinjiang which means "new territory" or "New Dominion" and in 1884 it was annexed into the territory of the Manchu empire. In 1911, the Nationalist Chinese, overthrew Manchu rule and established a republic. The Uyghurs, who also wanted to free themselves from foreign domination, staged several uprisings against the nationalist Chinese rule during this period. Twice, in 1933 and 1944, the Uyghurs were successful in setting up an independent Eastern Turkestan Republic. But these independent republics were overthrown by the military intervention and political intrigues of the Soviet Union. It was in fact the Soviet Union that proved deterrent to the Uyghur independence movement during this period. In 1949 Nationalist Chinese were defeated by the Chinese Communists. After that, Uyghurs fell under Chinese Communist rule. Since East Turkestan is under Chinese control, the Chinese Administration discriminate the Uyghurs in all walks of life. The Uyghurs have no public representation in their own country. They will be discriminate in employment, population growth, health care, education, literature and economy by the Chinese.
