12. The Xinhai Revolution saw the collapse of the Qing dynasty and creation of the ill-fated Republic of China
Established in 1636, the Qing dynasty reigned for almost three centuries as the last imperial dynasty of China, establishing during this time the territorial composition of the modern-day country. Peaking during the Qianlong Emperor’s reign in the mid-to-late eighteenth century, in the years following corruption and decay settled in as the nation crumbled from its former glory. Failing to resist the imperial powers of Europe, who imposed a series of “unequal treaties” upon China and seized control of many ports, the latter half of the nineteenth century saw a series of revolts against Imperial authority.
Losing the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, in 1901 the Qing Empire was forced to sign the Boxer Protocol, humiliating and subjugating the proud nation. Spurring revolutionaries to seek change, notably led by Sun-Yat-sen, the Wuchang Uprising in October 1911 proliferated to trigger the Xinhai Revolution. Ending with the forced abdication of six-year-old Emperor Puyi on February 12, 1912, following a brief civil war, the consequently formed Republic of China signaled the end to thousands of years of imperial governance and the hopeful introduction of democracy. However, the republican moment would be short-lived, with armed uprisings dragging the country into factional conflict, which, interrupted only by the Second World War, concluded with the near-total destruction of the republic and its replacement with the authoritarian People’s Republic in 1949.