Pre-modern / 19th century
- Dungan (Muslim) Revolt begins — 1862 (no exact day). Widespread Muslim rebellions that spread into Gansu and East Turkistan; after years of conflict the Dzungar power vacuum contributed to later turmoil. Encyclopedia Britannica
- Yaqub Beg enters Kashgar — 1864 (no exact day); establishes a short-lived Kashgar-centered state that ruled much of southern East Turkistan until his death in 1877. Encyclopedia Britannica
- Yaqub Beg dies — 1877 (May; sources vary on exact day). End of his Kashgar kingdom and Qing reconquest of the region follows. Encyclopedia Britannica
Republican era & 1930s–1940s (widespread warlord and Soviet involvement)
- Kumul Rebellion — 20 Feb 1931 – July 1934. Anti-warlord uprising in eastern East Turkistan that helped reshape control of the province and set the stage for later 1933–34 events. Wikipedia
- First East Turkistan Republic (Kashgar) proclaimed — 12 Nov 1933. Short-lived Islamic republic in southern East Turkistan; collapsed in April 1934. Wikipedia
- First ETR overrun / fall — 16 Apr 1934. Forces of local warlords and others retook Kashgar and ended the First ETR. Wikipedia
WWII & Civil War era — Second ETR / Ili Rebellion
- Ili Rebellion begins — 7 Nov 1944. Insurgency in the Ili (Yili) region backed by the USSR; led to creation of the Second East Turkestan Republic in the north. Wikipedia
- Second East Turkistan Republic declared — 12 Nov 1944. De facto control in Ili/Tacheng/Altay area until negotiations with the ROC and later the PRC. Wikipedia
- Ili leaders’ plane crash — 27 Aug 1949. Several prominent Second ETR leaders died in a crash while reportedly en route to talks in Beijing. Wikipedia
PRC consolidation and 1950s resistance
- PLA takes Urumqi / PRC control consolidated — 17 Dec 1949. Communist forces established control over East Turkistan during the civil-war conclusion. Wikipedia
- Osman Batur resistance / capture & execution — 1950–1951 (captured/executed Apr 1951). Kazakh leader Osman (Batur) led sustained anti-PRC resistance in parts of northern East Turkistan; captured and executed in 1951. uca.edu
- Khotan (Hotan) local uprising suppressed — 31 Dec 1954 – 1 Jan 1955. Anti-state action in Khotan region suppressed by PRC forces. uca.edu
- Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region formally established — 1 Oct 1955. Administrative change by the PRC (not an uprising but a major structural event). uca.edu
1960s–1980s (periodic unrest, 1962 exodus / 1969 ETPRP founding)
- Yining (Ghulja) protests / exodus — May 1962 (notably 29 May 1962). Large protests and clashes; tens of thousands fled to the Soviet Union in the aftermath. uca.edu
- East Turkestan People’s Revolutionary Party (ETPRP) formation & clashes — late 1960s / 1969 (skirmishes reported). Small militant group activity and attempted uprisings suppressed by government forces. uca.edu
- Kashgar armory attack & incidents — 26 May 1981 and other 1981 incidents. Isolated violent attacks and attempted uprisings noted in early 1980s records. uca.edu
1990s — larger organized incidents
- Barin (Baren) uprising — 4–10 Apr 1990. Armed confrontation in Barin Township, Akto County; widely reported as a key turning point that prompted a major security crackdown. Wikipedia+1
- Ghulja (Yining) protests / “Ghulja incident” — 3–5 Feb 1997. Mass demonstrations in Yining that escalated into confrontations with security forces; heavy arrests reported. Wikipedia+1
2000s–2010s — spikes in violence, major riots, and later mass-detention policies
- Urumqi ethnic riots — 5 July 2009. Large, deadly riots in the regional capital Ürümqi between Uyghurs and Han communities; hundreds killed or injured in ensuing violence and security action. everycrsreport.com+1
- Wave of attacks and PRC security campaigns — 2009–2014. A series of violent incidents (bombings, stabbings) across East Turkistan and subsequent intensified counter-terror/anti-separatist campaigns by Beijing. everycrsreport.com
- Reports of mass detention / “re-education” camps — 2017 onward (documented 2018–2021). Major human-rights organizations (HRW, Amnesty) and UN experts documented large-scale arbitrary detention, systematic surveillance, and rights abuses affecting Uyghurs and other Turkic groups from 2017 onward. Human Rights Watch+1
Key sources used (reliable / high-quality)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — biographies and overview entries (e.g., Yaqub Beg; Muslim rebellions). Encyclopedia Britannica+1
- University of Central Arkansas / DADM project — compiled chronology for Xinjiang (1949–present) and many event dates. uca.edu
- Human Rights Watch reports (2018, 2021) and earlier HRW materials documenting repression, camps and the modern security context. Human Rights Watch+1
- Congressional Research Service and country reports (CRS / U.S. State Dept) summarizing incidents and policy responses in Xinjiang. everycrsreport.com+1
- Contemporary reporting and documented event pages (e.g., Kumul Rebellion, First/Second ETR, Barin, Ghulja) — where I used encyclopedia or established secondary sources for dates and short descriptions. Wikipedia+3Wikipedia+3Wikipedia+3