Xinjiang was initially conquered by the Qing dynasty, a historical Chinese ethnic-Manchu regime, in the 1750s, with 1759 being the year of the establishment of the original form of the modern day administrative region. Xinjiang was subsequently inherited by the Republic of China (ROC), which succeeded the Qing dynasty in 1912, and then by the PRC, which mostly succeeded the ROC in 1949 (except in Taiwan and other minor islands). Throughout Qing and ROC rule, there were several periods of brief "de facto" independence for either the entire region of Xinjiang or parts of it, as well as foreign occupation and warlord governance. The PRC incorporation of Xinjiang occurred soon after the regime was established in 1949, and since then, Xinjiang has remained a region of China. The PRC claims that Xinjiang has been part of China for over 2000 years, though evidence for this claim is scant. Historically, Xinjiang has constituted an independent "East Turkestan", though various non-Chinese regimes controlled the region at times prior to the 1750s. Xinjiang has been a hotbed of ethnic and religious conflict throughout much of the period that it has been governed by successive Chinese regimes.