Imperial Chinese Government £20 Gold Loan Bond - 1908 dated £5,000,000 Capitalization (Uncanceled)

1908 dated Uncanceled £5,000,000 Capitalization £20 Denomination 5% Bond printed by Waterlow & Sons Limited, London Wall, London, E.C. The Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 to 1912, marked the last imperial dynasty in China. Established by the Manchus, it was the second dynasty to conquer and govern all of China, effectively expanding the territory previously held by the Ming dynasty. The Manchus, originally known as Jurchens, inhabited the northeastern regions of the Ming territory beyond the Great Wall. They emerged as a formidable threat to the waning Ming dynasty after Nurhaci unified the Jurchen tribes, and his successor, Hong Taiji, proclaimed the founding of the Qing dynasty in 1636. The Qing dynasty introduced the Eight Banners system, which served as the foundation for its military campaigns. In 1644, a peasant uprising led by Li Zicheng resulted in the capture of Beijing, prompting the suicide of the last Ming emperor, Chongzhen. The Manchus allied with the Ming general Wu Sangui to retake Beijing, which subsequently became the capital of the Qing dynasty. They then proceeded to defeat the remaining Ming loyalists in the southern regions. The Manchu conquests were marked by immense loss of life and a significant decline in China's economic prosperity, with estimates suggesting that the conflict resulted in the deaths of up to 25 million individuals. The early Manchu emperors adeptly blended Central Asian ruling traditions with Confucian principles of governance, thereby being recognized as a legitimate Chinese dynasty.