Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [19]
Bhutan and the British by Peter Collister is a comprehensive account of the interaction between Britain and Bhutan from 1771 to 1987.
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This was the time of the Afghan War and the Anglo–Sikh wars. The British Indian administration had little time to worry about Bhutan, and major and minor conflicts and cross-border incursions continued. Although the British were making plans to annex the Bengal Duars, they were not able to follow through. Their troops were kept busy trying to suppress the Indian uprising of 1857, which was a movement against British rule in India.
Bhutan took advantage of the instability in the region and mounted numerous raids in the Bengal Duars. To compensate for their losses, the British deducted large sums from payments they owed the Bhutanese. In 1861 the Bhutanese retaliated by raiding Cooch Behar, capturing a number of elephants and kidnapping several residents, including some British subjects.
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THE TRONGSA PENLOP GAINS CONTROL
At this time the incumbent zhabdrung was a youth of 18, and the affairs of state were handled by the Lhengyal Shungtshog (Council of Ministers), which consisted of the Trongsa and Paro penlops, several dzongpens and other officials. There was constant infighting and intrigue between the Paro and Trongsa penlops, both of whom were vying for power through attacks, conspiracy and kidnapping. When one gained control, he appointed a desi and enthroned him; soon the other penlop gained control, ejected the opposing desi and placed his own representative on the throne.
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Views of Medieval Bhutan is a coffee-table book by Michael Aris that presents the diary and drawings of Samuel Davis, an artist and member of George Bogle’s 1774 expedition to Bhutan.
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Through a series of shrewd alliances the Trongsa penlop, Jigme Namgyal (1825–82), gained the upper hand and established effective control of the country. This was the first time peace had prevailed since the time of the first zhabdrung. Jigme Namgyal was working to strengthen his power and that of the central government when he had an inconvenient visitor.
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THE HUMILIATION OF ASHLEY EDEN
The British had managed to extend their influence into Sikkim, making it a British protectorate, and subsequently decided to send a mission to Bhutan to establish a resident British representative and encourage better communication.
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EXPLORATION OF WESTERN TRAVELLERS
Some of the most interesting stories of Bhutan, and much of Bhutan’s recorded history, came from the descriptions provided by early European explorers. These records provide an insight into what they observed and also reveal the extraordinary attitudes of some of the envoys Britain sent to negotiate with Bhutan.
Fathers Cacella & Cabral
The first Western visitors to Bhutan were two Portuguese Jesuit priests. In early 1627 Fathers Cacella and Cabral travelled from Calcutta to Bhutan en route to Shigatse in Tibet. They stayed for a few months in Cheri Goemba, north of Thimphu, with the Zhabdrung. There is no complete account of their journey, but one of their letters provides an insight into Ngawang Namgyal’s character:
‘He received us with a demonstration of great benevolence, signifying this in the joy which he showed on seeing us and on knowing where we had come from, where we were from, that is from what country or nation, and he asked the other questions normal at a first meeting.’
George Bogle
Some 150 years later, the first British expedition arrived in Bhutan in 1774, just after the first British treaties with Bhutan and Tibet were signed. The Court of Directors of the East India Company sent a mission to Tibet via Bhutan to find out about goods, ‘especially such as are of great value and easy transportation’. The expedition team, led by George Bogle, planted potatoes wherever they went, providing a new food crop for Bhutan and a lasting legacy of this mission. They spent five months in Thimphu and then travelled on to Tibet.
Samuel Turner
The next major venture