THE ANGLO-NEPAL RELATIONS
In 1768 AD, the Gorkhas moved towards the Indian plains where they came into confrontation with the Sikhs and the British. In 1792 AD, Colonel Kirkpatrick was sent on a commercial mission to Kathmandu, and Captain Knox was posted as a British resident in Kathmandu from 1802-04 AD. In 1801 AD, the English occupied Gorakhpur district and now both the parties shared a common boundary.
- THE ANGLO-NEPAL WAR (1814-16 AD)
The main reason behind the war was the frequent raids by the Gorkhas in British territory and in May 1814 AD. the Gorkhas attacked three police stations of Butwal. Thus, Lord Hastings declared war against the Gorkhas. Initially, General Gillespie and Martindell were defeated in the Battle of Jaitak. General Gardener won over Almora while General Ochterlony defeated the Gorkha leader Amar Singh Thapa and forced him to surrender the Fort of Malaun. The Treaty of Sugauli was signed in 1815, but Gorkhas did not ratify it. This led to the second campaign against the Gorkhas in 1816, with General Ochterlony defeating the Gorkhas at the Battle of Makwanpur. Now, the Treaty of Sugauli was accepted by the Gorkhas in 1816. The English acquired the hill stations of Shimla, Mussoorie, Nainital, Almora, Ranikhet, etc. A separate Treaty with the Raja of Sikkim was signed in 1817. By this treaty, the Raja was given a part of the territory between the Tista and Mechi rivers.
THE ANGLO-BURMA RELATIONS
Through three successive wars, the independent kingdom of Burma was conquered by the British during the 19th century. The British merchants wanted control over the forest resources of Burma and were keen to promote the export of their manufacturers among its people
- THE FIRST ANGLO-BURMESE WAR (1824-26 AD)
Lord Amherst declared war against Burma and the state was attacked by both the land and the sea routes. Maha Bundula, the Burmese General was defeated and killed in the Battle of Donaben. The Treaty of Yandaboo (1826) was signed by which a British resident stationed at the Burmese capital.
- THE SECOND ANGLO-BURMESE WAR (1852-53 AD)
The main reason behind the conflict was the oppression of English merchants settled in Burma by Burmese officials at Rangoon. Lord Dalhousie declared the Second War against Burma. Martaban, Rangoon, Prome, and Pegu were annexed. The English occupied Pegu and the entire coast of the Bay of Bengal.
- THE THIRD ANGLO-BURMESE WAR (1885 AD)
The Burmese King Theebaw allowed trade concessions to the French and imposed fines on the English company and arrested its officials. On the command of Lord Dufferin, the English Army marched on Burma and occupied the capital city Mandalay. As a result, the King of Burma was imprisoned and the whole of Burma was declared the part of British Empire. In 1935, Burma was separated from India. Burma got independence on 4th January 1948.
ANGLO-AFGHAN RELATIONS
After the death of Timar Shah Durrani, a war of succession broke out among his 23 sons. Fateh Khan and Dost Mohammed acted as the king-makers and tried to usurp the throne
- THE FIRST ANGLO-AFGHAN WAR (1839-42 AD)
Dost Mohammed asked the English for their help in order to win Peshawar from Ranjit Singh. Lord Auckland rejected his proposal. Dost Mohammed then accepted the friendship of the French. Auckland sent an English Mission under Alexander Burns, which in turn, was rejected by the Afghan chief. Auckland signed a Tripartite Treaty (1838) with Shah Shuja (Prince of Afghanistan) and Ranjit Singh.
The English Army crossed the territories of Sindh (Violating Treaty of 1832) and occupied Kandhar, Ghazni, and Kabul. Shah Shuja was not accepted as the chief by the Afghans and thus was killed in 1842. Afghans rose in rebellion and killed Englishmen-Burns, Charles, Sir William, and Elphinston. Thus, the English were forced to sign a humiliating treaty and recognize Dost Mohammed as the Amir of Afghanistan.
- THE SECOND ANGLO-AFGHAN WAR (1878-80 AD)
Sher Ali, the Afghan chief rejected the English Missions sent by Lord Lytton under Sir Lewis Pelly and Sir Neville Chamberlain but accepted the Russian Mission led by Stolietoff. The English attacked from three sides viz, Khyber pass, Kurram pass, and Bolan pass. Sher Ali was defeated and died later on. Yakub Khan signed the Treaty of Gandamak (1879) by which a British resident was posted at Kabul and the districts of Kurram, Pisin, and Sibi were given to the English. But very soon, the British resident Major Cavagari was murdered. The war restarted and General Robert occupied Kabul. Abdur Rehman was made the new Amir of Afghanistan.
- THE THIRD ANGLO-AFGHAN WAR (1919 AD)
In 1919, Habibullah, the Amir of Afghanistan was murdered and his son Amanullah tried to declare his independence from the British regency. He invaded the British territories on the instigation of the German agent but was defeated. The Treaty of Rawalpindi was signed according to which Amirs were now free to pursue their policy within their territory and their annual subsidy was stopped.
ANGLO-BHUTAN RELATIONS
The frequent raids by the Bhutanese into the Indian territories prompted Lord Lawrence to declare a war against them. Initially, the English Army under Ma Ashley Eden was defeated but finally, Bhutan was defeated in the Battle of Duar (1864-65). The Treaty of Sinchula was signed, by which Bhutanese agreed to pay the war indemnity and the district of Duar was ceded to the English.
ANGLO-TIBETAN RELATIONS
Warren Hastings sent a Commercial Mission under George Bogle to Toshi Lama in 1774-75. Samuel Turner (1783) and Manning visited Tibet as envoys. The Tibetans invaded Sikkim in 1887 but were repulsed by General Graham. In 1890, the English- Tibetan boundary was settled.
- ANGLO-TIBETAN WAR
Cause: The Tibetans refused to meet an English Mission under Colonel Young Husband (sent by Lord Curzon), which served as the chief cause of the war. The English Army advanced up to the Tibetan capital and forced Dalai Lama to surrender. Following this, Dalai Lama signed the Lhasa Treaty on 7th September 1904. According to the Treaty of Lhasa, the British controlled trade centers which were established.
The Chumbi Valley came under English control and a British commercial agent was appointed in Tibet. Under the treaty, trade centers were established at Yatung, Gyantse, and Gartok which were under British control. In 1936-37, a British Goodwill Mission under BJ Gould renewed friendly relations between the two states.