British Expedition To Tibet

The British expedition to Tibet during 1903 and 1904 was an invasion of Tibet by British Indian forces, whose mission was to establish diplomatic relations and trade between the British Raj and Tibet. In the nineteenth century, the British conquered Burma, Bhutan, and Sikkim, occupying the whole southern flank of Tibet, which remained the only Himalayan kingdom free of British influence. Additionally, the British government attempted to deal with Tibet directly prior to China's invasion of Tibet; however, repeated efforts to establish relations and trade with Tibet failed. The motive for Britain's expedition to Tibet stems from the orders by Lord Curzon, the head of the British India government.

The invasion was intended to counter Russia's perceived ambitions in the East and was initiated largely by George Curzon, who had long obsessed over Russia's advance into Central Asia and now feared a Russian invasion of British India. In April 1903, the British received clear assurance from the Russian government that it had no interest in Tibet. “In spite, however, of the Russian assurances, Lord Curzon continued to press for the dispatch of a mission to Tibet,” a high level British political officer noted. From Kampa Dzong the expedition fought its way to Gyantse and eventually captured Lhasa, the heart of Tibet. The Dalai Lama fled to safety, first in Mongolia and later in China; but thousands of Tibetans armed with antiquated muzzle-loaders and swords were mown down by modern rifles and Maxim machine guns. The expedition forced remaining low-level Tibetan officials to sign the Great Britain and Tibet Convention (1904). The mission was recognized as a military expedition by the British Indian government, “who issued a war medal for it.”