Bhakti Thapa - Unification Campaign of Nepal

Unification Campaign of Nepal

Bhakti Thapa joined the unification campaign in 1789 at a time when further advance of the Nepalese force to the west was completely blocked for more than two years by the then powerful kingdom of Jumla. It is said that Jumla had collected an army of twenty-two thousand men to face the Gorkhalis, a force far superior to anything the Gorkhalis could put in the field at that time In the first major military operation itself Bhakti Thapa had demonstrated his exceptionally brilliant skill in launching a very successful operation under the most adverse condition that was sure to astonish anyone. He changed the strategy of the predecessors and led an attack on Jumla from the difficult north route. The result was a swift victory and the lives of many people were also saved.

Within a very short period of just two years from 1789 to 1791 the western boundary of the Great Nepal had extended nearly as far as the Sutlez River (now India). Bhakti Thapa had played a crucial role in such rapid expansion of the Great Nepal. At that very time Nepal was attacked by China from the north. During that period China was ruled by the most powerful Emperor Chiang Lung of the Manchu Dynasty.

Among the Manchu emperors Kang Hu Shi and Chiang Lung are considered to be the most influential. Emperor Kang Hu Shi ruled China from 1661 to 1722. He was contemporary with the Louis XIV of France, Peter the Great of Russia and Aurangazeb of India. Similarly, Emperor Chiang Lung ruled from 1736 to 1796. During his reign countries like Burma, Korea were under the influence of China.