Younghusband Expedition to Tibet

In 1903 the Government of India sent a mission under Francis Younghusband across Sikkim into Tibet, officially to settle frontier and trade disputes and to counter fears of Russian influence. The mission travelled with a substantial military escort commanded by Brigadier-General James Macdonald and advanced despite Tibetan efforts to block its route.

Armed encounters, most notoriously at Guru, exposed the enormous imbalance between modern British Indian weapons and Tibetan forces. The expedition reached Lhasa in 1904 and compelled Tibetan officials to sign the Convention of Lhasa, imposing indemnities and trade provisions before withdrawing.

The expedition became a defining episode in the late Great Game and in the history of British relations with Tibet. Historical writing about it often centres on Younghusband, the military conduct of the mission, Tibetan resistance and the consequences of imperial intervention on the Himalayan frontier.