three branches continued in power up to the conquest of the country by the Gurkhas in 1768.
The Gurkhas claim descent from the Rajputs of Chitor, in Rajputana. They were driven out of their own country by the victorious Moslems, and took refuge in the hilly districts about Kumaon, whence they gradually pushed their way eastwards to Lamjung, Gurkha, Noakote and ultimately to the valley of Nepal, which under Raja Prithwi Narayana they finally captured. In the struggle which took place at Bhatgaon, Jayaprakasa (the raja of Katmandu) was wounded, and shortly afterwards he died at Pashupati. Ranjit-Malia, the aged raja of Bhatgaon, was allowed to retire to Benares, where he ended his days. Tej Narsinha, the raja of Patan, was kept in confinement till his death. During the latter years of the war Jayaprakasa applied to the British for assistance, and a small force, under Captain Kinloch, was sent into the tarai in 1765, but it was repulsed by the Gurkhas.
Prithwi Narayana died in 1774. He left two sons, Pratapasinha Sah and Bahadur Sah. The former succeeded his father, but died in 1777, leaving an infant son, Rana Bahadur Sah. On the death of Pratapa-sinha, his brother, who had been in exile, returned to Nepal and became regent. The mother of the infant king, however, was opposed to him, and he had again to flee to Bettia, in British territory, where he remained till the death of the rani, when he again became regent, and continued so till 1795. During this time the Gurkhas were busily annexing all the neighbouring petty states, so that in 1790 their territories extended from Bhutan to the Sutlej river, and from Tibet to the British provinces. At length, in 1790, they invaded Tibet, and were at first successful; but they were thus brought into contact with the Chinese, who in 1791 sent a large force to invade Nepal. In 1792 the Chinese advanced as far as Noakote, and there dictated terms to the Nepalese.
In 1791 the Gurkhas had entered into a commercial treaty with the British and hence, when hard pressed, they applied for assistance against the Chinese to Lord Cornwallis. In consequence of this Kirkpatrick was despatched to Nepal, and reached Noakote in the spring of 1792, but not till after peace had been concluded. One result of this embassy was the ratification of another commercial treaty on the 1st of March 1792.
In 1795 Rana Bahadur removed his uncle, Bahadur Sah, from the regency, and two years subsequently put him to death. From this time up to 1799 the king, who seems to have been insane, perpetrated the most barbarous outrages, till at length his conduct became so intolerable that he was forced to abdicate in favour of his son, Girvan-yuddha Vikrama Sah, who was still an infant. Rana Bahadur once again recovered the throne in 1804, but was assassinated in 1805.
In October 1801 another treaty was signed by the British and Nepalese authorities, and a British resident was sent to the Nepalese court, but was withdrawn in 1803, owing to the conduct of the Nepalese. From this time the Nepalese carried on a system of encroachment and outrage on the frontier, which led to a declaration of war by the British in November 1814. At first the British attacks were directed against the western portion of the Nepalese territory, and under Generals Marly, Wood and Gillespie several disasters were met with. General Gillespie himself was killed while leading an assault on a small fort called Kalunga. General Ochterlony was more successful, and the Gurkhas were driven eastward beyond the Kali river, and began to negotiate for peace. Arms, however, were soon taken up again, and Ochterlony, who was put in command, in January 1816, advanced directly on the capital in the line of the route that is now in use. He soon fought his way as far as Mukwanpur, and the Nepalese sued for peace. A treaty was concluded in March, by which the Nepalese relinquished much of their newly acquired territory, and agreed to allow a British residency to be established at Katmandu. In November the raja died, and was succeeded by his infant son, Surendra Bikran Sah, the reins of government being held by General Bhimsena Thapa.
From this time the records for many years furnish little of interest except a history of struggles for office between the Thapa and Pandry factions, and futile attempts at forming combinations with other states in Hindustan against the British.
In 1839 Bhimsena’s enemies succeeded in driving him from power, and he committed suicide, or was murdered, in prison. The Kala Pandry faction then came into power, and there were frequent grave disputes with the British. War, however, was averted by the exertions of the resident, Mr Brian Hodgson.
In 1843 Matabar Singh, the nephew of Bhimsena, returned from exile, soon got into favour at court, and speedily effected the destruction of his old enemies the Kala Pandrys, who were seized and executed in May 1843. At this time mention begins to be made of a nephew of Matabar Singh, Jung Bahadur, the eldest of a band of seven brothers, sons of a kaji or state official. He rose rapidly in the army and in favour at the court, especially with one of the ranis, who was of a most intriguing disposition. In 1844 he was a colonel, and on the 18th of May 1845 killed his uncle, and immediately, with the aid of the rani, took a prominent part in the government. After a short but turbulent interval of intrigue, he got rid of his enemies at one fell swoop, by what is known as the Kot massacre, on the 15th of September 1846. From that time till the day of his death Jung Bahadur was in reality the ruler of Nepal. His old friend, the rani, was banished, and all posts of any consequence in the state were filled by Jung, his brothers and other relatives. In 1850, finding himself securely seated in power, Jung Bahadur paid a visit to England, which made a great impression on his acute intellect, and ever after he professed and proved himself to be a stanch friend of the British. On his return in 1851 he at once devoted himself to reforming the administration of the country, and, whatever may have been the means by which he gained power, it must be allowed that he exercised it so as to prove himself the greatest benefactor his country has ever possessed. In 1853 a treaty for the extradition of criminals was proposed, but it was not ratified till February 1855. In 1854 the Nepalese entered into a war with Tibet, which lasted with varying success till March 1856, when peace was concluded on terms very favourable to Nepal.
In June 1857 intelligence of the mutiny of the native troops in Hindustan reached Nepal, and produced much excitement. Jung Bahadur, in spite of great opposition, stood firm as a friend of the British. On the 26th June 4000 troops were sent off to assist, and these rendered good service in the campaign against the mutineers. Jung himself followed on the 10th of December, with a force of 8000 men, 500 artillerymen and 24 guns, but too late to be of much use. Many of the mutineers and rebels, including the infamous Nana Sahib, took refuge in the Nepalese tarai, and it was not till the end of 1859 that they were finally swept out of the country. The Nana was said to have died of fever in the tarai, and it is probable that this was the case. His wives and a few attendants resided for many years near Katmandu.
In return for the aid afforded to the British, Jung Bahadur was well rewarded. He was created a G.C.B., and in 1873 a G.C.S.I., honours of which he was not a little proud. The troops employed received food and pay from the day of leaving Katmandu; handsome donations were given to those severely wounded, and to the relatives of the killed; great quantities of muskets and rifles were presented to the Nepalese government; and, to crown all, a large portion of the tarai was restored to Nepal. This ground contains most valuable sal and sisu forests, and yields a revenue of several lākhs of rupees yearly.
From the termination of the mutiny Nepalese history has been uneventful. The country has been prosperous, and the relations with the British have continued to be most friendly. Nevertheless the restrictions on commerce, and the prohibitions against Europeans entering the country, or travelling beyond certain narrow limits, are as rigidly enforced as they were a hundred years ago. Sir Jung Bahadur died suddenly in the tarai in 1877. In spite of all the exertions he had made to bring about a better state of things, three of his wives were allowed to immolate themselves on his funeral pyre. His brother, Sir Ranadip Singh Bahadur, G.C.S.I., succeeded him as prime minister. Shortly after his accession to power a plot was formed against him, but nearly forty of the conspirators were seized and executed, while
