Invasions, exile and the 1913 proclamation
After British and Qing invasions, the 13th Dalai Lama returns to Lhasa in 1913 and proclaims that Tibet will govern itself; for nearly four decades it functions as a de facto independent state.
- A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State — Melvyn C. Goldstein, University of California Press (1989)
- The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947 — Tsering Shakya, Columbia University Press (1999)
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
- Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations — Warren W. Smith Jr., Westview Press (1996)
In 1903–04 a British expedition under Francis Younghusband, fearing Russian influence, fought its way to Lhasa, killing hundreds of poorly armed Tibetans, and the 13th Dalai Lama fled to Mongolia. In 1910 Qing troops occupied Lhasa and he fled again, this time to British India.
- A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State — Melvyn C. Goldstein, University of California Press (1989)
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
When the Qing dynasty collapsed in 1911–12, Tibetans expelled the Chinese garrison. The Dalai Lama returned in 1913 and issued a proclamation declaring that Tibet would manage its own affairs; Tibetans regard it as a declaration of independence, though its exact wording is debated. At the Simla conference of 1914, Britain and Tibet agreed a border, but China refused to ratify the convention.
- A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State — Melvyn C. Goldstein, University of California Press (1989)
- Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations — Warren W. Smith Jr., Westview Press (1996)
For the next thirty-seven years Tibet governed itself. The 13th Dalai Lama tried to modernise the army and send students to England, but conservative monasteries resisted. After his death in 1933, the regency was weak and divided, and Tibet remained largely isolated as China’s Communists came to power in 1949.
- A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State — Melvyn C. Goldstein, University of California Press (1989)
- The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947 — Tsering Shakya, Columbia University Press (1999)
In 1913 the 13th Dalai Lama formally affirmed Tibet's independence, and Tibet ran its own government, army, currency, postage and foreign relations until 1950. It was an independent state by any practical test.
- Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations — Warren W. Smith Jr., Westview Press (1996)
- The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947 — Tsering Shakya, Columbia University Press (1999)
Tibet was always part of China. The so-called independence was a product of British imperialist scheming during China's weakness, and no Chinese government ever accepted it.
- Tibet Since 1951: Liberation, Development and Prosperity — State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China (2021)
- The Tibet-China Conflict: History and Polemics — Elliot Sperling, East-West Center (2004)
Tibet was de facto independent from 1913 to 1950, but it failed to win international recognition. Britain recognised Chinese "suzerainty" but not sovereignty, and modernising reforms were blocked by conservative monasteries.
- A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State — Melvyn C. Goldstein, University of California Press (1989)
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
Why it matters today
Many Tibetans see 1913 to 1950 as proof that Tibet was an independent country when Chinese troops arrived. Beijing never recognised it, and no major power formally did either, a gap Tibetans still feel bitterly.