Tibet (1912–1951)
Tibet བོད་ Bod | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912–1951 | |||||||||||
| Anthem: "Gyallu" | |||||||||||
Territorial extent of Tibet in 1946 | |||||||||||
| Status | De facto independent state | ||||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Lhasa | ||||||||||
| Official languages | Tibetan, Tibetic languages | ||||||||||
| Religion | Tibetan Buddhism (official) | ||||||||||
| Demonym | Tibetan | ||||||||||
| Government | Tibetan dual system of government | ||||||||||
| Dalai Lama | |||||||||||
• 1912–1933 (first) | Thubten Gyatso | ||||||||||
• 1937–1951 (last) | Tenzin Gyatso | ||||||||||
| Regent | |||||||||||
• 1934–1941 (first) | Thubten Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen | ||||||||||
• 1941–1950 (last) | Ngawang Sungrab Thutob | ||||||||||
| Kalön Tripa | |||||||||||
• 1912–1920 (first) | Chankhyim Trekhang Thupten Shakya | ||||||||||
• 1950–1951 (last) | Lobsang Tashi | ||||||||||
| Legislature | None (rule by decree) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Declaration of Independence | 4 April 1912 | ||||||||||
• Three Point Agreement | 12 August 1912 | ||||||||||
• 13th Dalai Lama returns | January 1913 | ||||||||||
• Simla Convention signed with Britain | 3 July 1914 | ||||||||||
| October 1950 | |||||||||||
| 23 May 1951 | |||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||
• Total | 1,221,600 km2 (471,700 sq mi) | ||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||
• 1945 | 1,000,000 | ||||||||||
| Currency | Tibetan skar, Tibetan srang, Tibetan tangka | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | China ∟ Tibet Autonomous Region | ||||||||||
Tibet (Tibetan: བོད་, Wylie: Bod) was a de facto independent state in East Asia that lasted from the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1912 until its annexation by the People's Republic of China in 1951.
The Ganden Phodrang based in Central Tibet was a protectorate under Qing rule. In 1912 the provisional government of the Republic of China (ROC) succeeded the Qing and received an imperial edict inheriting the claims over all of its territories. The newly formed ROC was unable to assert consistent authority in remote areas such as Tibet however. The 13th Dalai Lama declared that Tibet's relationship with China ended with the fall of the Qing dynasty and proclaimed independence, although almost no country formally recognized this.
During the 1910s, the British and Russian empires, both vying for influence in Tibet, attempted to form an agreement with China regarding the region's status, but no consensus was reached. After the 13th Dalai Lama's death in 1933, the Kuomintang-ruled Nationalist government of ROC opened a mission in Lhasa to restart negotiations but no agreements followed.
By 1949 the Nationalist government had lost its renewed civil war against the Chinese Communist Party. In 1951 Ü-Tsang and the western Kham area of Chamdo were annexed by the newly formed People's Republic of China.