The Tibet Frontier Commission headed the

British expedition to Tibet The British expedition to Tibet, also known as the Younghusband expedition, began in December 1903 and lasted until September 1904. The expedition was effectively a temporary invasion by British Indian Army, British Indian Armed Forces under th ...

in 1903–04. The Commission comprised seven diplomats and army officers, led by Colonel

Francis Younghusband Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, (31 May 1863 – 31 July 1942) was a British Army officer, explorer and spiritual writer. He is remembered for his travels in the Far East and Central Asia; especially the 1904 British ...

. Despatched on the orders of

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

, the commission was intended to establish diplomatic relations with the government of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

and, in particular, to resolve the dispute over the border between Tibet and

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

. The commission was escorted by a large military force led by Brigadier-General J. R. L. Macdonald. However, the expedition was met with hostility by a Tibetan government uninterested in negotiation, and conflicts erupted, with the antiquated Tibetan army which was mostly armed with

matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or Tri ...

s and

scythe A scythe (, rhyming with ''writhe'') is an agriculture, agricultural hand-tool for mowing grass or Harvest, harvesting Crop, crops. It was historically used to cut down or reaping, reap edible grain, grains before they underwent the process of ...

s proving no match for a professional army equipped with Maxim machine guns. Captain

Herbert James Walton Herbert Walton (19 January 1869 – 4 May 1938) was an English surgeon and naturalist. Born in London on 19 January 1869, he was the second child and elder son of James Sydney Walton and Eleanor Georgina Louissan, his wife. Walton was initially ...

served as Medical Officer and Naturalist to the commission, and was able to make a comprehensive study of the flora and fauna of the southern and central areas of Tibet during the expedition's slow progress to the capital,

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

.Landon, P. (1905). ''The Opening of Tibet''. Doubleday, Page & Co., New York.

Members

* Colonel Francis E. Younghusband, CLE (British Commissioner to Tibet) * Mr. J. Claude White, Political Officer of

(Deputy-Commissioner) * Mr. E. C. Wilton, Chinese Consular Service (Deputy-Commissioner) * Capt. W. F. T. O'Connor (Secretary and Interpreter) * Capt. H. J. Walton, I.M.S. (Medical Officer and Naturalist) * Mr. H. H. Hayden (Geologist) * Mr. Vernon Magniac (Private Secretary to the Commissioner)

References

{{reflist 1900s in Tibet 1903 in Asia 1903 in China 1904 in Asia 1904 in China Tibet–United Kingdom relations 1910s in Tibet Indian commissions and inquiries 1903 in British India 1904 in British India India–Tibet relations