History Penlop

under bhutan s theocratic dual system of government, decreasingly effective central government control resulted in de facto disintegration of office of shabdrung after death of shabdrung ngawang namgyal in 1651. under system, shabdrung reigned on temporal druk desi , religious je khenpo. 2 successor shabdrungs – son (1651) , stepbrother (1680) of ngawang namgyal – controlled druk desi , je khenpo until power further splintered through innovation of multiple shabdrung incarnations, reflecting speech, mind, , body. increasingly secular regional lords (penlops , dzongpens) competed power amid backdrop of civil war on shabdrung , invasions tibet, , mongol empire. penlops of trongsa , paro, , dzongpons of punakha, thimphu, , wangdue phodrang particularly notable figures in competition regional dominance.

within political landscape, wangchuck family originated in bumthang region of central bhutan. family belongs nyö clan, , descended pema lingpa, bhutanese nyingmapa saint. nyö clan emerged local aristocracy, supplanting many older aristocratic families of tibetan origin sided tibet during invasions of bhutan. in doing so, clan came occupy hereditary position of penlop of trongsa, significant national , local government positions.

ugyen wangchuck surrounded councillors @ punakha, bhutan, 1905. front row: son of thimphu jongpen, punakha jongpen, thimphu jongpen, trongsa penlop, zung donyer [dronyer], deb zimpon, , elder son of thimphu jongpen.

the penlop of trongsa controlled central , eastern bhutan; rival penlop of paro controlled western bhutan; , dzongpons controlled areas surrounding respective dzongs. eastern dzongpens under control of penlop of trongsa, officially endowed power appoint them in 1853. penlop of paro, unlike trongsa, office appointed druk desi s central government. because western regions controlled penlop of paro contained lucrative trade routes, became object of competition among aristocratic families.

although bhutan enjoyed favorable relations both tibet , british india through 19th century, extension of british power @ bhutan s borders tibetan incursions in british sikkim defined politically opposed pro-tibet , pro-britain forces. period of intense rivalry between , within western , central bhutan, coupled external forces tibet , british empire, provided conditions ascendancy of penlop of trongsa.

after duar war britain (1864–65) substantial territorial losses (cooch behar 1835; assam duars 1841), armed conflict turned inward. in 1870, amid continuing civil wars, penlop jigme namgyal of trongsa ascended office of druk desi. in 1879, appointed 17-year-old son ugyen wangchuck penlop of paro. jigme namgyal reigned through death 1881, punctuated periods of retirement during retained effective control of country.

the pro-britain penlop ugyen wangchuck prevailed against pro-tibet , anti-britain penlop of paro after series of civil wars , rebellions between 1882 , 1885. after father s death in 1881, ugyen wangchuck entered feud on post of penlop of trongsa. in 1882, @ age of 20, marched on bumthang , trongsa, winning post of penlop of trongsa in addition paro. in 1885, ugyen wangchuck intervened in conflict between dzongpens of punakha , thimphu, sacking both sides , seizing simtokha dzong. time forward, office of desi became purely ceremonial.

trongsa penlop ugyen wangchuck, firmly in power , advised kazi ugyen dorji, accompanied british expedition tibet invaluable intermediary, earning first british knighthood. penlop ugyen wangchuck further garnered knighthood in kcie in 1904. meanwhile, last officially recognized shabdrung , druk desi had died in 1903 , 1904, respectively. result, power vacuum formed within dysfunctional dual system of government. civil administration had fallen hands of penlop ugyen wangchuck, , in november 1907 unanimously elected hereditary monarch assembly of leading members of clergy, officials, , aristocratic families. ascendency throne ended traditional dual system of government in place 300 years. marked end of traditional position of independent penlops. title penlop of trongsa – or penlop of chötse, name trongsa – continued held crown princes.