Origins House of Wangchuck

under bhutan s theocratic tibetan 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 dual system of government, desi or temporal rulers took control of civil administration , je khenpos took control of religious affairs. 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 , dzongpons) 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.

chogyal minjur tenpa (1613–1680; r. 1667–1680) first penlop of trongsa (tongsab), appointed shabdrung ngawang namgyal. born damchho lhundrub in min-chhud, tibet, , led monastic life childhood. before appointment tongsab, held appointed post of umzey (chant master). trusted follower of shabdrung, minjur tenpa sent subdue kings of bumthang, lhuntse, trashigang, zhemgang, , other lords trongsa dzong. after doing so, tongsab divided control in east among 8 regions (shachho khorlo tsegay), overseen dungpas , kutshabs (civil servants). went on build jakar, lhuntse, trashigang, , zhemgang dzongs.

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.

the penlop of trongsa managed central bhutan; rival penlop of paro controlled western bhutan; , dzongpons controlled areas surrounding respective dzongs. 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, 10th penlop of trongsa, jigme namgyal ascended office of 48th druk desi. in 1879, appointed 17-year-old son ugyen wangchuck 23th 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.