Chronology of Tibet

1902: Rumours reached the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, that the Russians had signed a secret treaty with the Tibetans. Preparations began for a military invasion.

1904: Colonel Francis Younghusband marches with 3,000 troops to Gyantse. The 13th Dalai Lama flees from the approaching army and shelters in Mongolia and in China. 

The British withdraw after signing the Anglo-Tibetan Convention which allowed them to have Trade Agents at Gyantse and at Gartok in Western Tibet .

1909: The Dalai Lama returns from exile. Chinese troops occupy parts of Kham (eastern Tibet ) and the Dalai Lama appeals to Great Britain for assistance.

1910: The Chinese Army, with 2,000 troops led by Chao Erh-Feng, invades Tibet and enters Lhasa . The Dalai Lama flees to India .

1911: In Beijing the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty is overthrown and the Republic of China is established under Yuan Shih-Kai, who declares Tibet , 'Xinjiang' (East Turkestan) and Mongolia to be provinces of China .

1912: Throughout the country Tibetans rise up against the Chinese.

12th August: The Chinese sign a Surrender Agreement with the Tibetans, and are obliged to return to China via India .

1913: The Dalai Lama returns to Lhasa and issues a formal Proclamation of Independence.

1914: Tibet , Great Britain and China attend the Simla Convention as equal powers and initial an agreement to settle the Sino-Tibetan border dispute.

1920: Sir Charles Bell is sent to Lhasa to reassure the Tibetans of British support for its self-rule and self-defence.

1923: The Panchen Lama, long distrusted for his close relations with the Chinese, disputes his tax liability to the Tibetan Government and flees to China .

1933: Thubten Gyatso, the 13th Dalai Lama, dies in Lhasa at the age of 58.

1937: The 6th Panchen Lama (9th by the Chinese count) dies in Jyekundo on the Chinese border.

1940: Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, is enthroned at Lhasa .

1941-44: Tibet remains neutral during the Second World War and refuses permission for the Americans or the Chinese nationalists to transport military supplies through Tibetan territory.

1947: Tibet sends a Delegation to discuss trade and to open formal relations abroad, to India , China , Britain and the USA .

Tibet is nearly plunged into civil war when the former Regent Rating, supported by the monks of Sera, attempts a coup d'etat.

1949: In China the People's Liberation Army overcome the Nationalists (KMT) and on 1st October proclaimed the People's Republic of China .

The 10th Panchen Lama, then 11 years old, telegrams Mao Tsetung asking him to "unify the motherland". The PLA announces its intention to "liberate Tibet from foreign imperialists".

1950: The 14th Dalai Lama, then 15 years old, takes over the running of the Government.

October 7th: the Chinese invade Tibet and destroy the small garrison force at Chamdo in Kham. The Tibetan Government and the Dalai Lama move to Yarlung and send appeals for help to the United Nations. The British and the Indian delegates there persuade the Assembly not to discuss the matter.

1951: The Tibetans sign under duress the 17-Point Agreement, promising cultural and political autonomy but relinquishing independence.

1957: Revolt in Eastern Tibet when the Chinese begin destroying monasteries and imposing collectivisation. Birth of the Tibetan resistance movement and of the Voluntary National Defence Army. Chinese driven out of southern Tibet .

1959: 10th March; national uprising against the Chinese. Thousands of Tibetans take to the streets in Lhasa and fight the Chinese troops. When the Chinese start to shell his residence in Lhasa the Dalai Lama flees to India ; 100,000 other Tibetans escape with him.

The Chinese impose a military Government, fronted by the Panchen Lama, and begin the forced communalisation measures known as "democratic reforms". Hundreds of thousands are executed, imprisoned, or sent to labour camps. destruction of monasteries begins.

1965: The Cultural Revolution begins, with the systematic destruction of 98% of the monasteries and attempts to eradicate Tibetan culture.

1976: The Cultural Revolution ends with the death of Mao. The Chinese acknowledge "past mistakes in Tibet ", but blame them on the Cultural Revolution and on the ultra-leftist policies of the Gang of Four.

1979: The Chinese, facing economic collapse, initiate a policy of opening up to the outside world. They invite the Dalai Lama to return from exile, on condition he remains in Beijing . He is allowed to send a fact-finding mission to Tibet . The delegates are greeted by huge demonstrations calling for independence and the return of the Dalai Lama; many demonstrators are imprisoned.

1980: Party Secretary Hu Yaobang visits Tibet and initiates some liberalisations allowing some private trade, outward display of religious activities, and the recall of several thousand Chinese cadres.

1983: The Tibetan economy, depleted by Chinese development policies, is re-centred on tourism. At the same time the fist signs emerge of a renewed attempt by Beijing to encourage the resettlement of large numbers of Chinese people in Central Tibet .

1987: The Dalai Lama proposes the Five Point Peace Plan during a visit to the US Congress in Washington .

October 1st: Police open fire on unarmed demonstrators calling for independence in Lhasa . Over 21 other demonstrations are reported in the next eighteen months. Up to 100 feared dead from police shootings, and over 2,000 arrested.

1988: Dalai Lama puts forward the Strasbourg Proposal, offering the Chinese control of Tibetan foreign policy and defence in return for full internal autonomy. The Chinese promise to negotiate with him.

1989: March 5th: police open fire and kill another group of demonstrators in Lhasa . The demonstrations spread and at midnight March 7th martial law is declared. The PLA takes over the city and all foreign tourists, journalists and diplomats are expelled. One Chinese source cites 256 people killed by security forces; thousands believed to have been arrested. Tibet is cut off from the outside world.

October; Dalai Lama awarded Nobel Peace Prize.

1990: April: many monks and nuns are expelled from monasteries; demolition and rebuilding of old city speeded up. Martial Law is lifted May 1st, but varying restrictions on foreign visitors and journalists remain in force. Small demonstrations continue in the capital but most are dealt with rapidly by increased presence of armed police.

Dalai Lama officially received by Swedish, Dutch, and French Governments, and privately by Czech and German Presidents. November: European Parliament appoints Rapporteur on Tibet

1991: June: The Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies adopts a new democratic constitution for the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. Known as the Charter of Tibetans in Exile, it draws heavily on the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

August: UN Sub-commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities passes "The Situation in Tibet" resolution, expressing concern at "continuing reports of violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms which threaten the distinct cultural religious and national identity of the Tibetan people."

October: US President George Bush signs into law a congressional resolution declaring Tibet an occupied country.

1992: February: The Dalai Lama issues "The Guidelines for Future Tibet's Polity and Basic Features of its Constitution". He sttes that in a futur, free Tibet, he will relinquish his powers in favour of a popularly elected government and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile will then be dissolved.

1994: June: China's top leadership convenes Third Work Forum on Tibet and recommends the most intensive repression on Tibetan religion and nationalism since the end of Cultural Revolution.

1995: May: The Dalai Lama announces Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, a six year old child in Tibet, as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama.

China abducts Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and enthrones an alternative child, Gyaltsen Norbu, as the 11th Panchen Lama. As of now, the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his parents are unknown.

1996: April: China begins its Strike Hard, Patriotic Re-education and Spiritual Civilisation campaigns in Tibet. Aimed at coercing the Tibetan people to renounce their faith in the Dalai Lama, monasteries and nunneries are especially targeted by the campaign.

1997: December: International Commission of Jurists publishes its third report on Tibet. It states that "there has been further escalations of repression in Tibet". The ICJ recommends that the UN Commission on Human Rights appoint a Special Rapporteur to investigate the situation of human rights in Tibet and the UN Secretary-General appoints a Special Envoy to promote a peaceful settlement to the question of Tibet. It also recommends that a United Nations supervised referendum be conducted to ascertain the wishes of people inside Tibet.

1998: March: Six members of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) undertakes an unto-death fast in New Delhi to pressure the United Nations to implement the ICJ recommendations. Delhi police break up the fast. One TYC supporter, Thupten Ngodup, dies from self-immolation.

November: Agya Rinpoche, vice chairman of Chinese Buddhist Association and Vice chairman of Qinghai Provincial Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative conference, defects to the United States after disagreement with Chinese authorities over religious freedom. Expressing the reason for his escape, Agya Rinpoche said, "Had I remained in Tibet,....I would have been forced to help the (Chinese) government have its choice of the Panchen Lama accepted by Tibetans".

2000: January: The Karmapa arrives in Dharamsala, having escaped Tibet.

June: Chinese information ministry convenes a meeting of propagandists and Tibetlogists in Beijing to discuss new strategies for winning the international public opinion on Tibetan issue. The meeting recommends strategies to lure the international academics and media-persons into lending their voices to the chorus of Beijing's propaganda on Tibet.

2001: March: The Dalai Lama announces his decision to hand over all administration responsibilities of the exile Tibetan administration to the directly elected executive chief and parliament

June: China's Fourth Work Forum on Tibet endorses the repressive policies of the Third Forum and asks for the acceleration of Tibet's integration into Chinese economy and culture.

June: China starts the construction of a railroad between Gormu in Amdo and Lhasa.

September: Professor Samdhong Rinpoche, the first directly executive chief of the Tibetan exile administration, takes oath of office and forms a four-member cabinet. He wins over 84 percent of the total votes cast by exile Tibetans.

2007: October: H. H. the Dalai Lama was awarded Congressional Gold Medal. President Bush and the leaders of Congress put aside their differences Wednesday to bestow the nation's highest civilian honor upon the Dalai Lama, calling the exiled Tibetan religious leader a "warrior for peace." His Holiness said, reading from his prepared remarks.."It is a great honor for me to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. This ... will bring tremendous joy and encouragement to the Tibetan people, for whom I have a special responsibility,"

2008: March: hundreds of Tibetans in Lhasa began protesting on the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Beijing rule. Police arrested protesters, and violence in the streets escalated in the following days. Personal accounts of protests in Tibet are being censored on the Chinese internet. Global Voices authors and others managed to rescue some first hand accounts of what happened on the frontline. 1452 known Tibetans continue to remain in detention or are serving prison sentences since spring 2008.