د "بوتان" د بڼو تر مېنځ توپير

[[دوتنه:TrongsaDzong.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[Trongsa]] Dzong]]

Until the early [[17th century]], Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring [[fiefdom]]s until unified by the [[Tibetan]] lama and military leader [[Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal]]. To defend the country against intermittent Tibetan forays, Namgyal built a network of impregnable ''[[dzong]]'' (fortresses), and [[promulgation|promulgated]] a code of law that helped to bring local lords under centralised control. Many such ''dzong'' still exist. After Namgyal's death in [[1652]], Bhutan fell into anarchy. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Tibetans attacked Bhutan in [[1710]], and again in [[1730]] with the help of the [[Mongols]]. Both assaults were successfully thwarted, and an [[armistice]] was signed in 1759.

In the [[18th century]], the Bhutanese invaded and occupied the kingdom of [[Cooch Behar]] to the south. In [[1772]], Cooch Behar appealed to the [[British East India Company]] who assisted them in ousting the Bhutanese, and later in attacking Bhutan itself in [[1774]]. A peace treaty was signed in which Bhutan agreed to retreat to its pre-1730 borders. However, the peace was tenuous, and border skirmishes with the British were to continue for the next hundred years. The skirmishes eventually led to the [[Duar War]] ([[1864]]–[[1865]]), a confrontation over who would control the [[Bengal]] [[Duars]]. After Bhutan lost the war, the [[Treaty of Sinchula]] was signed between [[British India]] and Bhutan. As part of the [[reparation]]s, the Duars were ceded to the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] in exchange for a rent of Rs. 50,000. The treaty ended all hostilities between British India and Bhutan.