The British dismantle the Bhutanese fort at…
1865 CE
The British dismantle the Bhutanese fort at Deothang, known at this time as Dewangiri, during 1865.
The British had initially suffered a humiliating defeat at Deothang and when they recapture the fort, they destroy much of it in an attempt to compensate for their loss.
The Bhutan War, or Duar War, lasts only five months and, despite some battlefield victories by Bhutanese forces, result in Bhutan's defeat, the loss of part of its sovereign territory, and the forced cession of formerly occupied territories.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Sinchula, signed November 11, 1865, Bhutan cedes territories in the Assam Duars and Bengal Duars, as well as the eighty-three-square-kilometer territory of Dewangiri in southeastern Bhutan, in return for an annual subsidy of fifty thousand rupees.
The Treaty of Sinchula will stand until 1910, when Bhutan and British India sign the Treaty of Punakha, which will remain effective until 1947.