First Anglo-Afghan War

In the initial stage of our study, Betsy and I studied the history of Afghanistan. We began our studies in mid-1700s with the commencement of the leadership of Ahmad Khan, who is responsible for expanding the territories of Afghanistan to most of its present boundaries. The study of the history concludes with the end of the Soviet occupation in 1989. In the next few posts we will be describing major historic events and their significance. The first such event is the First Anglo-Afghan war.

Afghan history is plagued by family and tribal rivalries over supreme control of the territories of Afghanistan. Most of these disputes were domestic. The first major conflict that involved the forces of a foreign agent was the first Anglo-Afghan war. The war is a significant point in Afghan history, because for the first time in many centuries a foreign force penetrated through the layers of various tribal leaders and took control of Kabul. The first Anglo-Afghan war is an important event to note while studying the nature of the conflict of Afghanistan, because it is the first impression in the minds of Afghanis of foreign intervention into their lands.

The first Anglo-Afghan war emerged as a result of the Great Game, which is the power struggle between the Russian and British empires over Afghanistan. The Great Game raged on in the first half of the nineteenth century. Afghanistan became an important aspect of the conflict between the two empires, because it separated the Russian Empire from India, British territory. The Russians wanted to provide themselves with a land route to India, but the British wanted Afghanistan to act as its protective barrier against Russia. To achieve their respective goals, both parties conducted many negotiations with Afghan leaders. Between 1832 and 1838, Russian negotiators created an alliance with Muhammad Mirza, a Persian Shah. The British sought a partnership with Dost Muhammad, ruler of Afghanistan. Shah Mirza gained more influence than Dost Muhammad in Afghanistan. This power shift made the British uneasy, because the Russians were in a better position in the region.

As a result of the little Russian success in the region, the British decided to invade Afghanistan. The East Trading Company used the following rationale for their decision to intervene with force in Afghanistan: they feared that the Russians would spread into India; they believed that a strong British presence in Kabul is the key to stopping the Russians; lastly, British control of Afghanistan could provide Great Britain with means of infiltrating the Central Asian market. So, on October first, 1989, Lord Auckland declared war through the Simla Manifesto, which stated East India Company’s intents and reasons for their military action.

The British forces succeeded in the conquest of Afghanistan and put Shuja Shah in power. Shuja Shah was not able to keep Afghanistan stable and in British control. Shuja was not popular among the people and lacked the sufficient monetary resources for a decent enough army to control the region and withstand Russian attacks. During Shuja’s reign, some rebellions occurred but were put down by the British Kandahar garrison. One important means of maintaining some stability of the region was bribing tribal warriors, but in the fall of 1841, the British cut the budget for bribing tribal leaders. This simple decision led to massive bloody uprisings and the assassinations of Burnes, a British officer, and of Macnaghten, Shuja’s advisor. As a result of the slaughter of their Kandahar garrison, the British forces retreated.

The British intervention into Afghanistan had many consequences. The East Trading Company lost a lot of money, approximately 20 million British pounds. Additionally the company and Great Britain lost credibility, and the company lost army recruits. The sudden retreat of the British left the region in total anarchy. Additionally some historians believe that the British retreat spurred the Indian War for Independence. Lastly, the British retreat allowed Dost Muhammad to regain control of Afghanistan.

As the first act of direct foreign military intervention, the first Anglo-Afghan War exposed the Afghan people to foreign intervention in general. Due to the brash decisions of the British and their quick retreat, the first Anglo-Afghan War painted a dark picture for all of future foreign interventions and created a general negative opinion of any foreign influence on the domestic and international affairs of Afghanistan. The British did so by entering the and exiting Afghanistan swiftly and by not assessing the domestic situation of Afghanistan fully before entering.