11 ATLASES

History of Bhutan in maps

Bhutan as it appears in 11 interactive history atlases, from 1914 to 1918: Bhutan. Each era below lists who ruled the land and when control changed, linked to the dated map that shows it.

Open this map in the interactive atlas →

WW2 is free in full, and chapter 1 of every atlas is free. A free account opens 3 more chapters a day. Starter, at $9 a month, opens all 21 with no daily limit — see the plans.

Free printable Mongol Empire study guide, sent by email ↓

What was Bhutan before it was Bhutan? The sections below follow this land through every era covered by the Maps of History atlases: who ruled it, what it was called, and when control changed. Each line links to the dated map. Modern borders serve as an approximation, as each atlas says on the map itself.

Bhutan · Mongol Empire

1206	Beyond the conquests — the opening position

MONGOL EMPIRE: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →

Bhutan · Industrial Revolution

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →

Bhutan · Meiji Japan and post-Soviet Russia

MEIJI JAPAN AND POST-SOVIET RUSSIA: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →

Bhutan (treaty kingdom) · Indian independence

Bhutan preserved its sovereignty through a bargain with Britain: the 1910 Punakha treaty gave Britain control of its foreign policy and left everything else alone. In 1949 Bhutan signed the same bargain with independent India. Alone on this map, it passed the entire era without famine, partition, or an occupying army. Smallness, altitude, and skill with treaties helped; on an imperial map, invisibility could be a strategy. But Bhutan had learned the value of that protection at a cost. The Duar War of 1864–65 had taken its southern plains from it and given them to British India.

JAN 1857

Beyond the Raj · Portuguese & French India — the opening position

INDIAN INDEPENDENCE: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →