Francis Younghusband and the Great Game

by Anthony Verrier

Sir Francis Younghusband was a recluse from society, born in 1863, and trained to play the Great Game - the war of wits waged between British and Russian agents for mastery of the territories north of British India. Under the flag of the empire, Younghusband was given the opportunity to follow his expansionist ambitions and spiritual yearnings into the most desolate and mountainous regions of Central Asia. His adventures in China, the Pamirs and Tibet were extraordinary. Defying orders from both the British and Indian governments, he insisted that wherever he went, British power should follow. He was determined to force Tibet to show allegiance to the King-Emperor and fought his way through to Lhasa in 1904 using the deadly Maxim machine gun against peasants who were, for all intents and purposes, unarmed. The slaughter was unjustified, but Younghusband merely declared "they will not understand our power."

Younghusband's contemporaries found him unfathomable, historians, an enigma but, working from his letters and diaries, Anthony Verrier reveals for the first time the motives which lay behind Younghusband's foolhardy explorations and rash intelligence operations. In combination, these affairs led to Younghusband's fall from grace.

The result is an important contribution to our knowledge of nineteenth- and twentieth-century imperialism, as well as a fascinating portrait of one of its most controversial servants.

238 pages, Hardback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Lynn Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good discussion of The Great Game. I would very much have appreciated more and better maps.

[Philip · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Worst" of the growing number of Younghusband biographies -- a more negative portrayal that focuses only on the warts (and there were a few) over the accomplishments (of which there were many). A typical example of judging past behaviors by the standards of today, which rarely works out well or provides any useful information. Have it on my bookshelf and may finish it someday -- but no rush.