In 1767 King Prithivi Narayan Shah conquered the small states around. His unification move was later carried on by his son Bahadur Shah and grandson Rana Bahadur Shah. The territory of Nepal by this time extended up to the Ganges in the south, Kangra valley in the northwest and the river Teesta in the east.
After the death of Prithvi Narayan Shah, his successors continued the unification campaign. Prithivi Narayan Shah was succeeded by his son Pratap Singh Shah. He died at a young age of 26 years on 26th Mangsir 1834 BS. During his short rule, Upordang Gadi, Kavitaspur Gadi, Somesher Gadi and Chitwan were united in Nepal. Rajendra Laxmi was the Queen of Pratap Singh Shah. They had a son called Ranabahadur Shah, who was only two and half years when Pratapsingh died. So Rajendra Laxmi began to rule the country as the regent of Ranabahadur Shah.
Bahadur Shah, King Pratap Singh’s younger brother who was exiled to Betia, India when the king died, returned back, and both of them began to rule jointly as co-regents. But soon they began to quarrel and Bahadur Shah went again to Betia.
Amarsingh Thapa, Baiabhadra Kunwar, Damodar Pandey Bansaraj Pandey etc were then the commanders of Gorkhali forces. Under their able leadership, some of the Chaubise Rajya like Tanahu, Kaski, Parbat, Lamjung, Bhirkot, Rishing, Satahun, Gorahun, Dhor, Paiyun etc fell into the hands of the Gorkha. In this way, Rajendra Laxmi made an important contribution in carrying further the unification campaign. She died on 2nd Shrawan 1842 BS from tuberculosis.
After the death of Rajendra Laxmi, Bahadur Shah returned to Nepal again and ruled as a regent of King Ranabahadur Shah. Among the Chaubise states, Palpa was not conquered. Knowing that Palpa was a strong state, Bahadur Shah got married to the daughter of King Mahadatta Sen of Palpa. Then he invaded Guimi, Arghakhanchi Dhurkot, Kusma, and Baglung. Encouraged by this success, he sent his forces to Biasi Rajyas and Pyuthan, Dang, Rolpa, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Achham and Jumla etc were conquered one after another under the leadership of Amarsingh Thapa.
After the successful annexation of Chaubise and Baise states, the Gorkhali troop moved towards Aimorah, Kumaon, Gadhwal and reached up to Alcanda. At the same. time, a war broke out with Tibet. So, the Gorkhali forces signed a treaty and returned to Kathmandu. According to this treaty, Gadhwal agreed to pay nine thousand rupees to Nepal annually. In the year 1849 BS, Nepal-Tibet War ended on the arbitration of China. Nepal suffered heavy losses during this war. Consequently, she was forced to sign a humiliating treaty known as Betrawati Treaty. According to the treaty, the Northern border of Nepal remained up to Tatopani Thus, under Bahadur Shah, Nepal expanded greatly. He fulfilled the dream of his father. This great son of Nepal died a tragic death in 1854 BS in jail.
Prithvi Narayan Shah has not established the Kingdom of Nepal, it is likely that the smaller and weaker nation states would have come under the control of the British Empire, whose influence was increasing in India at the time. If the British Indian Army had not been stopped and defeated at Makawanpur Gandhi-Sindhuligadhi, Nepal would not have born as a country, and the Nepalese would not have been known as an independent, sovereign, political entity. The majority of the credit for preventing these outcomes goes to Prithvi Narayan Shah. Despite this historical legacy, however, there are some who criticize his aggressive campaigns of conquest and empire-building.
The rise of Jung Bahadur Rana in 1846 introduced another important chapter in the history of Nepal. After succeeding in various intrigues and feuds between the different factions of the Nepalese court, Jung Bahadur established himself as the most powerful Prime Minister and a defacto ruler of the country and made Prime Minister-ship hereditary.
After the successful annexation of Chaubise and Baise states, the Gorkhali troop moved towards Aimorah, Kumaon, Gadhwal and reached up to Alcanda. At the same. time, a war broke out with Tibet. So, the Gorkhali forces signed a treaty and returned to Kathmandu. According to this treaty, Gadhwal agreed to pay nine thousand rupees to Nepal annually. In the year 1849 BS, Nepal-Tibet War ended on the arbitration of China. Nepal suffered heavy losses during this war. Consequently, she was forced to sign a humiliating treaty known as Betrawati Treaty. According to the treaty, the Northern border of Nepal remained up to Tatopani Thus, under Bahadur Shah, Nepal expanded greatly. He fulfilled the dream of his father. This great son of Nepal died a tragic death in 1854 BS in jail.
Source : imnepal.com
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