The origin of the name Bhutan is still a mystery, It may be derived from the Sanskrit bhu-uttan, meaning “the high country” or from the Indian word bhot’anta, referring to those regions that border Tibet. It may also mean “the country of the Bhotias”, in reference to a Tibetan people who settled in the foothills of the Himalaya.

The people themselves call their country “Druk Yul” the Land of the Dragon, or more exactly the land of the drukpa who forged its unity in the 17th century. Little is know of prehistoric Bhutan. However, stone implements and megaliths marking places of worship or hunting grounds indicate that people lived here at the end of the Neolithic period, around 2000 BC. During the first millennium BC, nomadic tribes of Indian or Tibeto-Mongol origin appear to have mixed with these native people.

The earliest texts referring to Bhutan appear in the 7th century. They relate the construction of the temples at Kyichu in the Paro valley and Jampa Lhakhang in Bumthang by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo (c.618-649). Through these acts, the monarch helped to spread Buddhism into the southern valleys where at that time animist and shamanic religions prevailed. It was with the arrival of the great Indian master Padmasambhava in the 8th century that Buddhism really began to spread throughout this Himalayan lands. Known as Guru Rinpoche by the Bhutanese and Tibetans, Padmasambhava is said to have arrived in Bhutan in 747, invited to the country to cure an ailing king. He meditated, taught Buddhism and had several temples built. The place he visited are still venerated today. With the coming of Padmasambhava, Buddhism began gradually to replace the local cults, occasionally absorbing some of their rituals and beliefs. The growth of Buddhism was accelerated with the influx of Tibetan Buddhists fleeing persecution by King Langdarma in the 9th century. Many settled in eastern Bhutan, where they formed small principalities.

The second period of Buddhist expansion took place after the arrival of certain great religious teachers in the 13th century. These included Phajo Drugom Shigpo (1208-1276), a Tibetan lama who came from Kham. He founded Tango monastery and began to spread the doctrine of the drukpas in the western part of the country. Another venerated lame was Longchen Rabjampa (1308-1363), a nyingmapa master who settled in the Bumthang valley.

While Buddhism was gradually becoming the focus of Bhutan’s spiritual unity, political unity was far from becoming reality. The hard conditions and rugged landscape make any attempt at centralized authority extremely difficult. With each valley controlled by eminent local families, Bhutan was jigsaw of tiny, rival territories in an almost permanent state of war with each other.

In 1616, due to a quarrel over in Tibet, Ngawang Namgyel was forced to flee to Bhutan where he was welcomed by the Bhutanese disciples of the drukpa school, whose influence had continued to grow since the 12th century.His arrival in Bhutan would be a major turning point in the country’s history and organization. Ngawang Namgyel, who is still referred to as Shabdrung “He at whose feet one falls”, quickly imposed his political and religious authority throughout western Bhutan. In just a few years, he succeeded in bringing together all the independent principalities and initiating a process of unification. When he died in 1651, order had been restored almost everywhere. The great fortresses of Simtokha, Punakha, Wangdue Phodrang and Trongsa were built during his reign. While ensuring the country’s security, they also served as relays for the central authority and its administration. Resisting many invasions by the Tibetans and Mongols during the course of his reign, Ngawang Namgyel quickly became both feared and admired inside Bhutan and beyond its borders. His great sense of organization enabled him to introduce order into the monasteries and to set up a religious hierarchy dominated by the Je Khenpo. He appointed a regent, the Desi, to head the civil administration, giving him temporal power throughout the country. This double system of government, know as Chhoesi, remained in force in Bhutan until the creation of the hereditary monarchy in 1907. Because of his legacy of administrative, legislative and religious reforms, Ngawang Namgyel is considered to be the principal architect of modern Bhutan.

The 19th century was a period of conflicts between the Bhutanese and the British. The all-powerful East India Company was seeking new outlets in Tibet and Central Asia. Several missions were sent to Bhutan to try and negotiate commercial agreements and rights of passage with the Desis of the period. However, the British were also attempting to establish their political influence in the Himalaya and extend their territories. Tension grew and border skirmishes became increasingly common. At the same time, central power in Bhutan was weakening as local lords began to win back some of their former importance. It was they who led the armies when the so-called duars war was declared. After several battles, the British advance was stopped by Jigme Namgyel, the penlop of Trongsa. In 1865, the Treaty of Sinchula brought an end to the war. The Bhutanese lost the duars region, but in exchange received an annual compensation of 50,000 rupees paid by the government of British India.

After his victory over the British, Jigme Namgyel took control of Bhutan, ending years of interminable conflict. When he withdrew from power in 1873, he ordered his son, Ugyen Wangchuck, to continue his work of unification. In 1885, the battle of Changlingmithang marked the decisive victory of Ugyen Wangchuck over his last enemies, the governors of Thimphu and Punakha. He then started a long process to strengthen the central power in order to recover the unity the Ngawang Namgyel had achieved 250 years earlier. He gradually rallied support and on 17 December 1907 was proclaimed King of Bhutan. He took the title of Druk Gyalpo, thus ending the system of chhoesi. The position of Desi disappeared and only that of Je Khenpo remained as the spiritual leader of Bhutan. Ugyen Wangchuck reigned until his death in 1926.

Jigme Dorji, born in 1905, was crowned King in 1927. He continued his father’s reforming work, bringing the country out of system that in many respects was still feudal. In 1948, he signed a friendship and cooperation treaty with India, replacing the previous agreement with the British Empire dating from 1910. This treaty, which paved the way for a close relationship with India, was to become one of the cornerstones of Bhutanese diplomacy.

A new era really began with the succession of Jigme Dorje Wangchuck, the third monarch to rule over the country. Born in 1928, he was crowned king in 1952. A reformer and man of progress, one of his first acts was to set up the National Assembly in 1953. Known as the tshogdu, this comprised representative of the people, civil administration and clergy. Other bodies were created including the Royal Council and a Council of Ministers. Jigme Dorje Wangchuck separated the judiciary from the executive, creating a High Court of Justice, and abolished serfdom. His actions enabled the country to make great economic leaps. Like his grandfather, he secured the services of progressive thinkers committed to innovation. Among these was Jigme Palden Dorji, who was appointed Prime Minister in 1958 - aa strong advocate of modernization. Until his death in 1964 he embodied the desire to change and open up the country to the outside world while at the same time nurturing a strong sense of national identity in the minds of the Bhutanese people. Thus, after centuries of isolation, Bhutan began to emerge slowly on the international scene. Its entry into the UN in 1971 was final recognition of the country by other nations. Jigme Dorje Wangchuck reigned until his death in 1972.

His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck was born in 1955 and, when he succeeded his father in 1974, became the world’s youngest monarch. He has since continued a policy of development and modernization while taking care to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of his country.