17. The British Enter Afghanistan
For most of the nineteenth century, Afghanistan was a football over which Russia and Britain struggled as they jockeyed for influence in Central Asia. The Russians pursued their version of “Manifest Destiny” and sought to expand into the region. The British suspected the Russians of coveting India, the jewel of their crown, and sought to keep Tsarist borders as far away as possible from Britain’s most prized imperial possession.
In the 1830s, an Afghan ruler became too friendly with Russia for Britain’s tastes. So the British invaded Afghanistan in 1839, and deposed its Russophile ruler. They replaced him in Kabul with a British puppet, and garrisoned the Afghan capital and key cities to keep their new pet in power. Things initially went well. The British made themselves comfortable in Afghanistan, and it seemed only a matter of time before they annexed it.