Establishing Coinage in Tibet
TIBET HAD NOT been any kind of threat to any other state than themselves for many centuries when the Manchus came to power, but they happened to be the possessors of the equivalent of a pope to the kind of Buddhists the Manchu Emperors were. A political threat, then, not a military one, from the Manchu point of view.
During the 18th century, they took over more and more administrative and policy functions “on behalf” of the Tibetan government.
Recall that Tibet had for more than a century been purchasing coins from Nepal, that there had always been a built-in advantage to Nepal related to the fineness. The Nepalese would fiddle with the exchange rates, but their constant policy was to cheat the Tibetans.
In 1788, the Nepalese did decide that they wanted to send fine silver coins to Tibet, with the usual edge. The Tibetans wouldn’t stand for it and refused the coins.
The Nepalese then invaded again in 1790.
The Tibetans turned to their big brother, the Chinese, for help. Which they did, and the Nepalese
