The Trans-Salwin Shan State of Kiang Tung

by George John Younghusband, David K. Wyatt (Editor)

G. J. Younghusband (1859-1944) came from a family with deep roots in the Indian army and colonial service tradition. After school at Sandhurst, the young lieutenant was sent on what was no less than a spying mission in 1888 to find out the most accessible route through Siamese territory to the disputed Shan State of Keng Tung. The area was a hodgepodge of intrigue with Britain, Siam, Lan Na, the French, and of course the Shans vying for position and power. He describes in this book the land through which he passes and the characters whom he meets, and hints at the machinations of other interested parties in the region, with debonair nonchalance and a fine eye for detail.

This intriguing text, of which hitherto only two copies are known still to exist, was first published in 1888, and is here reissued with an introduction by the noted historian David K. Wyatt.

80 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2005

About the author

Major General Sir George John Younghusband, KCMG, KCIE, CB (1859–1944) was a cavalry officer and major-general in the British Indian Army. Younghusband was commissioned into the 17th Foot in 1878. He later transferred to the British Indian Army's Guides Cavalry and served in several conflicts, including the Second Afghan War, the Mahdist War, the Third Burmese War, the Second Boer War and finally in the First World War. Due to wounds received on the battlefield, he was forced to retire from the army in 1917.

In his later life he became a noted author of several books, and the Keeper of the Jewel House at the Tower of London, until his death on at Crickhowell in Wales.