Tibet is a large country in central Asia, bordering with India, Nepal, Bhutan and China. In the past, Tibet was a large nation, conquering lands across central Asia. Throughout its history, Mongolian and Chinese empires invaded Tibet, but in these times, the concept of nation states did not always exist in the way they do now. However, Tibet had an assumed Tibetan independnce for much of it's history, and had diplomatic relations directly with foreign governments such as India, Nepal, and later Russia and Britain. With the collapse of the Manchu Qing dynasty in 1912, Tibet declared itself independent from China.

On 7th October 1950, 40,000 of China's communist army invaded. An appeal to the UN fell upon deaf ears, and eventually, a Tibetan delegation signed a treaty on 23rd May 1951 submitting to the Chinese. This treaty, known as 'The 17-Point Agreement', has been a huge source of contention- with China claiming it was signed legitimately, and many pro-Tibet supporters claiming that the Chinese government forced or coerced the delegation into signing it. In truth, the Tibetans were not coerced into doing so, but claimed they could not without the seal of the Dalai Lama or the Kashag (the Tibetan government). Handily, the Chinese made their own mock-up of the Dalai Lama's seal. This was used, and the agreement was signed. Inexpliably, the Tibetan delegation did not contact the Tibetan government (Kashag) regarding negotiations. The delegation's authority to sign the agreement without consulting the Kashag first is much debated, but the agreement was signed, and the. Eight years of unrest followed, leading to revolts in Kham (East Tibet) and Amdo (North East Tibet) particularly. These were bloodily put down, often resulting in the aerial bombing of monasteries. Refugees flooded into Central Tibet, bringing with them the spirit of rebellion; peaceful protests and even armed revolt. Tensions continued to mount, and in 1959, a bloodbath in Lhasa followed. The Dalai Lama was asked to attend a Chinese performance, without bodyguards. News leaked, and Tibetans took this as a Chinese attempt to kidnap their God. Thousands surrounded his palace swearing to protect him, and Tibetan soldiers began to hand out arms. Members of the Tibetan government renounced Chinese autonomy. The Chinese retaliation was quick, as they twice shelled the Dalai Lama's palace, the Norbulingka, forcing the Dalai Lama, the Kashag and many more to immediately flee for India. On 20th March, the Norbulingka was again shelled, killing hundreds. The Chinese continued bombing various important buildings around Lhasa, causing Tibetans to retreat to the streets surrounding the Jokhang, Tibet's most important temple. This too was bombed, and 15,000 Tibetans lay dead in Lhasa (according to Tibetan claims- this is an approximate, and the real figure could be lower or higher).

Many young Tibetan men were subsequently rounded up, incarcerated, put on work teams or simply shot. Monks and nuns were persecuted, often tortured, sometimes to death. Monasteries stripped of their riches, Buddhist scriptures burnt and used for toilet paper, all with the aim of destroying Tibetan tradition and religion. Tibetan farmers were forced to grow rice instead of the native barley. The rice crops failed, and 70,000 Tibetans died in the subsequent famine. Tibetan youths were brainwashed and turned against their culture and own people. During the 'Cultural Revolution' (1966-1976), and all temples and monasteries, with the exception of 13, under the protectorate of the Chinese government were destroyed (some Tibetan estimates cite the exact number as 6,254, whereas it could be lower). Merrymaking was declared illegal, and Tibetans were forced to denounce the Dalai Lama, as a parasite. Genocide- by 1976, over 1.2 million Tibetans had died as a result of violence and starvation (again a Tibetan estimate). Religious worship and almost all the basic rights of the Tibetans had been lost. In the 1980s, China began a policy of Han immigration- giving incentives to Chinese people willing to move to Tibet and establish a business, with 100,000 Chinese immigrating in 1984 alone.