26. Nineteenth Century Afghan Insurgents
By 1841, discontent had flared into open revolt, with Afghan tribes rebelling against the British and their pet ruler. As the countryside was lost and supply lines to India were cut off, British control first shrank to the garrisoned cities, and eventually the British found themselves in control of little more than the grounds of their fortified garrisons. So the British sought a face-saving measure to extricate themselves from what had become an untenable situation.
They deposed their puppet ruler, dusted off the ruler whom they had unseated in 1839, and reinstalled him in power in exchange for a promise to control the Afghan tribes long enough for the British to evacuate Afghanistan and withdraw in peace. Whether the reinstalled ruler deliberately betrayed the British, or simply lacked the influence to control the tribesmen, things went sour.
