With the Anglo Gorkha and Anglo Sikh War, the British East India Company was able to establish its supremacy with over the region of Himachal Pradesh. The British army defeated the Gorkha regime in the Anglo Gorkha War and limited their empire to the east of the Sutlej river. With the Anglo Sikh War the supremacy of the Sikh rulers ended in north India.
The martial tribe of the Gorkhas had established their rule in Nepal and its bordering areas since 1768. It was during the reign of Maharaja Sansar Chand in the region of Kangra in Himachal Pradesh that the tribe expanded their territory and annexed the hill states of Sirmour and Simla. The Gorkhas under Amar Singh Thapa with their allies defeated Maharaja Sansar Chand in 1806. The wars continued between the Gorkhas and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh who seized the fort of Kangra in 1809. The Gorkha conquests extended to the south which was under the influence of the British. This resulted in the Anglo Gorkha War that continued from 1814 to 1816 and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Sugauli.
Direct confrontation of the British and the Sikh was avoided till the death of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. The East India Company indulged in territorial expansionism which resulted in the first and the second Anglo Sikh Wars. The wars were fought between the years 1845 to 1849. Several hill state rulers were secret allies of the British in these wars. The war ended with the annexation of Punjab in 1849.
It is with the end of the Anglo Gorkha and Anglo Sikh War that the British East India Company gained its supremacy over the territory of Himachal Pradesh and the whole of north India.
