“ Supported by the viceroys of India, Lord Lawrence and Lord Mayo, Shere Ali remained on good terms with the British government for some years; but after the rebellion of his son Yakub Khan, 1870–74, he leaned towards Russia, and welcomed a Russian agent at Kabul in 1878, and at the same time refused to receive a British mission. This led to long negotiations, and ultimately to war, when the British forced the Khyber Pass in November 1878, and defeated the amir’s forces on every occasion. ”