29/12/2014

MyanmarHistory

MyanmarHistory
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TheLandofHumanOrigin
TimelineHistory
MyanmarEmpires
KingdomsofMyanmar
BygoneLeadersofMyanmar
RulersofMyanmar
HowtheWestknewMyanmar
Myanmarhasalongandcomplexhistory.Manypeopleshavelivedintheregionandthehistorybegan.The
first identifiable civilization is that of the Mon. The Mon probably began migrating into the area in about 300
BC.andtheirfirstkingdomSuwarnabhumi.wasfoundedaroundtheportofThatoninabout300BC.ThePyu
arrivedinMyanmarinthe7thcenturyandestablishedcitykingdomsatBinnaka.Mongamo.SriKsetra.and
Halingyi. During this period. Myanmar was part of an overland trade route from China to India. By 849. the
Burmans had founded a powerful kingdom centered on the city of Bagan and filled the void left by the Pyu.
ThekingdomgrewinrelativeisolationuntilthereignofAnawrahta(104477)whosuccessfullyunifiedallof
MyanmarbydefeatingtheMoncityofThatonin1057.
After the collapse of Bagan authority. Myanmar was divided once again. The Burmans had restablished
themselvesatthecityofAvaby1364.whereBaganculturewasrevivedandagreatageofBurmeseliterature
ensued. The kingdom lacked easily defendable borders. however. and was overrun by the Shan in 1527.
SurviorsofthedestructionofInwaeventuallyestablishedanewkingdomcenteredonTaungooin1531ledby
Tabinshwehti(reigned153150).whoonceagainunifiedmostofMyanmar.ApopularBurmeseleadernamed
Alaungpaya drove the Bago forces out of northern Myanmar by 1753. and by 1759 he had once again
conqueredPeguandsouthernMyanmarwhilealsoregainingcontrolofManipur.Heestablishedhiscapitalat
Rangoon.nowknownasYangon.
Dynastiesofthepast
TheMon
ThePyu
TheBaganKingdom
InwaandBago
TaungooDynasty
KonbaungDynasty
WarwithBritain
DuringtheBritishRuling

TheMon
HumanslivedintheregionthatisnowMyanmarasearlyas11.000yearsago.Thefirstidentifiablecivilization
isthatoftheMon.TheMonprobablybeganmigratingintotheareainabout3000BC.andtheirfirstkingdom
Suwarnabhumi.wasfoundedaroundtheportofThatoninabout300BC.Spokentraditionsuggeststhatthey
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hadcontactwithBuddhismviaseafaringasearlyasthe3rdcenturyBC.thoughdefinitelybythe2ndcentury
BC when they received an envoy of monks from Ashoka. Much of the Mon's written records have been
destroyedthroughwars.TheMonsblendedIndianandMonculturetogetherinahybirdofthetwocivilizations.
Bythemid9thcentury.theyhadcometodominateallofsouthernMyanmar.

ThePyu
The Pyu arrived in Myanmar in the 7th century and established city kingdoms at Binnaka. Mongamo. Sri
Ksetra. and Halingyi. During this period. Myanmar was part of an overland trade route from China to India.
Chinese sources state that the Pyu controlled 18 kingdoms and describe them as a humane and peaceful
people.ThePyucapitalofHalingyifelltothekingdomofNanchaointhemid9thcentury.endingtheirperiod
ofdominance.

TheBaganKingdom
To the north another group of people. the Burmans began infiltrating the area as well. By 849. they had
founded a powerful kingdom centered on the city of Pagan and filled the void left by the Pyu. The kingdom
grewinrelativeisolationuntilthereignofAnawrahta(104477)whosuccessfullyunifiedallofMyanmarby
defeating the Mon city of Thaton in 1057. Consolidation was accomplised under his successors Kyanzittha
(10841112)andAlaungsithu(11121167).sothatbythemid12thcentury.mostofSoutheastAsiawasunder
thecontrolofeithertheBaganKingdomortheKhmerempire.TheBagankingdomwentintodeclineasmore
land and resources fell into the hands of the powerful sangha (monkhood) and the Mongols threatened from
thenorth.ThelasttruerulerofBagan.Narathihapate(reigned125487)feltconfidentinhisabilitytoresistthe
Mongols and advanced into Yunnan in 1277 to make war upon them. He was thouroughly crushed at the
Battle of Ngasaunggyan. and Bagan resistance virtually collapsed. The king was assassinated by his own
son. but the dynasty was soon brought to an end in 1289. when the mongols installed a puppet ruler in
Myanmar.

InwaandBago
After the collapse of Bagan authority. Myanmar was divided once again. The Burmans had restablished
themselves at the city of Inwa by 1364. where Bagan culture was revived and a great age of Burmese
literature ensued. The kingdom lacked easily defendable borders. however. and was overrun by the Shan in
1527.Tothesouth.theMonsreestablishedthemselvesatBago.andundertheirking.Dhammazedi(reigned
147292).enteredagoldenageaswell.becomingagreatcenterofcommerceandTherinwadaBuddhism.

TheTaungooDynasty
SurviorsofthedestructionofInwaeventuallyestablishedanewkingdomcenteredonTaungooin1531ledby
Tabinshwehti (reigned 153150). who once again unified most of Myanmar. By this time. the geopolitical
situationinSoutheastAsiahadchangeddrastically.TheShangainedpowerinanewkingdomintheNorth.
Ayutthaya(Siam).whilethePortugesehadarrivedinthesouthandconqueredMalacca.Withthecomingof
Europeantraders.Myanmarwasonceagainanimportanttradingcenter.andTabinshwehtimovedhiscapital
toBagoduetoitscommercialvalue.Tabinshwehti'sbrotherinlaw.Bayinnaung(ruled155181)succeededto
thethroneandproceededonacampaignofconquestconqueringseveralstates.includingManipur(1560)and
evenAyutthaya(1569).HiswarsstretchedMyanmartothelimitsofitsresources.however.andbothManipur
and Ayutthaya were soon independant once again. Faced with rebellion by several cities and renewed
Portugeseincursions.theTourngoorulerswithdrewfromsouthernMyanmmarandfoundedaseconddynasty
atInwa.Bayinnaung'sgrandson.Anaukpetlun.onceagainreunitedMyanmarin1613anddecisivelydefeated
Portuguese attempts to take over Myanmar. His successor Thalun reestablished the priciples of the old
Bagankingdom.butspenttooheavilyonreligiousexpenditureandpaidtolittleattentiontothesouthernpart
ofhiskingdom.EncouragedbytheFrenchinIndia.BagofinallyrebelledagainstInwa.furtherweakeningthe
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state.whichfellin1752.

TheKonbaungDynasty
It did not take long for a new dynasty to arise and bring Myanmar to its greates power yet. A popular
BurmeseleadernamedAlaungpayadrovetheBagoforcesoutofnorthernMyanmarby1753.andby1759he
had once again conquered Bago and southern Myanmar while also regaining control of Manipur. He
establishedhiscapitalatRangoon.In1760.hebrieflyconqueredTenasserimandmarchedonAyutthaya.but
hisinvasionfailedandhewaskilled.HissonHsinbyushin(ruled176376)returnedtoAyutthayain1766and
hadconquereditbeforetheendofthenextyear.EvenChinatooknoticeofMyanmarnow.butHsinbyushin
sucessfully repulsed four Chinese invasions between 1766 and 1769. Another of Alaungpaya's sons.
Bodawpaya (ruled 17811819). lost Ayutthaya. but added Arakan (1784) and Tenasserim (1793) to the
kingdomaswell.InJaunary1824.duringthereignofKingBagyidaw(ruled181937).ageneralnamedMaha
BandulasucceededinconqueringAssam.bringingMyanmarfacetofacewithBritishinterestsinIndia.

WarwithBritain
In response to the continued conquests of Myanmar. the British and the Siamese joined forces against
Myanmar in 1824. The First AngloBurmese War (182426) ended in a British victory. and by the Treaty of
Yandaboo. Myanmar lost Assam. Manipur. Arakan. and Tenasserim. As the century wore on. the British
begantocovetthenaturalresourcesofMyanmarandwantedtosecuretheirsupplyroutetoSingapore.Asa
result.theyprovokedtheSecondAngloBurmeseWarin1852.annexingBagoprovinceandrenamingitLower
Burma. The war resulted in a revolution in Myanmar. with King Pagin Min (ruled 184652) being replaced by
his half brother. Mindon Min (ruled 185378)). King Mindon tried to modernise the Burmese state and
economytoresistBritishencroachments.andheestablishedanewcapitalatMandalay.whichheproceeded
tofortify.ThiswasnotenoughtostoptheBirtish.however.whoclaimedthatMindon'ssonThibawMin(ruled
187885)wasatyrantintendingtosidewiththeFrenchanddeclaredwaronceagainin1885.conqueringthe
remainderofthecountryintheThirdAngloBurmeseWar.

DuringtheBritishRuling
BritainmadeallofBurmaaprovinceofIndiain1886withthecapitalatRangoon.TraditionalMyanmarsociety
was drastically altered by the ending of the monarchy and the separation of church and state. Though war
officially ended after only a couple of weeks. resistance continued in northern Myanmar until 1890. with the
British finally resorting to a systematic destruction of villages and appointment of new officials to finally halt
the guerilla activity. The economic nature of society also changed drastically. After the opening of the Suez
Canal.thedemandforBurmesericegrewandvasttractsoflandwereopenedupforcultivation.However.in
ordertopreparethenewlandforcultivation.farmerswereforcedtoborrowmoneyfromIndianmoneylenders
athighinterestratesandwereofteneveictedforfailuretopaybacktheloan.ImportedIndianlaborendedup
with most of the jobs. and whole villages became lawless dens full of the unemployed. While the Burmese
economygrew.allthepowerandwealthwasinthehandsofseveralBritishfirmsandtheBurmesepeopledid
notreaptherewards.
A new generation of Burmese leaders arose in the early twentieth century from amongst the educated
classes that were permitted to go to London to study law. They came away from this experience with the
belief that the Burmese situation could be improved through peaceful protest and negotiations. Peaceful
strikesintheearly1920sledtoaconstitutionalreformin1923thatcreatedapartialyelectedlegislaturewith
limited powers. but some people began to feel that the rate of change was not fast enough and the reforms
not expansive enough. Some of these dissatisfied students founded a new group called Thakin (an ironic
nameasthakinmeans"master"intheBurmeselanguage.andthiswasthetermthatstudentswererequired
tousewhenaddressingtheirBritishprofessors.whomtheywerecomingtoresent).Apeasantrebellionled
bySayaSanthatstartedin1930andlastedfortwoyearsgavetheThakintheirchance.Thoughtheydidnot
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actuallyparticipateintherebellion.theydidwinthetrustofthepeasantsanddisplacedtheoldergeneration
of Londoneducated elites at the head of the Burmese nationalist movement. They staged a strike in 1936.
whichwasnotablebecauseitwasduringthisstrikethatThakinNuandAungSanjoinedthemovement.The
British seperated Burma from India in 1937 and granted the colony a new constitution calling for a fully
elected assembly. but many Burmese felt that this was just a ploy to exclude them from any further Indian
reforms.BaMawservedasthefirstprimeministerofBurma.buthewasforcedoutbyUSawin1939.who
served as prime minister from 1940 to 1942. Burmese nationalists saw the outbreak of World War II as an
opportunity to extort concessions from the British in exchange for support in the war effort. but the British
wouldhavenoneofit.issuinganarrestwarrantforAungSan.whoescapedtoChina.TheJapaneseoffered
himsupport.andhebrieflyreturnedtoBurmatoenlisttheaidoftwentynineyoungmenwhowenttoJapan
withhimtoreceivemilitarytrainingasthesocalled"ThirtyComrades."TheJapanesequicklydeclaredBurma
independant. and when they occupied Bangkok in December 1941. Aung Sang announced the formation of
the Burma Independence Army (BIA) in anticipation of Japanese liberation. The Japanese duly moved into
Burmain1942anddisbandedtheBIA.formingthesmallerBurmaDefenseArmyinitsplacewithAungSang
still at the head. Ba Naw was declared head of state. and his cabinet included both Aung Sang and Thakin
Nu.ItsoonbecameapparentthatJapanesepromisesofindependenceweremerelyashamandthatBaMaw
was just a puppet. As the war turned against the Japanese. they declared Burma a fully sovereign state in
1943.butthiswasjustanotherfacade.Disillusioned.AungSanbegannegotitationswithLordMountbattenin
October 1943 and officially joined the Allies with his renamed Burma National Army (BNA) in March 1945.
Duringthisperiod.AnungSansucessfullycreatedabroadbasedcoalitionofpoliticalpartiescalledtheAnti
Fascist Organization. renamed the AntiFascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL). to govern the country.
The Japanese were routed from Burma in May 1945. The defeat of the Japanese brought a military
administration and demands to try Aung San as a traitor for his early collaboration with the Japanese. Lord
MountbattenrealizedthatthiswasanimpossibilityconsideringSan'sholdontheBNAandhispopularappeal
andsenttheconciliatorySirHubertRancetoheadtheadministration.whowasabletowinbackthetrustof
both San and the general populace. After the war ended. the former civilian governor returned. and San was
duly arrested. This nearly touched off a rebellion. but the British backed off and sent Rance back to restore
orderandfaith.NegotiationsbeganforBurmeseindependence.whichwerecompletedsucessfullyinJanuary
1947.TheagreementleftboththecommunistandconservativebranchesoftheAFPFLdissatisfied.however.
sendingthecommunistsundergroundandtheconservativesintoopposition.Anotherwhowasdissatisfiedby
theagreementwasUSaw.whofeltthatAungSanhadconcededtomuchinthenegotiations.Consequently.
heengineeredtheassassinationofAungSanandnearlyhisentirecabinetinJuly.ThakinNuwasaskedto
formanewcabinet.andhepresidedoverBurmeseindependenceonJanuary4.1948.

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