Historical periods
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Mon kingdom [9th - 11th, 13th - 16, 18th]
Individual Documents
| Title: | | The Ecology of Burman-Mon Warfare and the Premodern Agrarian State (1383-1425)1 |
| Date of publication: | | December 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "...The present study is broken into five sections as follows. First, it looks at conflicts over the middle
Irrawaddy (1389-1411) from various perspectives with different sets of historical data, including changes in
chronicle lists of settlements; the observations of a British colonial-era gazetteer, the narrative of Kalà’s Great
Chronicle and the Rajadirat epic. Previous papers (Fernquest 2006a, 2006b) have discussed in detail the larger
context of these conflicts in the Ava-Pegu War (1383-1426).
Second, it then describes the historical geography of Lower Burma and the middle Irrawaddy River
basin and draws out the implications for military power. Historically, the north-to-south orientation of the
Irrawaddy River has broken the east-to-west orientation of settlements in Lower Burma. This fragmented
geography together with the limited farming potential and difficult terrain of the Irrawaddy Delta, contributed
to an underlying localism in Lower Burma’s geography. Viewed in this context, the middle Irrawaddy River
region is a pivotal thoroughfare providing access to the delta region, Lower Burma, and food supply located
along the river. Battles over this strategically important stretch of river are a crucial turning point in the Ava-
Pegu War with food supply and adjustments in military logistics playing a crucial role in the course of the
conflicts. Apparently, because of the difficult nature of Lower Burma’s geography, the Burmans never
established a military outpost any further south than Tharrawaddy on the Irrawaddy River, before the delta
even begins.
Third, ecological patterns conditioned the long-term conduct of warfare. The regular yearly cycle of
changing climate and agriculture conditioned the way wars were fought if manpower was to be optimally
conserved. The subsistence crisis was used as an extension or weapon of war. Long-term climate patterns
may have increased the potential for these subsistence crises.
Fourth, from the underlying constraints of environment and ecology in warfare the paper passes to
the dynamics of warfare. A cycle of expansionary warfare explains how military success fueled further military
success through the accumulation of geopolitical resources such as land, food supply, and manpower. A
marchland factor also was operative in which enemies on fewer fronts aided the expansionary warfare of a
state. Eventually, imperial overstretch and logistical overload resulted in a reverse process of state contraction
in which the resources accumulated during expansionary warfare were quickly lost. Scorched earth tactics in
which local food supplies were destroyed were part of the offensive strategy of expansionary warfare, whereas
flight to the hinterland was part of the defensive response.
Finally, in the conclusion the paper re-examines the agrarian nature of the Burmese state suggesting
that general cross-cultural models of premodern agrarian states lead to richer explanations than the regionspecific
mandala or “galactic polity” models traditionally employed in Southeast Asian history. Cross-cultural
models allow for more realistic multi-causal explanations of historical events. They also allow for the posing
and testing of a wide variety of different hypotheses and the possibility that disparate, geographically
unrelated cultures, have shared historical experiences and processes. A Bayesian approach that brings in and
VOLUME 6 (2008)
7 5
integrates knowledge of other premodern agrarian states in the form of a priori probabilities is suggested as
one approach to crafting such a multi-threaded history of what-might-have-happened.
Taken together, the six sections of this paper demonstrate how various seemingly fictional elements
typically found in Southeast Asian historical chronicles, fictional elements often conceived of as a historical
deficit, rather provide rich details that should be conceived instead as a historical surfeit worthy of study in
and of itself..." |
| Author/creator: | | Jon Fernquest |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research 6, 2008 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (6.2MB, 1.4MB)) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 January 2009 |
|
| Title: | | RAJADHIRAT’S MASK OF COMMAND: MILITARY LEADERSHIP IN BURMA (C. 1348-1421) |
| Date of publication: | | March 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | "The reign of the Mon king Rajadhirat (r. 1383-1421) was
an exceptional period in Burma’s history. Rarely has one
person exerted so much influence over the events of an
era. Lower and Upper Burma were locked in endemic
warfare for almost forty years during his reign. Unlike
his father and predecessor, Rajadhirat was forced to
wage war to obtain power. Once in power, he had to
continue fighting to maintain power. During the critical
first seven years of his rule, Rajadhirat consolidated
power in a series of conflicts with other members of the
ruling elite..." |
| Author/creator: | | Jon Fernquest |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research 4.1 (Spring 2006) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (275K - reduced; 1.97MB - original) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070612023842/http://web.soas.ac.uk/burma/4.1files/4.1fernquest.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 16 July 2006 |
|
| Title: | | THE BUDDHIST KINGS OF CHIENGMAI AND PEGU, THE PURIFICATION OF THE SANGHA, AND THE MAHABODHI REPLICAS IN THE LATE FIFTEENTH CENTURY |
| Date of publication: | | December 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | "In the late fifteenth century two similar and interesting events took place. Two Southeast Asian kings, both claiming to be Buddhist world rulers, built replicas of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, India. The first king was Dhammacetti (1462-1492) of Pegu, who built the Shwegugyi Temple in Pegu in 1479. The other king was Tilokaraja (1441-1487), of Chiengmai, who began building the Wat Cet Yot in 1455 (although the building went on for over a decade). Both the Shwegugyi and the Wat Cet Yot are replicas of the Mahabodhi temple at Bodhgaya, India, in their general architectural design, their use of the seven stations in their layout, and their association with the bodhi tree.
The Mahabodhi temple is important to Buddhism, because it was built next to the bodhi tree under which the Buddha sat when he was enlightened. The seven stations at that temple refer to the seven different sites where the Buddha spent each of the seven weeks after enlightenment. This means that the Mahabodhi temple, the bodhi tree, and the seven stations there are directly tied to the foundation of the sasana and to the purity of the sasana. The construction of the two Mahabodhi replicas is even more interesting because only two other replicas of the Mahabodhi were built in Southeast Asia, one in Pagan built in 1215 by Nadaunmya (Htilominlo), and a minor one at Chiengrai, which cannot be dated or attributed.
It is difficult to find out, however, why two kings in neighboring areas built Mahabodhi replicas at about the same time and why such replicas were not built in Southeast Asia for the 250 years before this time or at anytime afterwards.6 The chronicles and inscriptions explain that Tiloka and Dhammacetti were performing meritorious acts by building the Mahabodhi replicas. The chronicles and inscriptions also claim that these two kings were trying to unify and purify the sangha in their lands. However, the chronicles and inscriptions do not say why Mahabodhi replicas were built by Dhammacetti and Tilokaraja around the same time and not by every king before and after who tried to gain merit or be a dhammaraja by purifying and uniting the sangha. I think it is important to find the underlying reasons for the similar event occurring in Chiengmai and Pegu in the late fifteenth century.
I will try, using the information that is available, and general information regarding the social, political, commercial, religious, agricultural, and demographic trends of that period, to provide the best possible answer to the questions (1) why the Mahabodhi replicas in Chiengmai and Pegu were built, (2) why they were built in these two places and not somewhere else, and (3) why they were built at this time.
My argument, which I will develop and explain more fully below, is that the most significant factor in the adoption of Mahabodhi replicas and the repurification of the sangha in late fifteenth century Chiengmai and Pegu was international trade. During the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, mainland Southeast Asia was politically (small and numerous states) and religiously (small and numerous sects) divided and not many kings had the resources or power to prove their claims of being dhammarajas by unifying or purifying the sangha or support the construction of temples on the same scale as Pagan. During the same period, however, trade grew as did agricultural
cultivation and the population). By the late fifteenth century, central kings gained money for religious patronage of the sangha and for political patronage of (and more prestige in the eyes of) local rulers and probably better control of their kingdoms outside of the capital. The links that Chiengmai and Pegu had with international trade also brought ideas for rulers and monks. The religious reform and the building of Mahabodhi replicas of the late fifteenth century in Pegu and in Chiengmai came from ideas, brought along trade routes (maritime and within Southeast Asia), strengthening the prestige of Sri Lanka as a center of pure Buddhism. Also, Buddhist monks travelling along Southeast Asian trade routes seem to have spread beliefs in the royal capitals (as trade centers) that religious reform should also include a replica of the Mahabodhi temple. The monks who took advantage of these ideas won the support of the central ruler over rival sects since they had a better claim to religious purity. The central kings had more resources and control than their predecessors over their kingdoms and could make the selection of a particular sect and the religious repurification more significant throughout the kingdom. Finally, to reinforce their image as dhammarajas who unified and purified the sangha, and as cakravartins or world Buddhist rulers, Dhammacetti and Tilokaraja tried to replace Pagan with their own capitals as the chief center of Buddhism (which meant that their capitals also had to have Mahabodhi replicas)." |
| Author/creator: | | ATSUKO NAONO |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.2MB-low res; 2.3MB-medium res; 4.3MB - high res) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/Naono1996-ocr-mr.pdf
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/Naono1996-ocr-hr.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 October 2010 |
|
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Pagan (Bagan) period [849-1287 AD]
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Intra-dynastic and Inter-Tai Conflicts in the Old Kingdom of Moeng Lü in Southern Yunnan |
| Date of publication: | | March 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Power struggles within ruling houses are a classic problem causing the
weakening of dynasties and inviting foreign invasions. The Tai polities in
pre-modern Asia were no exception. This recurrent problem is
documented not only in contemporary Chinese sources, but also in the
various versions of the Tai chronicles that the present writer has
investigated. The present article focuses on the example of the Tai Lü
polity, namely Moeng Lü (better known as Sipsòng Panna), which was
founded in the twelfth century in present-day southern Yunnan along
what Jon Fernquest has called the “Tai Frontier.”2 When waging
fratricidal wars or committing fratricide to gain the throne was
concerned, the traditional Tai polities in this frontier between China and
the large lowland polities of mainland Southeast Asia were no better than
the ruling houses of medieval Europe and China...The Chronicles of Moeng Lü (CML) is replete with killings and civil
wars. Recorded above are seven major conflicts involving disputes
related to succession to the throne of Saenwi Fa. The CML’s coverage of
the successive reigns is not equal. The records of about one third of the
reigns are very brief but that does not mean that there was no fighting
during these reigns. Moeng Lü or Cheli was not a unified Tai kingdom.
As recorded in the “Basic Annals” of the History of the Yuan Dynasty
(Yuanshi), as early as around 1297/98 there were the Greater Cheli and
Lessser Cheli. Moeng Lü was partitioned into two by the Mekong River
long before Burmese expansion in the sixteenth century." |
| Author/creator: | | Foon Ming Liew-Herres (Hamburg) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS BULLETIN OF BURMA RESEARCH VOL. 5, 2007 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (518K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Pagan and Early Burma |
| Date of publication: | | October 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | "Pagan, today a small town of perhaps 2,000 inhabitants, was the capital of the first
Burmese kingdom for about 250 years between the mid-eleventh and the end of the
thirteenth centuries. During this period, more than 2,500 religious monuments, mostly
Buddhist temples, stupas and monasteries, were constructed in and around the city. At the
end of the thirteenth century, the city ceased to be a political center, having falled victim
to demographic disruptions, economic exhaustion, and military pressure from the
Mongols, though it kept its status as a sacred center and a place of learning until the end
of the last Burmese kingdom..." |
| Author/creator: | | Tilman Frasch |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Newsletter, Issue 25, International Institute for Asian Studies |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The Pwa Saws of Bagan/ ပုဂံခေတ် ဖွားစောများ |
| Date of publication: | | 23 March 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | Title(Book/Serial): Burma Historical Research Department Silver Jublice publication;
1. Pwa Saw, 1st (Min Waing Pwa Saw) 1230 - 1287;
2. Pwa Saw, 2nd (Saw Hla Wun Pwa Saw) 1262 - 1296;
3. Pwa Saw, 3rd (Thitmathi Pwa Saw) 1295 - 1334;
4. Myanmar - History - Bagan period, 1044 - 1287.
Place/Publisher:Historical Research Department
Ed. Date:1982
Pagination:p. 22 - 25
"Paper read at the first Union of Burma Literary and Social Sciences Conference held on 23rd March 1966. In the Bagan period three queens named Pwa Saw were well known. They were important advisors to the kings who ruled during their lives. The author observes that Bagan inscriptions document several queens named Saw; three Pwa Saws were described: (1) Min Waing Pwa Saw (2) Saw Hla Wun Pwa Saw, and (3) Thitmathi Pwa Saw. They were clever and participated in the administration of the country. |
| Author/creator: | | Col. Ba Shin/ ဗိုလ်မှူးဘရှင် |
| Language: | | Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Historical Research Dept. via ANU Library |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.85MB) 35 pages |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.lib.washington.edu/myanmar/detail/article_title/The%20Pwa%20Saws%20of%20Bagan/?page=1&am... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Notice of Pugan, the Ancient Capital of the Burmese Empire. |
| Date of publication: | | 04 July 1835 |
| Description/subject: | | "...The celebrated Venetian traveller, MARCO POLO, (see MARSDEN'S edition of his Travels, pages
441 to 451,) has given us an account of the war between the Tartars and the people of Mien
(the Chinese name for Burmah), which occurred some time after 1272, and led the former to
take possession of the then capital of the latter nation. SYMES and CRAWFORD, in the Journals of
their Missions to Ava, as well as HAVELOCK and TRANT in their accounts of the late war, have
described the extensive remains of Pagan, the former capital of the Burmese empire, lying
between Prome and Ava, with its innumerable ruins of temples and columns. Perhaps the
following account of the destruction of that city, translated from the 5th volume of the large
edition of the Royal Chronicles of the Kings of Ava, (Maha Yazawen wen dan gyee,) may be
deemed curious..." |
| Author/creator: | | Lieut.-Col. Henry Burney, H. C.'s Resident In Ava |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 4 (vol. 4, July, 1835, pp. 400-404) via SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, Autumn 2003 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (38K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070609092430/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/vol__i,_no__2.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 22 August 2004 |
|
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The Toungoo Dynasty [1486-1752]
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Addendum: The Shan Realm in the Late Ava Period (1449-1503) |
| Date of publication: | | September 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Note:
The following addendum to Jon Fernquest, (2005) “Min-gyi-nyo,
the Shan Invasions of Ava (1524-27), and the Beginnings of
Expansionary Warfare in Toungoo Burma: 1486-1539,” SOAS
Bulletin of Burma Research 3.2 (Autumn 2005): 35-142, was
submitted after the journal was off to press (so to speak). We have
added it here at the end of the volume. It is hoped that readers of
Jon’s article, earlier in this journal, will also take note of this
additional and revised material.
M.W.C...."Several factors conditioned the relation between the Shan Realm,
China, and Burmese Ava before Min-gyi-nyo’s accession to power:... |
| Author/creator: | | John Fernquest (Fernquist) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (152K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070930165556/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/3_2.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Min-gyi-nyo, the Shan Invasions of Ava (1524-27), and the Beginnings of Expansionary Warfare in Toungoo Burma: 1486-1539 |
| Date of publication: | | September 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Conclusion:
"The main purpose of this paper has been to provide a narrative
history charting the forces at work behind state expansion in the
early Toungoo period. Both the reign of Min-gyi-nyo and the Shan
invasions of Ava played important roles in this expansion. From the
very beginning of Min-gyi-nyo’s reign, after seizing the throne of
Toungoo in 1486, Min-gyi-nyo built an ever widening sphere of
influence in Upper Burma. After conquering the Pyinmana area near
Toungoo, during the 1490s Min-gyi-nyo attacked the rebellious
vassal Yamethin on behalf of his overlord the king of Ava and made
exploratory military probes along the frontier of Mon Ramanya to the
south. In 1501-03, there was a succession struggle at Ava as well as
an invasion and occupation of the northern part of the Mu River
valley, an important part of Ava’s food supply. In the wake of these
events, the new king of Ava attempted to draw Min-gyi-nyo closer to
him through a marriage alliance and a gift of strategically important
territory near Kyaukse, another important part of Ava’s food supply.
Min-gyi-nyo entered into a state of rebellion for the first time,
spurned Ava’s gift and depopulated the territory. Ava sent a military
expedition against Toungoo in retaliation, but Min-gyi-nyo
intercepted it ahead of time and defeated it. Shortly afterwards, in
1505, Toungoo joined with Prome and attacked towns in the
Myingyan area near Pagan. Toungoo was defeated and humbled by a joint military expedition sent by Ava and Hsipaw. In 1505, three
princes rebelled and seized the town of Pakan-gyi at the confluence
of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers. Instead of making an
immediate move to help the rebels, Toungoo and Prome bided their
time with expeditions against settlements like Magwe to the south.
Their caution was vindicated when the princes were defeated and
executed. During his trips from Toungoo to and from these
campaigns, Min-gyi-nyo attacked and raided settlements along the
way, in some instances establishing marriage alliances. In 1510, the
king of Ava built a new capital and palace and Min-gyi-nyo followed
his example. After 1510, while Ava was burdened by Shan raids of
increasing intensity, Toungoo settled back to a period of peace. Only
in 1523 did Min-gyi-nyo venture out of Toungoo again in a military
expedition. During the Shan invasions of Ava (1524-27), he gained
many loyal vassals in the area south of Ava. Min-gyi-nyo died in
1531. The new Shan state at Ava invaded Prome in 1532 and in
1535 Toungoo under a new king Tabinshweihti started a series of
attacks against Pegu, the capital of Mon Ramanya, that led to
Toungoo’s conquest and control over the southern Ramanya region
and its lucrative maritime trade.
Several demographic factors that played a role in state
formation together with a model of state formation have been
assessed for their relevance to early Toungoo state expansion
(1486-1539). Although many might regard the lack of primary
sources for the First Toungoo Dynasty as limiting research
possibilities, it is hoped that shining the light of disciplines such as
historical demography, political anthropology, the anthropology of
war, as well as economic theory (Schmid, 2004; Van Tuyll and
Brauer, 2004) on the evidence combined with a continued search for
new primary sources will allow new advances to be made in this
important but understudied period of Burmese history. Perhaps
archaeological evidence will also one day supplement the evidence
that is now almost entirely textual." |
| Author/creator: | | Jon Fernquest |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005, |
| Format/size: | | pdf (800K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070930165556/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/3_2.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | THE FLIGHT OF LAO WAR CAPTIVES FROM BURMA BACK TO LAOS IN 1596: A COMPARISON OF HISTORICAL SOURCES |
| Date of publication: | | 20 March 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "In 1596, one thousand Lao war captives fled from Pegu, the capital of the kingdom
of Burma, back to their native kingdom of Lan Sang. This incident is insignificant
when compared to more cataclysmic changes like the founding or fall of dynasties,
but it has attracted the attention of Western, Thai, and Burmese historians since the
17th century.
The incident is noteworthy and exceptional in several ways. First, the flight
was to a remote destination: Laos. Second, the incident involved two traditional
enemies: Burmese and ethnic Tai's. "Tai" will be used to emphasize that this is an
autonomous history of pre-modern states ranging from Ayutthya in the South,
through Lan Sang, Lan Na, Kengtung, and Sipsong Panna in the North, to the Shan
states of Burma in the far north. Third, the entries covering the incident in the
Ayutthya, Chiang Mai, and Lan Sang chronicles are short, ambiguous, and beg to
be explained. All of this gives the incident great dramatic potential and two
historians of note have made use of these exceptional characteristics to further their
literary and ideological goals: de Marini, a Jesuit priest, in a book published in
1663, and Prince Damrong, a Thai historian, in a book published in 1917. Sections
2 and 5 will analyze the works of these historians..." |
| Author/creator: | | Jon Fernquest |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 2005 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (115K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070102014547/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/3_1.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Ming China and Southeast Asia in the 15th Century: A Reappraisal |
| Date of publication: | | July 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract / Description:
"The 15th century was a period of intense interaction between Ming China and Southeast Asia. The period saw the Ming invade Ðại Việt, expand the scope of the Chinese polity by exploiting and then incorporating Tai polities of upland Southeast Asia, and launch a succession of hugely influential maritime armadas which travelled through Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. It is argued that these three aspects of Ming policy can be seen as differing types of Ming colonialism greatly affecting Southeast Asia during the 15th century and beyond.
A chronological study of the policies relating to Southeast Asia of the successive Ming rulers is followed by a thematic overview of how the Ming policies actually affected Southeast Asia in the 15th century. This includes reference to effects in the political, economic and cultural topography of Southeast Asia The beginnings of a non-state-sponsored maritime trade between China and Southeast Asia is also investigated."...Keywords: Ming, Southeast Asia, 15th century, Zheng He, Dai Viet, Tai, Malacca.....20 references to Burma |
| Author/creator: | | Geoffrey Wade |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Asia Research Institute National University of Singapore Working Paper 28 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.42MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 12 March 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Voyage to Pegu, and Observations There, Circa 1583 |
| Date of publication: | | 1626 |
| Description/subject: | | “Gaspero Balbi his Voyage to Pegu, and observations there, gathered
out of his owne Italian Relation,” in Samuel Purchas (ed.), Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas His
Pilgrimes Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen
and Others", volume 10, (1626). "Gaspero Balbi, an Italian travelling to Southeast Asia in the sixteenth century, has left for us a
valuable account of Burma during the reign of Bayinnaung..." |
| Author/creator: | | Gaspero Balbi |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | “Gaspero Balbi his Voyage to Pegu..." via SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, Autumn 2003, |
| Format/size: | | pdf (58K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070609092430/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/vol__i,_no__2.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 October 2010 |
|
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The Konbaung Dynasty and the Anglo-Burmese Wars [1753-1885]
Individual Documents
| Title: | | The Despot and the Diplomat |
| Date of publication: | | September 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "The experiences of Capt Michael Symes, the first official British emissary to the Burmese court, offer lessons for diplomats dealing with the country’s current rulers...
MILITARY-ruled Burma is surely one of the world’s least rewarding assignments for a United Nations diplomat. Visiting envoys are routinely refused contact with the country’s dictator, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, in his remote capital of Naypyidaw, the “Royal Abode.” Months or years may pass with no signs of progress before an envoy finally abandons his mission in frustration—and the regime claims another victory in its war of wills against the outside world.
Much has been made of Than Shwe’s monarchical pretensions, and in his approach to diplomacy it is not difficult to see the influence of rulers of an earlier age, when Burmese kings believed they could keep the world at bay by treating foreign emissaries with studied disdain. Indeed, any diplomat who wishes to understand the mindset of Burma’s current rulers should probably go back at least as far as Bodawpaya, the king who perfected a brand of diplomacy still practiced in Burma today..." |
| Author/creator: | | Neil Lawrence |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 9 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 November 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Ruling the Rulers |
| Date of publication: | | May 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Efforts to limit the powers of Burma’s absolute monarchs failed. So did the monarchy...
"THROUGHTOUT Asia, the middle of the 19th century was a period of political turmoil, as Western imperial powers pressed in upon countries that were subject to various forms of pre-modern rule. Burma was no exception, as it was forced to come to terms with a nation that was not only militarily superior, but also politically more advanced.
Under the country’s last two monarchs, King Mindon (1853-78) and King Thibaw (1878-85), there were attempts to reform Burmese polity in the face of growing external challenges. At the center of these efforts was Yaw Atwinwun U Hpo Hlaing, the author of “Rajadhammasangaha,” a treatise which would have laid the basis for a constitutional monarchy in Burma, and which, in the words of respected scholar Maung Htin, “might have kept King Thibaw in the enjoyment of his throne..."” |
| Author/creator: | | Min Lwin |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 May 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Specialists for Ritual, Magic and Devotion: The Court Brahmins (Punna) of the Konbaung Kings (1752-1885) |
| Date of publication: | | 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract: "Though they formed an essential part of Burmese court life, the Brahmins
have hitherto attracted no scholarly interest outside Burma. Based on a
study of royal orders and administrative compendia as well as recent
Burmese research, this article gives for the first time an overview of
the origins, the ritual and ceremonial functions and the organization
of the punna. The main section is preceded by an overview of sources
and research questions. Special emphasis is given in the last part to the
noteworthy role played by punna in King Bodawphaya�s reform policies." |
| Author/creator: | | Jacques P. Leider |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Journal of Burma Studies" Vol. 10, 2005/06 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (804K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.niu.edu/burma/publications/jbs/vol10/index.shtml (JBS Vol. 10) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 31 December 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Was “Yadza” Really Ro(d)gers? |
| Date of publication: | | September 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "Under the terms of the Treaty of Yandabo, which ended the first
Anglo-Burmese war of 1824-26, the Government of India sent
Henry Burney to Burma as Resident Minister to the Court of Ava.
Arriving at post in April 1830 he kept a journal in which, a few
months later, he recorded the following:
August 12
I paid a visit this morning to an extraordinary character, an
uncle of the King, named Mekkhra Mon tha or Prince of
Mekkhra. He has been taught to read and understand
English by the late Mr Rogers, and he evinces a very
laudable desire of becoming acquainted with European
science and literature.
(Tarling, ed.1995:59)
Burney goes on to say that he and his associates considered the
Prince to be certainly the most extraordinary man we have seen in
this country’ in that he possessed an impressive English library,
was already well informed in scientific matters, had translated
extracts from Rees’s Cyclopaedia and – with the help of an
American missionary – had well-nigh completed an English-
Burmese dictionary.
According to Burney, then, the tutor credited with enabling the
Prince to do all this was the late Mr Rogers.’ But how did this
intriguing English-born character come to be there, and who
exactly was he? I raise the question because, while most of the
information we have about Rogers is based on his own accounts of
his background, those accounts are not consistent. I shall
therefore, working backwards from 1830, collate various pieces of
information about him in an attempt to establish the truth about
his past. We must first jump back four years..." |
| Author/creator: | | Gerry Abbott |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005, |
| Format/size: | | pdf (111K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070930165556/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/3_2.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | "Adoniram Judson and the Creation of a Missionary Discourse in Pre-Colonial Burma" |
| Date of publication: | | 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | In the following paper I argue that Adoniram Judson, the first American Baptist Missionary to Burma, was strongly empathetic with his adopted country. His work as interpreter-translator during the negotiations leading to the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826 and his visits to Ava both immediately before and after the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826), although coached in the language of Christian mission, exhibited characteristics markedly different from the perspective of Ann Judson's memoir and from those of certain missionary narratives subsequent to his own. I propose to examine aspects of three texts: Ann Judson's An Account of the American Baptist Mission to the Burman Empire; Henry Gouger's Personal Narrative of Two Years Imprisonment in Burmah; and Adoniram Judson's deposition to John Crawfurd. I shall also refer to J. Snodgrass' Narrative of the Burmese War (1824-1826) and Henry Trant's Two Years in Ava for other perspectives of some events. |
| Author/creator: | | Helen James |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 7 (2002) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.2MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.grad.niu.edu/burma/webpgs/abstractsVol7.html# |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 March 2009 |
|
| Title: | | The Fall of Ayutthaya: A Reassessment |
| Date of publication: | | 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | Conventional views of the 1760-1767 Burmese attacks on Ayutthaya contend that the Burmese were taking advantage of an opportunity to attack a politically and economically weak kingdom. This article adduces evidence from the Burmese chronicles, from accounts by contemporary foreign observers, and from economic history to argue that Burma's campaigns against Ayutthaya were part of an epic struggle between the two polities that began in the 1500s and continued until the Anglo-Burmese War of 1824-1826. Control of trade was one of the central factors motivating this centuries-long conflict. It was the very strength and wealth of the Siamese kingdom, not its alleged weakness, that motivated the Burmese invaders, who hoped to strike a blow that would knock Ayutthaya out of contention as the trading hub of mainland Southeast Asia. |
| Author/creator: | | Helen James |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 5 (2000) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.19MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 March 2009 |
|
| Title: | | The Mandalay Palace |
| Date of publication: | | 1963 |
| Description/subject: | | Mandalay Palace - Historical Sites;
Mandalay - Description and Travel;
Mandalay - History;
Myanmar - History - Later Konbaung Period;
Contents:
(1) Foundation of the Palace and City p. 10-15;
(2) The City's Defensive Walls p. 16-19;
(3) Building outside the palace platform p. 22-24;
(4) The Buildings within the palace platform p. 25-35;
(5) Appendix - Kings of the Alaungpaya Dynasty p. 37;
This book was published with the grant of 1962 Asia; Foundation. Text by Mon C. Durosielle former Superintendent of the Directorate of Archaeological Survey. Supplemented with thirty one plates of photographs, plans and measured drawings of the palace structures and architectural motifs as preserved in the Archaeological Department. |
| Author/creator: | | Mon C. Durosielle |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Directorate of Archaeological Survey |
| Format/size: | | PDF (3.84MB) 57pages |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Zh_zzAF5zUgJ:https://www.myanmarisp.com/ABR/Ma... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 July 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Mandalay in 1878-1879: The Letters of James Alfred Colbeck, Originally Selected and Edited by George H. Colbeck in 1892 |
| Date of publication: | | 1892 |
| Description/subject: | | Editor’s note:
Present in 1878 and early 1879 and then returning again to Mandalay in 1885 with
British forces, James Alfred Colbeck, mission priest for the Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel and latterly military chaplain, provides a unique look at the beginning and end
of Thibaw’s reign (1878-1885). The letters included were originally selected and edited
by George H. Colbeck, mission priest at Mandalay and were published under the title of
Letters from Mandalay, A Series of Letters For the Most Part Written From the Royal City
of Mandalay During the Troublous Years of 1878-79; Together with Letters Written
During the Last Burmese Campaign of 1885-88 (Knavesborough: Alfred W. Lowe, 1892).
The natural division and balance of the letters included warrants their division into two
separate groupings, with the 1878-1879 letters included here and the 1885-1888 letters
included in the forthcoming issue of SBBR. According to George H. Colbeck, the senior
Colbeck died four days after his correspondence of 27th February 1888, the last letter in
the published collection. Unfortunately, the original editor included few details on the
circumstances of the correspondence, with some exceptions, beyond date and general
point of origin (in most cases Mandalay). We are not told, for example, to whom the
letters were written. Aside from these limitations, however, these letters offer valuable
information not available in other source materials on Mandalay during the Kon-baung
dynasty’s last, and arguably most troubled reign. |
| Author/creator: | | James Alfred Colbeck |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, Autumn 2003, |
| Format/size: | | pdf (139K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070609092430/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/vol__i,_no__2.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 22 August 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Mandalay in 1885-1888: The Letters of James Alfred Colbeck, Originally Selected and Edited by George H. Colbeck in 1892, Continued |
| Date of publication: | | 1892 |
| Description/subject: | | Editor’s note:
This is the second increment in the two-part series on the letters of James Alfred
Colbeck. While the first part covered the years 1878-1879, the present letters include
the years 1885-1888, when Colbeck returned to Upper Burma with British forces and
served as both mission priest and as acting chaplain for British forces.
M.W.C. |
| Author/creator: | | James Alfred Colbeck |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 2004 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (101K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Mandalay in 1878-1879: The Letters of James Alfred Colbeck, Originally Selected and Edited by George H. Colbeck in 1892 |
| Date of publication: | | 16 July 1878 |
| Description/subject: | | Editor’s note:
Present in 1878 and early 1879 and then returning again to Mandalay in 1885 with
British forces, James Alfred Colbeck, mission priest for the Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel and latterly military chaplain, provides a unique look at the beginning and end
of Thibaw’s reign (1878-1885). The letters included were originally selected and edited
by George H. Colbeck, mission priest at Mandalay and were published under the title of
Letters from Mandalay, A Series of Letters For the Most Part Written From the Royal City
of Mandalay During the Troublous Years of 1878-79; Together with Letters Written
During the Last Burmese Campaign of 1885-88 (Knavesborough: Alfred W. Lowe, 1892).
The natural division and balance of the letters included warrants their division into two
separate groupings, with the 1878-1879 letters included here and the 1885-1888 letters
included in the forthcoming issue of SBBR. According to George H. Colbeck, the senior
Colbeck died four days after his correspondence of 27th February 1888, the last letter in
the published collection. Unfortunately, the original editor included few details on the
circumstances of the correspondence, with some exceptions, beyond date and general
point of origin (in most cases Mandalay). We are not told, for example, to whom the
letters were written. Aside from these limitations, however, these letters offer valuable
information not available in other source materials on Mandalay during the Kon-baung
dynasty’s last, and arguably most troubled reign. |
| Author/creator: | | JAMES ALFRED COLBECK |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, Autumn 2003 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (240.04 K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Some Documents of Tharrawaddy’s Reign: 1837-1846, Part I |
| Date of publication: | | October 1841 |
| Description/subject: | | Editor's note: "The following documents drawn from the reign of King Tharrawaddy are intended as one
contribution of many forthcoming to the project of organizing and publishing the source
accounts for one of the Kon-baung dynasty’s most obscure, yet critical reigns. Thus,
documents included have not been selected on the basis of their high rate of interest
relative to other documents of the period, but rather more with the view of making the
documentary record complete."...“Letter of Mr. Simons, Dated Rangoon, June 20, 1838: Relations Between Burmah and
British India—The “heir apparent” and others put to death”
By
Mr. Simons
American Baptist Missionary Magazine 29.2 (February 1839)...[Letter of Mr. Simons, 23 June 1838]
By
Mr. Simons
American Baptist Missionary Magazine 29.2 (February 1839)...[Events at Amarapura, December 1837]
Maulmain Chronicle, 9 December 1837...[Letter from Maulmain, 6 April 1839]
By
Eugenio Kincaid
American Baptist Missionary Magazine 20.1. (January 1840)...[Letter from Maulmain, 9 April 1839]
By
Eugenio Kincaid
American Baptist Missionary Magazine 20.1. (January 1840)...“Amarapura, 23rd March 1839”
American Baptist Missionary Magazine 20.1 (January 1840)...[Letter from Maulmain, 3 July 1839]
By
Eugenio Kincaid
American Baptist Missionary Magazine 20.3 (March 1840)...[Letter From Maulmain, 20 January 1840]
By
Eugenio Kincaid
American Baptist Missionary Magazine 20.11 (November, 1840)...[Letter From Maulmain, 20 January 1840]
By
Eugenio Kincaid
American Baptist Missionary Magazine 20.11 (November, 1840)...[Report on the Kayens]
Maulmain Chronicle, September 22, 1841...[Tharrawaddy’s March to Rangoon]
Maulmain Chronicle, September 22, 1841...[Preparations for Tharrawaddy’s Arrival at Rangoon]
Maulmain Chronicle, September 29, 1841...[Suggestions for a Show of Force Against Tharrawaddy, 2 October 1841]
by
“Prevantative”
Letter to the Editor
Maulmain Chronicle, October 13 1841... |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, Autumn 2003 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (63K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070609092430/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/vol__i,_no__2.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 22 August 2004 |
|
| Title: | | NARRATIVE OF THE BURMESE WAR, DETAILING THE OPERATIONS OF MAJOR-GENERAL SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL'S ARMY, FROM ITS LANDING AT RANGOON IN MAY 1824, TO THE.CONCLUSION OF A TREATY OF PEACE AT YANDABOO, IN FEBRUARY 1826. |
| Date of publication: | | 1827 |
| Description/subject: | | CONTENTS: .
CHAPTER I.
Junction of the combined forces from Bengal and Madras, at Port Cornwallis—Capture of Rangoon, and release of the British and Americans, who were made prisoners by the enemy
..
CHAPTER II.
Description of Rangoon, and the situation of the Army after landing there
..
CHAPTER III.
State and position of the Burmese forces at the period of our landing in Pegu, and exertions of the court of Ava in calling out the military resources of the country—First encounter with the Burmese troops
..
CHAPTER IV.
Arrival at Rangoon of two Deputies from the Burmese camp—Continuation of the military operations, and situation of the army up to the first of July
..
CHAPTER V.
Feeble attack of the enemy on the British lines—Attack and capture of his fortified camp at Kummeroot — Expedition sent against Mergui and Tavoy on the
Coast of Tenasserim
..
CHAPTER VI. The King's two brothers, the Princes of Tonghoo and Sarrawaddy, with Astrologers, and a corps of Invulnerables, join the army—Operations of the British Force up to the end of August
..
CHAPTER VII.
Recal of Maha Bandoola and the Burmese army from Arracan—Continuation of hostilities at Rangoon— Their effect upon the court of Ava
..
CHAPTER VIII.
Friendly assurances of the Siamese—Their preparations for war, and probable line of policy—Capture of Martaban and Yeh
..
CHAPTER IX.
State of the force at the conclusion of the rains— Reinforcements and equipment for taking the field sent from India—Approach of the grand army under Maha Bandoola
.. CHAPTER X.
Actions in front of Rangoon, from the first to the seventh of December
..
CHAPTER XI.
Attack on the enemy's fortified camp at Kokeen.on the 15th December, and his final retreat to Donoobew
..
CHAPTER XII. Plan of operations—Force equipped for field service
..
CHAPTER XIII.
Journal of the march from Rangoon to Donoohew
..
CHAPTER XIV.
Operations before Donoohew—Its evacuation by the enemy—Journal of the march to Prome
.. CHAPTER XV.
March of a detachment towards Tonghoo, and close of the Campaign
..
CHAPTER XVL
Winter-quarters at Prome—State of the country— Conduct of the inhabitants; with some remarks on their character and government
..
CHAPTER XVII. Renewed exertions of the Burmese, government, in preparations for the prosecution of the war—Meeting of the British and Burmese Commissioners at Neoun-ben zeik, and their ineffectual efforts to conclude a peace
..
CHAPTER XVIII.
Strength and position of the British and Burmese armies—Defeat of the enemy in front of Prome
..
CHAPTER XIX.
Preparations for an advance'upon Ava—Plan of the campaign
..
CHAPTER XX.
Journal of the march from Prome to Melloone
..
CHAPTER XXI.
Conclusion of a treaty of peace—Is not ratified by the king—And the Burmese army, in consequence, is again defeated, and driven from Melloone
..
CHAPTER XXII.
Continuation of the march upon Ava—Renewal of negotiations—Battle of Fagahm-mew—Conclusion of a definitive treaty of peace....
CHAPTER XXIII. Concluding Remarks....
APPENDIX......N.B. THE GOOGLE NOTE, PAGES AND COVERS PRECEEDING THE TITLE PAGE HAVE BEEN MOVED TO THE END OF THE TEXT. FOR THE ORIGINAL ORDER, SEE THE ALTERNATE URL. |
| Author/creator: | | MAJOR JOHN JAMES SNODGRASS, |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | JOHN MURRAY via Google Books |
| Format/size: | | pdf (5.2MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://books.google.com/books?id=NYs2AAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Burmese&as_brr=1#PPR3,M1 (pdf 10MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 05 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Gleanings on Burma, December 1826 |
| Date of publication: | | December 1826 |
| Description/subject: | | "The following two entries appeared in The Gentleman’s Magazine in
December 1826. They offer some useful information both on Burma’s
looted textual heritage and on the confusion among the population after the
war."
M.W.C. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Gentleman’s Magazine via SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 2005 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (13K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070102014547/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/3_1.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | DIARY OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF AN EMBASSY TO BURMA IN 1760 |
| Date of publication: | | 1808 |
| Description/subject: | | "The following account is derived from Alexander Dalrymple, Oriental Repertory,
1808: I.351-393. Dalrymple has left us the following succinct introduction to the
account below (M. W. C)...Capt. Alves was sent back to Burma in 1760; and on his return to Bengal,
transmitted to Governor Pigot, at Madrass, the following Diary of his Proceedings. |
| Author/creator: | | Captain Walter Alves |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 2005 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (111K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070102014547/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/3_1.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF THE KINGDOM OF PEGU |
| Date of publication: | | 1785 |
| Description/subject: | | "The following account, written by the surgeon, William Hunter, relates his
experiences in Pegu in 1782-1783. The observations were made on a voyage that
had been ordered by the British East India Company. The account was originally
printed at Calcutta in 1785 by John Hay under the title of A Concise Account of the
Kingdom of Pegu; Its Climate, Produce, Trade, and Government; The Manners
and Customs of its Inhabitants. Interspersed with remarks Moral and Political. The
additional appendices, one on “An Enquiry into the cause of the variety observable
in the fleeces of sheep, in different climates,” and “A Description of the Caves at
Elephanta, Ambola, and Canara” are unrelated to Burma and are thus not included
in the text below."
M. W. C. |
| Author/creator: | | William Hunter |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 2005 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (103K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070102014547/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/3_1.htm |
|
| Title: | | PROCEEDINGS OF AN EMBASSY TO THE KING OF AVA, PEGU, &C. IN 1757 |
| Date of publication: | | August 1757 |
| Description/subject: | | "Ensign’s Robert Lester’s account of his embassy to Ava in 1757 was originally
published in Alexander Dalrymple’s Oriental Repertory. It provides one of the few
first-hand accounts of Alaung-hpaya and thus remains a valuable source on the
reign and the beginnings of the Kon-baung Dynasty. Dalrymple’s italicization has
been removed and dates have been expanded to include the month and year in
order to avoid confusion.
M. W. C....
[Begins with an opening letter from Thomas Newton to Robert Lester dated 24
June 1757] |
| Author/creator: | | Ensign Robert Lester |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 2005 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (59K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://web.archive.org/web/20070102014547/web.soas.ac.uk/burma/3_1.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 October 2010 |
|
-
British rule in India 1757-1947
Individual Documents
| Title: | | British Ruled India 1757-1947 |
| Date of publication: | | 02 January 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | 1. Documentary Sources, Libraries and other Institutions...2. Bibliography of Books Articles and Dissertations...
3. Wikipedia Articles (main Category - British rule in India)...4. Other Links |
| Author/creator: | | David Steinberg |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | House of David |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 17 March 2010 |
|
-
British Colonial Period [1824-1948]
-
British colonial period - images
Individual Documents
| Title: | | A Burmese Album 1824-1948 |
| Date of publication: | | 1948 |
| Description/subject: | | 96 bklack and white photos of Burma, 1824-1948 |
| Author/creator: | | P. Klier |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Colgate University digital library |
| Format/size: | | jpeg |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 September 2010 |
|
-
British colonial period - novels
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Burmese Days |
| Date of publication: | | 1934 |
| Description/subject: | | "U Po Kyin, Sub-divisional Magistrate of Kyauktada, in Upper Burma,
was sitting in his veranda. It was only half past eight, but the
month was April, and there was a closeness in the air, a threat of
the long, stifling midday hours. Occasional faint breaths of wind,
seeming cool by contrast, stirred the newly drenched orchids that
hung from the eaves. Beyond the orchids one could see the dusty,
curved trunk of a palm tree, and then the blazing ultramarine sky.
Up in the zenith, so high that it dazzled one to look at them, a
few vultures circled without the quiver of a wing..." |
| Author/creator: | | George Orwell |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Project Gutenberg, Australia |
| Format/size: | | html (547K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 05 May 2008 |
|
-
Pre-Independence documents
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Our Fraternal Greetings to the Siamese people |
| Date of publication: | | May 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "This speech was delivered by Burmese independence hero Aung San at the Orient Club, Rangoon, on April 17, 1947�three months before his assassination. Aung San founded the Burma Independence Army in Bangkok on Dec 26, 1941." |
| Author/creator: | | Aung San |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 10, No. 4, May 2002 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Provisional Government of Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 17 October 1947 |
| Description/subject: | | "The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Provisional Government of Burma;
Considering that it is the intention of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to invite Parliament to pass legislation at an early date providing that Burma shall become an independent State;
Desiring to define their future relations as the Governments of independent States on the terms of complete freedom, equality and independence and to consolidate and perpetuate the cordial friendship and good understanding which subsist between them; and
Desiring also to provide for certain matters arising from the forthcoming change in the relations between them,
Have decided to conclude a treaty for this purpose and have appointed as their plenipotentiaries:-
The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: The Right Hon. Clement Richard Attlee, C.H., M.P., Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.
The Provisional Government of Burma: The Hon'ble Thakin Nu, Prime Minister
Who have agreed as follows:- ..."
Includes, as an annex, the Britain-Burma Defence Agreement of 29 August 1947 and other associated documents. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Public Records Office (London) |
| Format/size: | | html (80K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | REPORT OF THE FRONTIER AREAS COMMITTEE OF ENQUIRY, 1947 |
| Date of publication: | | 24 April 1947 |
| Description/subject: | | "A Committee of Enquiry shall be set up forthwith as to the best method of associating the Frontier peoples with the working out of the new constitution for Burma. Such Committee will consist of equal numbers of persons from the Frontier Areas, nominated by the Governor after consultation with the leaders of those areas, with a neutral Chairman from outside Burma selected by agreement. Such Committee shall be asked to report to the Government of Burma and His Majesty's Government before the summoning of the Constituent Assembly."
CHAPTER I. The Problem;
CHAPTER II. The Work of the Committee;
CHAPTER III. Recommendations and Observations:
Part I- General;
Part II- The Constituent Assembly;
Part III- Observations.
APPENDICES:
App. I. Verbatim Record of Evidence heard by the Committee.
App. II. Resolutions and Memorials communicated to the Committee.
App. III. Notes by the Frontier Areas Administration, Government of Burma, on Economic Situation, Education, Health and Communications and Mineral Resources in the Frontier Areas Administration.
App. IV. Administrative and Racial Maps of Burma... (Administrative map missing) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | FRONTIER AREAS COMMITTEE OF ENQUIRY, 1947 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (7.8M); text without appendices 171K),html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs14/Frontier_Areas_Committee_of_Enquiry-text.pdf (without appendices)
http://www.sialkal.com/home_doc_FACI.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 November 2012 |
|
| Title: | | The Panglong Agreement, 1947 |
| Date of publication: | | 12 February 1947 |
| Description/subject: | | Text of the Agreement signed at Panglong on the 12th February, 1947 by Shan, Kachin and Chin leaders, and by representatives of the Executive Council of the Governor of Burma. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | India Office Records |
| Format/size: | | html (5K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
-
SLORC-SPDC period 1988-
Individual Documents
| Title: | | The Endurance of Military Rule in Burma: Not Why, But Why Not? |
| Date of publication: | | November 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Although it is always possible that unforeseen events could dramatically
recast the distribution of power inside Burma, the current military leadership
is probably not one push short of capitulation to “pro-democracy”
demands. The SPDC appears to have learned to manage the conflicts
resulting from myriad pressures inside the country and from abroad.33 In
this context, how would a “democratic opposition” (or more appropriately,
“democratic oppositions”) bring about liberal political reform that advances
the rights, protections, and interests of ordinary citizens and limits the
arbitrary power of government? Short of an improbable capitulation to
Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD, I suggest five possibilities:..." |
| Author/creator: | | Mary Callahan |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C. |
| Format/size: | | pdf (220K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 20 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | A Historical Overview of Political Transition in Myanmar Since 1988 |
| Date of publication: | | August 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | "The issue of political transition in Myanmar has generated scholarly interest and debate on
the nature and outcomes of the whole process. Various questions have been raised about the
on-going National Convention entrusted with the task of drafting a new constitution. Some
scholars placed the political transition in the context of national reconciliation in Myanmar
while others analyzed it within the conceptual framework of democratization. A recent article
by Robert Taylor examined the domestic and international political environment in which the
National Convention is being conducted to draft the third constitution for Myanmar. He
neatly described the bumpy road that Myanmar had gone through so far and he offered a
cautiously optimistic view about the further steps in the process.1 This paper provides a
historical overview of the political transition process in Myanmar since 1988. It highlights the
missed opportunities and argues that the Tatmadaw's (Myanmar armed forces) position on the
political transition in Myanmar has changed from a bystander to a key player. This paper
studies the political circumstances that led to the holding of the National Convention and
drafting of a new constitution in Myanmar. It will look at the nature of political executive that
the new constitution will produce for Myanmar in future..."...Keywords: Myanmar; Burma; Tatmadaw; elections; SPDC; Southeast Asian politics |
| Author/creator: | | Maung Aung Myoe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Asia Research Institute Working Paper Series No. 95 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (215K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 12 March 2010 |
|
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SLORC period (1988-1997)
-
Events 1989-1997
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Letter to General Ne Win from U Aung Gyi |
| Date of publication: | | August 1997 |
| Description/subject: | | Rangoon May 1, 1992 Through a series of open letters to Ne Win and former members of the Revolutionary Council written between 1988 and 1992, U Aung Gyi criticized the economic policies and human rights abuses of the government. The following excerpts are from one of these letters. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Burma Debate", Vol.. IV, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
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SPDC Period 1997-2011
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Chronologies and profiles 1997-
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Events of 2009 |
| Date of publication: | | December 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | For Burma’s generals, 2009 was little more than a breathing space between last year’s constitutional referendum and next year’s election. For everyone else, however, it was a year full of disturbing developments, with just the faintest ray of hope on the horizon.
Early in the year, the plight of the Rohingya grabbed the headlines, highlighting a humanitarian crisis that is just one of many in military-ruled Burma. Before the year was over, tens of thousands of refugees from other ethnic minorities would pour over the country’s borders with Thailand and China, fleeing military offensives launched by the junta and its allies.
But for the regime, all of this was merely a sideshow. The generals’ main tasks for the year were to keep opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi safely under wraps—which it accomplished thanks to an unwanted American “visitor” and a compliant court—and to rein in restive cease-fire groups ahead of the 2010 election.
When it wasn’t settling scores within its own borders, the regime was busy forging new ties overseas. But while the Burmese generals found fellow pariah state North Korea to be a natural ally, they seemed less sure about how to respond to the friendly overtures from the US, their staunchest international critic.
Many in Burma welcomed the US initiative with cautious optimism, but after yet another year marked by farce and tragedy, few look forward to the year ahead with any great expectations...
Rohingya Refugees on the High Seas; A Pact between Pariahs: Burma and North Korea; Courtroom Theater of the Absurd; The DKBA: Bloodstained Opportunism; Border Guard Force Proposal Sets Off Test of Wills; The Kokang Conflict: The Beginning of the End for Ethnic Insurgency in Burma?; US Rethinks Its Burma Policy |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 9 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www2.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=17327 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 February 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Looking Back at Burma 2008 |
| Date of publication: | | December 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "The Irrawaddy gives a chronological rundown on the top news-making moments from January to November" |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 12 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 22 December 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Names That Made The News [in 2008] |
| Date of publication: | | December 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Win Tin, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ashin Pannya Vamsa, 88 Generation Students, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, Aung Thaung, Maung Sue San and Thakin Tin Mya, Ein Khaing Oo, Khin Maung Aye, Htun Htun Thein, Nay Phone Latt, Aye Aye Win, Bo Kyi, Khin Ohmar, Charm Tong, Zoya Phan, Mahn Sha. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 12 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 22 December 2008 |
|
| Title: | | The Faces of Burma 2005 |
| Date of publication: | | December 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | By
December 2005
The Irrawaddy presents around three dozen profiles of those making headlines in Burma and abroad |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 12 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | The people of 2004 |
| Date of publication: | | December 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Who made an impact in Burma in 2004? The Irrawaddy has compiled its own list of the 25 people who caught the public eye in an event-packed year"...Photos and profiles of:- Artists: Win Pe Myint, Min Wae Aung...Pop Singer: Htun Eindra Bo... Musician: Maung Maung Zaw Latt/Htoo Ein Thin...Model: Thet Mon Myint...Actor: Lu Min...Writer: Kyaw Win...Public Figure: Dagon Taya...Scholar: Prof Dr Myint Myint Khi...Social Service: Than Myint Aung...Media Commentator: Amyotheryei Win Naing...Ethnic Leader: Shwe Ohn...Media: BBC Burmese Service...Rights Group: AAPP...Newsmakers of 2004:
Gen Bo Mya (Karen rebel leader); Zarni (founder of the Free Burma Coalition); U Lwin (secretary and spokesman of the National League for Democracy); Min Ko Naing (former student leader); Aung San Suu Kyi (democracy leader and Nobel laureate); Gen Khin Nyunt (former prime minister)... Politics: Sr-Gen Than Shwe; Deputy Sr-Gen Maung Aye; Gen Thura Shwe Mann; Lt-Gen Soe Win (new Prime Minister). |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 11 |
| Format/size: | | html, jpg |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 March 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Burma’s Influential Figures (2003) |
| Date of publication: | | December 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | "Power 18" is a list of Burma’s most influential figures of 2003. It is not comprehensive but includes individuals inside and outside Burma whom The Irrawaddy feels made significant contributions—positive and negative—to the country this past year. For our more superstitious readers, that 1 + 8 = 9 is merely a coincidence..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 11, No. 10, December 2003 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 14 February 2004 |
|
| Title: | | 2002: Year in Review |
| Date of publication: | | December 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | Suu Kyi Moves, Junta Stalls;
Thai-Burma Relations: A Family Feud?
Rising Tensions: Reports of Human Rights Violations and Social Unrest on the Rise;
Death of a Despot, End of an Era;
Playing Diplomacy with the Junta;
Goodbye to Premier;
Kyat Hits Rock Bottom. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 10, No. 10 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Year in Review: 1999 |
| Date of publication: | | January 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | 18-page summary of news items |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 8, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | 1998: a Year of Standoffs |
| Date of publication: | | January 1999 |
| Description/subject: | | "In 1998, the roadside standoff between Aung San Suu Kyi and the military reflected the larger impasse between the SPDC and the National League for Democracy. In a surprise move, Burma's military leaders changed the name of the government to the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) at the end of 1997, but this has been regarded as only a cosmetic change and, in 1998, there was ardly peace or development in Burma as political instability continued with the potential for future explosion..." |
| Author/creator: | | Editorial |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Year in Review: 1998 |
| Date of publication: | | January 1999 |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 7, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Chronology 1997 |
| Date of publication: | | January 1998 |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
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SPDC - general studies
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Myanmar: Autoritarismus im Wandel |
| Date of publication: | | July 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Vor 20 Jahren erlebte die Demokratiebewegung in Myanmar (Birma) ihren bisherigen
Höhepunkt, als am 8. August 1988 100.000 Menschen in Rangoon für die Demokratie
demonstrierten. Das sozialistische Einparteiregime brach zusammen und machte einer
Militärregierung Platz, die sich bis heute an der Macht hält.
Analyse:
Das Militär hat in den letzten zwei Dekaden seine Herrschaft langsam konsolidieren
können. Aus einer Politik der Stärke heraus leitet das Militär nun einen Wandel ein und
lässt knapp 20 Jahre nach den Demonstrationen von 1988 über eine neue Verfassung abstimmen;
für 2010 sind Wahlen versprochen. Gleichzeitig stellt das Militär sicher, dass
ihm auch in Zukunft eine wichtige Rolle im Staate zukommt.
Das Militär hat im vergangenen Jahrzehnt die territoriale Durchdringung des Staates
erhöhen und seine Stellung konsolidieren können. Mit Hilfe einer geschickten
Modernisierungs- und Beförderungspolitik hat es sein korporatives Interesse befriedigen
und Risse innerhalb des Militärs verhindern können. Die äußere Sanktionierung
des Militärregimes hat den Korpsgeist der Armee noch gefördert.
Das Militärregime nutzt im Wesentlichen Repression und Propaganda, um seine
Herrschaft abzusichern. Die Proteste gegen die Herrschaft des Militärs im Jahre
2007 haben indes gezeigt, dass das Militärregime zusätzlicher Legitimationsmittel
bedarf, um sich dauerhaft an der Macht halten zu können. Externer Druck und
interner Protest haben dazu geführt, dass das Militär die lange versprochenen Reformen
allmählich umsetzt. Dabei monopolisiert es jedoch den gesamten Reformprozess
und versucht, sich weiter eine dominante Stellung im politischen System
zu sichern.
Die neue Verfassung sieht nach wie vor eine dominante Rolle für die Streitkräfte
vor. Gleichzeitig erlaubt sie aber – anders als beim jetzigen Status quo – die Repräsentation
anderer gesellschaftlicher Kräfte. Es besteht die Hoffnung, dass mittelfristig
neue Spielregeln entstehen, die zu einer größeren Öffnung führen und den rigiden
Autoritarismus aufbrechen...
Schlagwörter: Myanmar, Militärregime, Demokratisierung, Opposition, Medien |
| Author/creator: | | Marco Bünte |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | GIGA Focus No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (476K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:QJRl7nG0Vh4J:se2.isn.ch/serviceengine/Files/EINIRAS/9... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 November 2010 |
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