Page 367 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

History CONTEXTS 365
was left to his younger brother, the formidable Hsinbyushin (ruled 1763–76), to
complete Alaungpaya’s expansionist work. Having moved the Konbaung capital to a
newly rebuilt Ava in 1765, Hsinbyushin conquered the Lao kingdoms of Vientiane and
Luang Prabang and then led his armies east, slowly fighting his way south to the Thai
capital of Ayutthaya in 1766. A fourteen-month siege ensued before the city finally fell.
Kongbaung forces proceeded to devastate what was then one of Asia’s largest and most
magnificent cities, taking thousands of captives back to Myanmar.
Thai forces succeeded in recapturing most of their lost territory over the next few
years. Ayutthaya, however, never recovered, and the Thai capital was subsequently
moved to a new location, later to become known as Bangkok.

The return of the Chinese
Meanwhile, just as Konbaung forces were marching towards Ayutthaya, the Chinese
launched successive invasions of their own into northeastern Myanmar. The first two
were repulsed, but in late 1767 a Chinese army of fifty thousand defeated Konbaung
forces at the Battle of Goteik Gorge and marched south to within 50km of Ava.
Stretched perilously thin, Hsinbyushin finally recalled his armies from Thailand,
eventually beating off the Chinese at the Battle of Maymyo in 1768 and repulsing yet
another invasion the following year.
Hsinbyushin’s achievement in simultaneously taking Ayutthaya while holding off the
Chinese is often considered one of the greatest strategic feats in Burmese history,
although the increasingly militarized nature of the Konbaung state and the cost of
endless wars had its inevitable effect. The now ever-present Chinese threat, a resurgent
Thailand, endless rebellions in Manipur and (in 1773) another Mon rebellion all
conspired to cast a major shadow over the king’s achievements, as did the wanton
destruction of Ayutthaya, the root of widespread anti-Burmese sentiments which
persist in Thailand right up to the present day.
Bodawpaya and the fall of Mrauk U
Hsinbyushin’s successor, King Singu (aka Singu Min; ruled 1776–82), largely put an
end to his father’s endless wars, ceding Chiang Mai province (which had by then been
a Burmese possession for most of the past two centuries) to Thailand in 1776. He was
succeeded by his uncle (and King Alaungpaya’s fourth son), Bodawpaya (ruled
1782–1819), who moved the capital to Amarapura (see p.300) and also commissioned
the lunatic Mingun Pagoda, which would have been the world’s largest stupa had it
ever been finished (see p.308). Bodawpaya launched two further (unsuccessful) attacks
against Thailand, although it was in the west that his forces had their most notable
success, particularly in 1784, when a Konbaung army captured the great city of Mrauk
U – ending the golden age of Arakan, and also bringing Konbaung rulers, for the first
time, into direct contact with the British in neighbouring India.

The arrival of the British
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, European adventurers and traders had
already been sniffing around Myanmar for over two centuries. Portuguese mercenary
Filipe de Brito e Nicote (see p.84) had carved out his own personal fiefdom back in

1635 1740 1752
The Dutch East India The Mon rebel against Mon armies of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom
Company establishes a their Taungoo rulers, capture Ava, signalling the end for the
trading base at Mrauk U founding the Restored Taungoo dynasty; King Alaungpaya founds the
Hanthawaddy Kingdom Konbaung dynasty

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