Page 368 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

366 CONTEXTS History
1603 in the port of Thanlyin, while the Dutch East India Company had established
a trading base in Mrauk U in 1635. Later, in the 1740s, the French East India Company
established their own HQ in Thanlyin, supplying arms to the local Mon during their
rebellion against the Taungoo Empire.
The first British presence in Myanmar was the small colony of Cape Negrais, at the
far southwestern corner of the Ayeyarwady Delta, established in 1753 following the
collapse of the Taungoo Empire – although it was destroyed by Konbaung soldiers in
1759, after which relations between the two nations remained strained.
The First Anglo-Burmese War
Bodawpaya’s capture of Mrauk U in 1784, and his subsequent seizure of Assam in
1816, created a long and only vaguely defined border between Konbaung territories
and British India. Clashes were inevitable, given the British desire to neutralize what
was seen as growing French influence at the Konbaung court, and also to seize more of
the border territories for themselves. After some preliminary skirmishes, war – the First
Anglo-Burmese War, as it’s now known – was officially declared in March 1824.
Led by General Mahabandoola, Burmese forces enjoyed some spectacular early
successes in Arakan thanks to their greater experience of jungle warfare. The British
countered by sending a large naval division to attack Yangon, causing the local
population to flee. Eventually, in November, the rival armies met outside Yangon.
British forces resisted repeated attacks by the numerically superior but poorly armed
Burmese, who were cut down in their thousands and then forced back into the small
town of Danubyu. At the same time, a counteroffensive was launched against
Konbaung troops still in Arakan. On March 29, 1825, British forces simultaneously
attacked Danubyu, killing Mahabandoola, and captured the Arakan capital, Mrauk U.
The war was effectively over. An armistice was subsequently declared, and although
Konbaung troops attempted a daring counterattack against British troops in Pyay in
November, they too were defeated and forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Yandabo
(1826). Under this, the Konbaung were obliged to cede Arakan, Manipur and Assam
in the west and a large slice of territory in Tenasserim (modern Tanintharyi) in the far
south, as well as paying a colossal indemnity of £1 million.

The Second Anglo-Burmese War
The effect of the conflict on both Konbaung finances and morale was devastating, with
the empire left economically crippled and its leaders in disarray. King Bagyidaw (ruled
1819–37) relocated the capital to Ava in 1823, but became increasingly reclusive and
ineffectual following the disastrous war. He was overthrown by Tharrawaddy (ruled
1837–46) who continued to plot fruitlessly against the British, and then by his son
Pagan Min (ruled 1848–53).
The origins of the Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852) were little more than a minor
diplomatic squabble after the captains of two British merchant ships were detained in
Bago on charges of customs violations. The British, seeing a chance of making further
inroads into Burmese territory, blew the incident up out of all reasonable proportion,
demanding a staggering £100,000 in compensation, blockading Yangon harbour,
shelling the city and provoking a conflict in which the odds were stacked very heavily
in their favour.

1754 1755 1757
Konbaung forces under Konbaung forces take the Hanthawaddy, capital of Bago, falls to
Alaungpaya capture Ava town of Dagon, which is Konbaung armies, marking the end of
and drive Mon armies out of renamed Yangon Myanmar’s last independent Mon kingdom
northern Myanmar

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