Burmese Ruler (Konbaung dynasty)

Reign

Alaungpaya (Founder)

1752-60

Bodawpaya

1782-1819

Pagan

1846-53

Mindon

1853-78

Thibaw

1878-85

First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26)

Explanations

• The First Burmese War was the result of border clashes. In 1823-24, the Burmese military, in its pursuit for rebels, entered and occupied Assam and Manipur and prepared to attack Chittagong.
• The British authorities looked upon the Burmese occupation of Manipur and Assam as a serious threat to their position in India. British authorities sent troops to Cachar and Jaintia to counter the Burmese threat to India. This angered Burmese Commander-in-Chief Maha Bandula, who marched their troops into Cachar.
• In February 1824, British authorities declared war on Burma after the Burmese invaded and captured Shalpuri island near Chittagong, which was a part of EIC.
• After an initial setback, the British forces drove the Burmese out of Assam, Cachar, Manipur and Arakan.
• The British decided to take amphibious action (through land and sea) to take over the Rangoon. In 1824, a naval force of 10,000 British and Indian troops led by Sir Archibald Campbell arrived in Rangoon. On April 1, Maha Bandula was killed.
• By February 1826, the Anglo-Indian army had advanced to Yandabo (a town), just eighty kilometres from the then-capital Ava (Inwa). However, the Burmese resistance was strong and determined, and the war had become financially highly costly.
• Therefore, the British, who were winning the war, and the Burmese, who were losing it, were willing to make peace. This led to the Treaty of Yandabo, signed on 26 February 1826, ending the war.
  • The war was thus brought to an end, and the British army moved south. The British army remained in the territories surrendered to it under the treaty and in the territories such as the Rangoon area which were occupied for several years to guarantee compliance with the financial terms of the treaty.
• The Treaty of Yandabo was signed by General Campbell from the British side and Governor of Legaing Maha Min Hla Kyaw Htin from the Burmese side on 24 February 1826.
• As per the treaty, The English regained control over Assam, Manipur and occupied Arakan and Tenasserim region (Tavoy and Mergui). Thus, the King lost most of his coast.
• The King was forced to accept a British Resident at his capital and pay war indemnity of one million pounds sterling, and signed a commercial treaty.

Treaty of Yandabo (24 February 1826)

• By the terms of the Treaty of Yandabo, the Government of Burma agreed:
  • To cede the coastal provinces of Arakan (now Rakhine) and Tenasserim (now Tanintharyi) to the British.
  • To abandon all claims to Assam, Cachar, and Jaintia
  • To recognise Manipur as an independent state.
  • To accept a British Resident at Ava while posting a Burmese envoy at Calcutta.
  • To pay one million sterling pounds as war compensation
  • To negotiate a commercial treaty with Britain
• After the Treaty of Yandabo:
  • Assam, Arakan and Tenasserim became a part of British India.
    • The Ahom Kingdom was terminated, and the control of Assam passed into the British hands.
  • Cachar, Jaintia and Manipur became the British Protectorate (under British Control).
    • British annexed the Southern Cachar in 1832 and Northern Cachar in 1854.
    • British annexed the Jaintia in 1835. The main reason for the annexation of Jaintia was the practice of human sacrifice. The Jaintias abducted the British subjects and sacrificed them to the goddess Kali.

Importance of the Treaty of Yandabo

• The Treaty of Yandabo enabled the British to annex Burma and consolidate their position in South East Asia.
• It put an end to one of the most expensive wars in British Indian history.
• It marked the beginning of the end of Burmese independence.
• The powerful Burmese empire that posed a threat to the British was finally conquered and crippled

Aftermath of the Treaty of Yandabo

• The War and indemnity left Burma weak economically and politically.
• The battle cost the British five to thirteen million pounds sterling, thus leading to a severe economic crisis in British India in 1833.
• Due to the heavy economic loss, the EIC had to give up its privileges and lost its trade monopoly with China.

Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852-53)

• In 1839, the British Resident claimed that the Burmese did not treat him well and left. Meanwhile, Burma had emerged as a major supplier of timber (needed for ship-building and repair industry of the English Company based in Calcutta) and other costly items like tin, pepper and ivory. The deltas of the Irrawaddy River had also emerged as important suppliers of rice to Bengal and to the growing settlements in SouthEast Asia. These developments tempted the British to look for opportunity to annex Burma.
• After the Treaty of Yandabo, several British merchants had settled on the southern coast of Burma and Rangoon. They often complained of ill-treatment at the hands of the Burmese. Two British captains were heavily fined by the Burmese government on certain charges brought against them.
• Following this incident, the British merchants sent a petition to the then Governor-General Lord Dalhousie, providing the desired opportunity. Thus, in 1852, Dalhousie decided to attack Burma on the pretext of restoring the dignity of the English.
• The war started in 1852 and by 1853, the English had annexed Rangoon, Pegu (or Lower Burma) and the region upto Toungoo, thus gaining control of the entire coast of the Bay of Bengal. The Burmese King, Mindon Min, was forced to shift his capital to Mandalay.
  • During this time, Burma was undergoing a power struggle. In February 1853, the Burmese King, Mindon, removed his half-brother, King Pagan.
  • Mindon found himself in a difficult situation. He was not in a position to fight the British, and he
    could not openly agree to surrender Burmese territory either. Consequently, there were no official negotiations for peace, and the war ended without a treaty.
• With the annexation of Pegu, the British gained control over Burma’s entire coastline and sea trade. After three years of fighting against local guerrilla resistance, the British also gained control of Lower Burma.
  • The annexation of Pegu faced much criticism in Britain itself and was variously described as a very serious evil’ and as motivated by exaggerated ambition to extend India to its illusory natural frontiers’.

Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885)

Details

• King Mindon tried to modernize the Burmese state and economy to ensure its independence, and he established a new capital at Mandalay, which he proceeded to fortify.
• To offset the British, he entertained envoys from France and sent his emissaries there. King Mindon died in 1878 and his son Thibaw took over the reign.
• During the reign of Thibaw (1878–85), the British were willing to ignore Upper Burma and concentrate on French moves in Laos, Vietnam, and Yunnan.
• In 1885, King Thibaw signed a commercial trade treaty with the French which alarmed the British. This action provoked British forces to strike.
• The Third Burmese War took place in 1885 when the English attacked Burma on the pretext that the king Thibaw Min was intriguing with the French in Vietnam to weaken English control over Asia.
• The war ended in English victory and annexation of Upper Burma. Thus, Burma was turned into a province of British India (1937 onwards, Burma was governed as a separate colony).

Causes of the Third Burmese War

• Commercial Greed of the British:
  • The possibility of trade with China through Burma attracted British merchants and industrialists.
  • Many merchants demanded the British conquest of Upper Burma to open more markets.
    • In 1862, Burma signed a commercial treaty with the British allowing British merchants to settle in any part of Burma and navigate the Irrawaddy River to China.
    • However, the Burmese king held a trade monopoly on several goods, such as cotton, wheat, and ivory. This did not satisfy the British merchants and the king finally abolished all monopolies in February 1882.
• Growing French Influence in Burma:
  • King Mindon died in 1878 and was succeeded by King Thibaw. In 1885, Thibaw signed a purely commercial treaty with France, providing for trade.
  • The British merchants feared that:
    • French and American rivals would capture the rich Burmese market.
    • An alliance with France might lead to the founding of French dominion in Burma.
      • The French had already emerged as a major rival of Britain in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Burma’s Independence

• The Anglo-Burmese Wars not only led to the British annexation of Burma but also sparked significant resistance. Following the wars, British authorities faced a strong guerrilla uprising across Burma.
• After the First World War (1914-18), a vigorous modern nationalist movement arose in Burma. A wide campaign of boycotting British goods was organised, and the demand for Home Rule was put forward. The Burmese nationalists soon joined hands with the Indian National Congress.
• In 1935, the British separated Burma from India in the hope of weakening the Burmese struggle for freedom. The Burmese nationalists opposed this step.
• The Burmese nationalist movement reached new heights under the leadership of U Aung San during the Second World War (1939-45).
• Finally, Burma won its independence on 4 January 1948.