The History of Myanmar - Saint Francis High School
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Transcript The History of Myanmar - Saint Francis High School
By,
Courtney M.
Map of Burma
Early History
It is believed that the Mon people were the first to
migrate into the Ayeyarwady Valley. This occurred in
approx. 1500 BCE. The Mon were Theravada Bhuddists
and dominated the southern areas of Burma.
Following the Mon was the Pyu ( now known as
Burmese) peoples who arrived in Burma in 1st century
BC.
These kingdoms declined in the 9th AD when what is
present Yunnan attacked.
Note: the Mon are still a prominent peoples in Burma,
making up the 2nd largest population in the nation
after the Burmese.
Modern Day Mon Children
King Anawrahta (1044-1077 AD)
King Anawrahta was the first King to rule over
Myanmar as a single kingdom. He united the Burmese
and the Mon into one nation and made Theravada
Buddhism the national religion. His capital was at
Bagan in the Ayeyarwaddy Valley and it flourish as a
religious center filled with pagodas and shrines.
Anawrahta’s Bagan
Ananda Temple (Bagan)
Kublai Khan/The Mongols/Tai-Shan
In 1277 Kublai Khan’s forces began invading Burma,
ending the Bagan kingdom.
With the Mongols came the Tai-Shan ( of Yunnan )
who spread out into the areas of Burma, Thailand, and
Cambodia.
The Mongols leave in 1287, but the Kingdom of Bagan
has been irreversibly split into four main kingdoms :
Ava or Inwa ( controlling the Burmese upper state), the
Mon kingdom of Hanthawady founded by King
Wareru ( controlling lower Burma ), the Rakhine
kingdom in the west, and the Shan states.
Kublai Khan
Taungoo (1531-1752)
Led by the young king Tabinshweti, age nine, Taungoo
defeated the power Mon kingdom at Bago, reunifying
Southern Burma by 1540.
Tabinshweti’s son, Bayinnnaung , continues on the
kingdom by conquering Upper Burma, Manipur, the
Shan States, Chiang Mai ( part of what is now
northern Thailand ), Ayutthaya (part of Thailand), and
Lan Xang ( a section of Laos. ) However, Bayinnaung’s
empire unraveled almost immediately after his death
in 1581.
Taungoo (cont’d)
However, Bayinnaung’s grandson Anaukpetlun
regrouped and reestablished a smaller kingdom
covering Upper Burma, Lower Burma, and the Shan
States.
After Anaukpetlun’son Thalun’s reign (1629-1648) the
kingdom slowly declined for the next hundred years
until, with the help of the French and the Siamese, the
Mon successfully rebel and finally divided the remains
of the kingdom.
Taungoo
Konbaung (1752-1885)
Founded by King Alaungpaya who also founded
Yangon (also known as Rangoon.)
The Qing dynasty of China attempted to invade Burma
four times from 1765-1769 and failed each time.
(1824-1826) British defeat Burma in the first AngloBurmese War. As a result Burma had to cede its land in
Manipur, Assam, Rakhine, and Tanintharyi.
After the Second Anglo-Burmese War, Britain
captured the territories of Ayeryawaddy, Yangon, and
Bago.
Konbaung Cont’d
King Mindon founds Mandalay and makes it his
capital in 1859. One of the most revered kings in
Burmese history, Mindon successfully balances the
growing threats of French and British conquests.
In 1885 Britain officially lays claim to Burma, capturing
Mandalay and exiling the royal family to India.
British Capture of Mandalay
Colonnial Period (1886-1948)
Burma is administered as a province of British India prior
to becoming a self-governing colony in 1937.
In a failed attempt to facilitate trade, Britain opened
Burma’s borders to India and China. However, soon the
new immigrants displaced the native Burmese in the larger
urban areas.
October 1919: Violence breaks out at the Eindawya Pagoda
in Mandalay when Burmese monks try to prevent nonbuddhist Britsh from entering. The head monk is
sentenced to life in prison. Monks such as U Wisara
become martyrs in new protests and uprisings against
British Rule.
Burmese Monk
Colonial Burma
Using Burmese Labor to build Thai-Burmese Railway
Writer George Orwell is stationed as a police in Burma
for five years. His story “Upon Shooting an Elephant”
is a result of his years in the colony.
( Orwell’s station in
Burma )
Colonial Flag of Burma
February 12 , 1947
The Panglong Agreement : Aung San’s administration
reaches an agreement with the Shan, Kachin, and Chin
peoples. It declared “full autonomy in internal
administration for the Frontier Areas.” This agreement
also established the Kachin State, the northernmost
state in Burma. A Chin State was also brought into
being the following year.
Aung San
January
th
4
1948
Burma is given its independence and becomes a
republic known as the “Union of Burma.” Unlike most
of the previous British colonies, Burma did not
become part of the Britsh Commonwealth of Nations.
The New Republic developed a bicameral parliament
made up of a chamber of deputies ( lower house )and a
chamber of nationalities ( upper house ).
Flag of Independent Burma
Ne Win’s Coup
Democratic rule of Burma is ended with the coup
d’etat of General Ne Win. Originally the Burmese
Prime Minister, Ne Win overthrew the government
and took the titles of Chairman, Head of State, and
leader of the Revolutionary Council.
Though the coup was recorded as “bloodless” in the
global media, the former president’s young son was
shot dead by a soldier and demonstrations were
violently suppressed.
Ne Win makes a public statement over the radio
stating : "if these disturbances were made to challenge
us, I have to declare that we will fight sword with
sword and spear with spear".
Ne Win’s Coup Cont’d
July 7, 1962 : Rangoon University students try to speak
out against the new leadership of Ne Win. Ne Win
sends his troops to disperse the peaceful
demonstration resulting in the shooting of approx 100
unarmed students. The next morning the Rangoon
University Student Union Building is blown up.
Ne Win denies any connection to the dynamiting of
the Student Union Building.
All universities closed for the next 2 years.
General Ne Win
Burmese Way To Socialism (1962-1988)
Ne Win begins an agenda of nationalization of
industries, repression of minorities, and a police state.
These ideals led to expulsion of foreigners,
isolationism, and closing off the economy. Tried to
enforce a state-sanctioned form of Buddhism.
This agenda increased Burma’s stability and kept it
separated from getting entangled in Asian Cold War
conflicts. However, it also lead to a great increase in
poverty and a military revolt.
Ne Win develops government as a Military Junta.
Military Coup of 1988
In Ne Win’s farewell speech at his resignation, he
threatened that even though he was stepping down
from office, protestors would not be welcome in
Burma and that the soldiers meant to put them down
would “shoot straight to hit.” Tatmadaw Troops upheld
this promise, systematically killing and maiming
hundreds of protestors throughout the country.
September 18, 1988 : General Saw Maung brutally
crushes protestor uprisings in Yangon. There is rumor
that Ne Win has helped to plan and execute the coup
from the background.
General Saw Maung
May 1999
The Burmese Government holds its first free elections
in 30 years. The National League for Democracy, the
party of female Burmese hero Aung San Suu Kyi won
by a landslide, however the Military Junta’s party, the
State Peace and Development Council, annulled the
results, refusing to step down. Aung San Suu Kyi was
put under house arrest soon after and remains so
today.
March 4, 2002
An alleged plot to overthrow the military junta
developed by Ne Win’s son-in-law Aye Zaw Win was
exposed. Aye Zaw Win and his wife (Ne Win’s daughter
) Sandar Win were put under house arrest along with
Ne Win himself. That September Aye Zaw Win and his
three sons were found guilty of treason and sentenced
to death. They are still awaiting execution in Rangoon’s
Insein Jail.
2007 Uprisings
The uprisings in August were led by well-known rebels
such as Min Ko Naing, who obtains the nom de guerre
“ king of kings”. The Military crack down on the
uprisings quickly and still refuses to allow the Red
Cross to see Min Ko Naing who is in custody at
Rangoon’s Insein Prison after being severely tortured.
In that September several hundred monks staged
protest marches in Rangoon and Sittwe. When the
protests came into conflict with Junta soldiers, the
violence that ensued resulted in a number of deaths
and injuries. National reporters were warned not to
report about the protests.
Monks Protesting in Sittwe
Protestors in Yangon
Cyclone Nargis
May 3rd, 2008 : Cyclone Nargis devastated Burma when
it struck the densely populated rice-farming area of
Irrewaddy. Current reports suggest that more than
130,000 people are either missing or dead from the
disaster. It is on record as the worst disaster in
Burmese history. The Burmese Government failed to
allow large-scale foreign aid services into the country,
however news stories state that the foreign aid that
was provided to disaster victims was modified to make
it appear as if it was from the military regime, with all
media running photos of General Than Shwe
ceremonially handing out disaster relief.
Victims of the Storm
Works Consulted
"Burma – FREE Burma Information |
Encyclopedia.com: Find Burma Research."
Encyclopedia - Online Dictionary |
Encyclopedia.com: Find Articles, Facts, Pictures,
Video! 30 Jan. 2009
<http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110Burma.html>.
"Burma – FREE Burma Information |
Encyclopedia.com: Find Burma Research."
Encyclopedia - Online Dictionary |
Encyclopedia.com: Find Articles, Facts, Pictures,
Video! 24 Jan. 2009
<http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142Burma.html>.
Works Consulted Cont’d
"Burma History." Berkeley Graduate School of
Journalism. 28 Jan. 2009
<http://journalism.berkeley.edu/projec
ts/burma/history.html>.
"Myanmar History - King Anawrahta."
MYANMAR: Travel Asia. 24 Jan.
2009<http://www.myanmars.net/
myanmar-history/kinganawrahta.htm>.
"Burma -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
28 Jan. 2009
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bur
ma>.