BURMA.1 S RELATIONS WITH IiER EASTERN NEIGHBOURS IN THE KONBAUNG PERIOD, 1752 - 1819 by Maung Kyaw Thet Thesis submitted for the de'gree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of London, 1950. ProQuest Number: 10731211 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731211 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract of Thesis being submitted for the ^hD degree of the Univerlity of London* Title of Thesis. Burma*s relations with her Eastern Neighbours in the Konboung Period I752-I8I9. The thesis i§ an attempt to portray Burma's foreign relations through Burmese eyes. The Burmese of the period regarded the glory of Buddhism as the dominant motive in both public and private life. The king was regarded as essential to this aim, and as by virtue of the general acceptance of the idea of successive reincarnations, the king could be regarded the most worthy contemporary Buddhist he was thereby fully invested with autocratic powers. A tradition of great empdre, which, however mis­ taken, found great favour in the general Burmese mentality, made it necessary for the Konboung dynasty to embark on endless wars of aggrandisement, and this is mainly res­ ponsible for the nature of the relations Burma had with Siam and Laosuln this period. It was partly because of the Burmese attempt at the imposition of control over the Northern Lao states that caused the Shinese invasion. The Siamese at the opening of our period lacked effective leadership, and the cumbersome and unsatisfactory nature of her administration, prevented the quick concentra­ tion of her forces of resistance, and the Eurmese were successful in the early stages. China had old traditions of overlordship but the enforcement of recognition varied and was seldom as effective as in the far more accessible are<of Tonquin. The Burmese were a proud race and their kings would always attempt to beat off Chinese pretentions. They had always tried to, but sometimes unsuccessfully. * The Chinese invasions diverted Burmese strength from Siam, and Siam under pressure of the threat of renewed aggression reorganised and revived , and from that time held its own with Burma. Soon the West came on the scene and relations between these countries became incidents in more significant pattern of European expansion in the Far East. CONTENTS List; of Abbreviations Introduction CHAPTER 1 The Position of the Burmese king in the period 1752-1819 •• CHAPTER II The Territorial Boundaries of Burma - Traditional and Historical 36 CHAPTER III The Administration of Burma under ™ the Burmese Kings .......... 47 CHAPTER IV The Population of Burma in the time of the Konbaung Dynasty .. *• 97 CHAPTER V The Armed Borces of the Earlier Konbaung Kings. .......... 108 CHAPTER VI The Eastern Neighbours of Burma at the opening of the period 1752-1819 134 CHAPTER VII The Initial Phase of Burma1s Eastern Relations covering the period of the first two Konbaung Kings 173 CHAPTER VIII Hsinbyushin 1763-1776 - the period of Burmese glory with intensive hostilities as the main theme of foreign relations .......... 206 CHAPTER IX Singu 1776-82. An Interim Period 295 CHAPTER X Bodawpaya 1782-1819* The last period in which Burma was to conduct her foreign relations, free from effective European pressure .......... 299 Bibliography Burmese sources .* 536 Other sources 345 Appendix A 347 B 348 C 353 D 356 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS J.B.R.S. Journal of the Burma Research Society. J.A.S.B. : Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. M.M.O.S. Myamma Min Ochok Pon Sadan. KONBAUNGZET . The Konbaungzet Mahayazawin Dawgyi* J.S.S. Journal of the Siam Society. G.U.B. Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States. SANGERMANO’S D.B.E# Father Sangermano1s Description of the Burmes e Emp ire. INTRODUCTION The years 1752-1819 in. the history of Burma cover the period from the emergence of a new and virile Bvirmese dynasty, 1 out of chaos, to the time when Europe ai enqpansion in the Ear East really "began to encroach on the traditional scene in Burma, Siam and China* In the 1740s the Toungoo dynasty which had reached its zenith in the reign of the great emperor Bsyinnaung (1551 -8 1) was fast declining in power and prestige. 1 . Konbaung Dynasty, Alaungpaya 1752- T r Naung Daw Gyi Hsinbyushin Bodawpaya 1760-65. Maung Maung Singu (7 days) 1776-82. Bagyi Daw Tharrawaddy 1819-57 1857-46. Pagan ‘Mindon 1846-55 1853-75 Thibaw 1875-35 The Manipuris were carrying fire and sword right up to the Irrawaddy; there was a rebel camp a few miles away from the capital. The Mons of the delta had risen in a great rebellion and setting up their capital at Pegu had begun raiding right up to Ava, and in 1752 they had captured Ava and the Burmese king IVlaha Dhamma Yaza Dipat i while all this was going on U Aung Zeya a scion-of the local ruling family, a virile, fierce and a proper man, respected for his manly qualities by all the villages surrounding his ancestral village of Moksobo had proclaimed his faith in his destiny. Brushing aside ruthlessly all waverers and doubters he had first enrolled a small number of 68 picked men, then collecting more men, he1 had started to turn his village into a little fort - determined not to submit to the Mons • He massacred the first small detachment of Mons sent to administer the oath of allegiance, then ambushed the next, a larger force. Then they came back in their thousands, but they could not take his village, and one night he made a sortie, and sent them flying. The news of his stand and his courage spread, and men came pouring in. As his resistance went on from strength to strength, his followers snowballed and by the end of 1753 & Burmese king ruled once more over Ava. The king was Aungzeya, now Alaungpaya. My decision to devote this thesis to the study of the foreign relations of the Konbaungzet Dynasty from 1752 -1 8 1 9, i.e. the period of its emergence, to the zenith of its power was taken largely because it is only in this period, owing to a variety of factors, that some materials which could stand up to the critical demands of an -English University, and would serve as a reliable check on the Burmese chronicle which I have used extensive ly to convey the atmosphere of Burma1 s relations with her neighbours, were available in some satisfactory quantity; but this period also offers certain ’brands and themes in Burmese history which apply throughout its known length; the wars with Siam, the struggles of the Mons to throw off the Burmese yoke, the competition with Siam for dominance over the Laos and the Chinese invasions. An earlier historian1 has quoted a Burmese Minister’s words to explain the intransigence and arrogance of the Burmese, by explaining that in Burma’s previous relations with her eastern neighbours, she had never met her match, and that she felt she could adopt the same sort of relations with the western powers, i.e. 1. H. Gougers Personal Narrative of Two Years Imprisonment in Burmah, p.104. iv that she was totally ignorant of her relative power vis- a-vis Great Britain. This on examination must "be modified? for instance, the Burmese Embassies to Pekin left records of mileage, distance, military and economic strength, which judged hy present day U.N.E.S.O.C publication standards are of poor quality, 'but reading through them one can sense that for contemporary and especially Burmese palace purposes, they were adequate. There is also proof that the Burmese Oourt collected - and presumably studied, information about British relations with other nations; for example, the Treaty of Balta Liman (between the Ottoman Porte and Great Britain) was known to the Burmese. I have devoted much space to an examination of the Burmese palace system of administration with its concentration of policy-making in a very few individuals, for though the effect of the system and how it worked has been dealt with by con­ temporary Europeans, the evidence of the traditional conception of administration has not been used to explain the system. When one recollects that the Burmese court was sending embassies to the last independent powers of India for alliance against the British, it stands to reason that they did appreciate to 1 . J.B.R.S. Vol. XXX, p.345. v some extent the strength of the British, but were justifiably afraid of the future, and with a mixture of motives, well larded with optimism took steps to prevent the thing they feared, from coming to pass. The period in question, on 'being examined for out­ standing new characteristics offers very poor results; the vitality of the idea of kingship can be observed in previous Burmese history; the kingly types, the courtly types, the military types, and the schemers are all of an old tradition and mould, and the only definite idea that one can deduce from one’s studies of these factors in this period, is that they stayed remarkably true to type.