Burmese I11vasions of Siam, Translated from the Hmannan Yazawin DawgyL ...T . Preface. 'l' he materials for the subject of this paper ·were ch awn almost entirely from the Hmn.nn a 11 Yazawin Dclwg·yi, a H istory of Burm a. in Burmese co1npil eLl by order of King Dagyict <l W of Burma i11 the ycn.r 1 101 B unnese era., A. D . 182!J . The nn t.ive work lms be en closely ac1l1erec1 to in tl1i · pnper, so nmch so that it may he co nsidered a free translat ion ( lr the original coveri 11g t he ~_J e r i o d treated of. A resume of the whole of '\vhat i · containea h re IYill lJe found in Sir A. rtlnu Phayre's llislory of Bul'lna . J n hi s l1 ist ory Sir Art hur Phayre has <Li so f ollowetl t lJ e Hmanua n Yazawin L irly closely, a nd he has utilized a1l th e in fonnat.ion IYh i.ch tl~e 1mt. ire work can offer t hat is worthy of a place in a history w rit t<~ n on European lines aml an::mgo cl it, at least tLS regards the p t·e-Alaungpric period, alm ost in the ordet· it is give n in the orig· in al. But what a, wide difference t here is between history written according to nnti ve ideas and that wr itten ou E nropoa.n principles, a. nd how far Si r Ar thur Phayre has sifted nud coudensed tl1e infon nat.ion co ntained in the original may be imagined when fi fteen pages, each containi ng t wenty eigltt lines of print in the nati1 e hist ory are wo rl.: ed into thirty one lines in Sir Arthur P ha:r re'::; . Ro as not to umkc the subject of this paper appear isola ted, it is dee u1 ed proper to give a sltOrt introduction on tlte slate of affairs in Burma for a period of cLuo ut 30 years pi·ccec1ing tho elate on which tho subject t1·eatecl of hero opened; in fact com mencing 1Yith the uirth of t he first invader of Si am, describin g in bare outline his career, ::m el leading up to th.e invasion itself. [ 2 ] Introduction. The political condition of Burma in the old days before the l'ise of the last dynasty was much the sa.me as that of Siam about -the same period. The whole country was divided into small prin­ ·cipalities, at one t im e independent and pros perous, and even holcling neighbouring states in subjection, while at auotbe1·, overthrown, dependent , or subject to a more powerfulneighbou1·. As in Siam in those clays there was no recognized rule of succession, and on the ·demise of a king or a cl1ief, whoevet· of the kith and kin of · the -deceased could intrigue most and gather ::1, large number of adherents secured the succession. Therefore, t he overthrow of a powerful or suzerain state wa.s brought about quite as much, if not more, by this internal struggle for succession as by t he rise in power of a neighbour wl1ich had enjoyed a shor t term of rest, an(l been able to recoup its exhausted energy. Though the whole country w::ts honeycombed wi th " towns " each under a governor, a chief, or a. ruler who in some cases, de­ pending on territorial extent tlS well as in powet·, was dignifie<l under the na.me of a king, yet t he principal states or kingdoms about half a century before t he subject of this paper, viz. the first or ganized invasion of Siam by the Bmmese, took place, were the kingdom of Ava under a Burmese king, that of H anth ~twacl dJ uncl et· a Mon or Ta.laing King, that of Dinn yaw~L d dy ot· Amkan under an Aral1 anese King, and tl10se of Toungoo and Prome. 'l'he last t wo bein g situated almost mi.d wn.y between t 11·o powel'fnl rival kingdoms, t he Burmese at Ava, a nd t he 1\fon a.t I-Lmthawaddy, enjoyed an unenviable position of having to subrnit to frequent political changes ; now u nch~ r a Vi ceroy who wa.s sometimes raised t o the dignity of h i. butal'J King, appointed fr·om Ava, and a lit tl e while after, under another from Hanthawacldy; occasiona.lly as s(~ r t i ng their independen ce when the two rin tl kingdoms hrd exhausted t heir · powet· by mutua,! struggle fo r· supremacy or by internecine strife for succession to the throne. About thirty years before the "fi rst inva.s ion o£ Si<tm by the Burmese, there 'vas hom to the King of Toungoo, JH aha T hirizeya, Thura, then enjoying faidy independent position, n, so n who su b­ sequently rose to great powet·, overtltrew his more powerful southern neighbom, brought Arakctn under nomiwtl subjection, t hre<tteneJ 1 [ 3 J the King of Ava. wi th overthrow, n. nd lecl n. well organizecl army into Sia.m. As nsua.l with nJ l native chl'onicles, a great deal of mytil n,ncl story surrounds the personality of any king of eminence. In th e case of the fi rst invader of Sia.m, who was regarded us one of three national heroes, the very concept ion was forewarned by a dream to his august mothet· that the veq sun descended from the heavens, cle01ved het· womb ant1 took abode there. H is birth was as usnal, altended by thundel' and ligl1 t ning and heavy showers, anL1 what was stmnger tha.n all W<tS tlutt a t hick shower of hail a bout the size of a moclerute-sii'.etl pum elo also fell. Accol'clin g to t he chronology of t he Hmn.nnan Yctllawin, he was bom on w·ednes day the lst of W<tning Kasu n, • Sakkaraj 878, (A. D. 1 ~) ] 6 . ), and was named Tn.bin Shweti. He ascended the t hrone on the death of l1i s bthet· on 'fhursday 5th of waxing Nadaw 2 892 · ( A. D. l ~'HO . ) ; thus he W<tS barely fifteen when raised to kingly digni ty and powet·, n, ntl thenceforth t he native chronicler styles him :Minta.m Sh weti. He traced h is origin to t he Burmese Kings of Ava ancl took a pride in his Bul'lne:;e ancestry. He made repeatetl attempts to subjug<tte Hanthawadcly and finally succeeded in t he yea. r 899 (A. D. 1537. ), when t he King of Hanthawadcl y fled to his brot lt er-iu-l aw t he KiDg of P rome, Then, he capturecll\Iartahan which offcrnd a stnut resistance; and on the fall of Mm·t,tbtw, Moulmein submitted. Having conquered the ·whole of the Mon t el'l'itot·y, he tmnsferred his seat of govem meut to llanthawa.dd _r . TluLt is the reason why he is known as King of H lLHth£L,·vaddy iu Si,tme e HistOI'j', but lw was not a l'!l[on by birth. though sulJsequently he took to so me Mo n ma.nners and customs, such as cropping t lt c h<tir aud 1vca.riug t lte Mon lt en.cl-cleess. I n the year fJ0 -1- (.\. D. J.) L~. ), P rome fell t o him after a pt·o­ t rn.ctecl siege, tlte King of Prome sm renrleriu g, only asking t hat he and his relatives might be spn,red. I n the year 008 ( r\.. D 1-1 f.U . ), t he K ing of .A.r,tkan having Ll ied, his so n succeeL1ec1 to the throne, but the successio n was J. May. 2. December. [ 4 contested ·by the de cf~ase rl King's brother who was governor of Sancloway. H e sought t he assistance of Minta ra Shweti who was. only too willing t o render it, and who accordingly marched an nxmy to Ara1mn. After laying siege to t he capital for some time an · agreement was come t o by which the new King of Aralmu was to cede Sandowa.y and certain otl1e1· tenitory to his uncle who was t o be recognised as king independent of Arakw , and both to be nominally subject to Mintm Shweti. Thus Mintara Shweti 1vas actua.lly King of T oungoo, l'rome,. and the whole of the 1\'Ion co unt r_v, anll the nominal suzerain of Aralmn and Sa,ndowa.Y when the em of his warlike relations with Siam openecl. - )o( - 'fals:ing acl viw btge of l\'Iintarn, Shweti's absence in Am.lmn, t-he King of Siam sent Tluunein Krmbut·i atll1 'I'ha.mein Drnvtakrt with 200 eleplmnt;;, 1,000 horse, aud GO,OOO men to ca.pture Tavoy. On the arrival of t he Siamese troops, t he Goveroor showed onJy a shadow of resistance and then tied to Ye. N ews of the capture having been bl'ougl1t to the ca.pitd, Mintara Shweti sent 40,0v0 men b,y watet' with a :flotilla of 100 b ig anc1 300 small r;a iJi ng vessels, and 200 elephants, 2,000 horse and 80,000 men by land to expel the Sia mese from 'l'avo_y and beyond the f rontier.