The English Invasion Of Burma In The 17th Century

Improved Essays
In the 17th century, the Burmese had fended off the Dutch, the Portugese, the Armenians, and the other European who had arrived at Burma's shores "in the first waves of European exploration" In the next century they had successfully withstood a long Chinese invasion from 1765 to 1769, and annexed parts of Manipur, Assam, Chittagong, Laos, and Siam, and had ravaged Ayuthia, Siam's capital. As such, the authorities of court of Ava In the early 1800s took great pride in their success on the battlefield and viewed themselves as a powerful, and perhaps even invincible, nation, and was actively expanding its territory. Around the same time, the English East India Company had dominated India, and with the country as a foothold, the English were …show more content…
The English strategy was an invasion of Burma with three fronts: the Assam-Manipur front, the Arakan front, and the Rangoon front. The Rangoon front was the most important ; the English hoped that the Burmese king would make a peace offer as soon as the port town of Rangoon was captured, and otherwise planned to march along the Irrawaddy River straight to the capital until the Burmese sued for peace. The aims of the other two fronts was no more than to drive away the Burmese from the respective areas. While the Burmese did have to retreat from Assam and Manipur and finally lost Cachar to the English, the Burmese forces at the Arakan front led by Maha Bandula were victorious. They prevailed over the English forces in Arakan and continued their advance to capture Chittagong. However, Bandula did not want to push too far as his insight into English strategy told him he would be needed in Rangoon, and indeed the armies of both the Arakan and Assam-Manipur front were ordered back to Rangoon, where the situation was dire. In a feat of amazing logistical skill, Bandula and his deputy Uzana mobilized their forces over the Arakan Hills to Rangoon in the rainy season. However, had Bandula been able to continue his advance to Chittagong, he would have been able to threaten a large part of the Bengal area, which would have allowed Burma more favourable terms in the post-war peace

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    East Asia in the 19th to the early 20th century was a time period of change, new approaches and constant pressures. After a lengthy era of isolationism East Asia was experiencing pressure from outside forces. The West approached with strong intentions and new ideas and unique cultural traditions. The Eastern Asian countries were finding themselves behind in advances in several different realms, such as, the military and in technology. Japan and China were suffering under the pressures to surrender to outside forces and open up trade with foreign merchants.…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    East Asia during the middle ages was unknown, and the tales that traveled through the various trade routes intrigued many people in Europe the ottomans proved. Such tales caught the attention of many, especially those who wanted to profit from such wealth. The acquisition of the trade through Constantinople by the ottomans proved to be the event that spurred the need to search for other ways to attain the products of the east. It was well into the 18th century that the west could take a proper look at the Orient - one with the outlandish tales and one that could be compared to the advancements made by the Orient. Products that are unusual to the westerners have caught quite a lot of attention.…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    By taking a different approach to the shore, there would be a different ending to the battle. Instead, He led his troops in a choke point; they stood no chance against General Jackson’s cannons. America as we know today would be very different if Great Britain won the battle, the nation would not be a democracy. On the other hand, this battle showed with great leadership anything could be accomplished.…

    • 1579 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People never seem to acknowledge that Asian Empires through the 16th-19th century were very different. Although they did have their commonalities, we can see how Japan, China, and Korea were very different both politically and socially. Asian Empires were more different than similar because of things such as their social mobility and structure of administration. These Asian Empires had many things in different politically but they also had their things in common.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Burmese Pythons Essay

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Hiss, Hiss”. That's the sound of an invasive species called the Burmese Python. There are thousands of the invasive Burmese Pythons loose in the Everglades and they pose a massive threat on Florida’s communities. The Burmese Python are changing the local animals, people, and ecosystems. These Burmese Python cannot survive without food, so they will hunt for food and that is exactly what they’re doing in the Everglades.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Newman, Andrew 2A 1776 David McCullough Identification of Work The book 1776 is a book written by David McCullough. It was published in 2005, and is the eighth book that David McCullough has published. He lists all of his sources, which he and his research assistant gathered, which ranges from books about the American Revolution to newspapers to memoirs and diaries. Such thorough research shows his immense dedication and effort that he put towards the writing of this book.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Instead, the British strategic course of action should have been to focus…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Words have a lot of power. They can hurt and kill as Markus Zusak puts it plainly: “The injury of words. Yes, the brutality of words” (Zusak 262). But Vaddey Ratner teaches us that words can have beauty too. In her work of historical fiction, In the Shadow of The Banyan, Ratner eloquently describes the horrors of the Khmer Rouge’s reign and how it affects the lives of the protagonist, Raami, and her family.…

    • 1414 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Puritan Colonists

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages

    During the late Seventeenth century, Puritan colonists in New England were faced with a dilemma. As their population increased, the colonists wanted and needed more land. They began to view the natives in the area as an obstruction to their expansion. Due to the Puritans’ belief in their superiority over the natives, they were able to justify their harsh treatment of the natives which led to King Philip’s War. The Puritan colonists’ actions toward the natives were cruel and excessive and resulted in about 40% of New England’s Indian population being killed or forced to flee (Hart).…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Neldon Ryan Hamblin Professor Robb Kunz History 2600 September 21, 2015 Compare/contrast Assignment A common theme is ever present in both The Legacy of Conquest by Patricia Limerick and The American West by Anne Butler and Michael Lansing: a profound feeling of responsibility by the authors to set the record of the west straight and to enlighten our minds with facts and depictions of the true west. They do this by using accounts from primary sources, not the fabrications of Hollywood or “John Wayne” that we are used to seeing. However, the books differ in explaining the origin of the romanticization of the west.…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Massachussets anti-Myanmar statute violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S Constitution on the grounds that the state government has reserved powers to handle local affairs not foreign. The federal government is provided with enumerated powers enabling to handle foreign affairs. The statute enacted by Massachussets conflicts with the federal law enacted by U.S Congress.…

    • 55 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Having the ability to influence the thoughts and behaviour of others is the most preeminent weapon in the world. When a person has this capacity but their only chief concern is themselves then it can have detrimental effects on humanity. All dystopian works have this egocentric human nature in common, whether it’s the main characters or corporation or governments. There is always the self-seeking characters whose actions may result in catastrophic results. Kurt Vonnegut’s fourth novel Cat’s Cradle follows Jonah, a Christian turned bokononist, on his journey to San Lorenzo exploring the contrariety of religion and science.…

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Brilliant Essays

    King Ashoka Imperialism

    • 1760 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Ramesh Poudel May 6, 2016 HIS 101 Dr. Swope The sustainability of empire with religious approach 1. Compare and contrast any 3 or more documents pertaining to great rulers, either produced by the rulers themselves or by others. Discuss what things the writer emphasizes and provide context for the supposed virtues (or vices) of the ruler in question.…

    • 1760 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Brilliant Essays
  • Improved Essays

    52. Slim’s final anxiety was the state of morale within the 14 Army. Slim states, “There was no doubt that the disasters in Arakan, following an unbroken record of defeat, had brought morale in large sections of the army to a dangerously low ebb.” Slim knew that if his forces had any chance at all to defeat the Japanese and retake Burma, morale must improve quickly throughout the ranks. In determining where to start in this most difficult task, he began with himself.…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Even though during the reign of King Vajiravudh (1910-1925), the country was the only independent country in the region that did not suffer from the demands for territory or other concessions. However, in reality Siam sovereignty suffered from encroachment, violations and limitations imposed on the country by Western imperialism since the middle of nineteenth century as a result of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. Some of the articles in the treaty allowed foreign countries free trade with only 3 percent export tax and import tariffs together with extraterritoriality right [which meant that foreigners or any subjects of the countries that signed the treaty were under the jurisdiction of their respective consular courts and not the Siamese court].…

    • 2157 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays