HISTORY
COLONIAL BURMA
298
1784
Alaungpaya’s son,
Bodawpaya defeats
Rakhaing, hauling
off the revered
Mahamuni Buddha
image (supposedly
cast during Buddha’s
legendary visit to the
area in 554 BC) to
Inwa.1813
Adoniram Judson, a
Baptist missionary
from Massachusetts,
arrives to convert
souls and translate
the Bible; thanks to his
infl uence, Myanmar
has the third-largest
number of Baptists
worldwide.1826
The Treaty of Yandabo
concludes the First
Anglo-Burmese War
that had begun two
years previously; the
British annex Rakhaing
and Tanintharyi
(Tenasserim) and
demand an indemnity
of £1 million.1852
Britain uses several
minor off ences to
kick-start the Second
Anglo-Burmese War
for control of Lower
Burma; Mindon Min
overthrows his half
brother and sues for
peace.causing grave off ence to the majority Buddhist population. Infl amed by
opposition to colonial rule, unemployment and the undercutting of the
traditional educational role of Buddhist monasteries, the country had
the highest crime rate in the British Empire. And apart from construct-
ing railroads and schools, the British built prisons, including the infa-
mous Insein prison, the Empire’s largest (and still in use by the current
government).Rise of Nationalism
Burmese nationalism burgeoned in the early days of the 20th century,
often led by Buddhist monks. University students in Yangon went on
strike on National Day in 1920, protesting elitist entrance requirements
at British-built universities. The students referred to each other as thak-
in (master), as they claimed to be the rightful masters of Burma. One
thakinn – a young man called Aung San – was expelled from university
in 1936 for refusing to reveal the author of a politically charged article.
Growing demands for self-government and opposition to colonial
rule eventually forced the British to make a number of concessions.
In 1937, Burma was separated administratively from India and a new
legislative council including elected Burmese ministers was formed.
However, the country continued to be torn by a stuggle between op-
posing political parties and sporadic outbursts of anti-Indian and anti-
Chinese violence.The Burman
(1882) and
Burma: A Hand-
book of Practical
Information
(1906) by colonial
adventurer Sir
J George Scott
remain in print
today and still
provide an insight
into the nation’s
culture.REVOLUTIONARY MONKSIn 1919, at Mandalay’s Eindawya Paya, monks evicted Europeans who refused to take off
their shoes. The British, sensing that this ‘Shoe Question’ was the start of a nationalist
movement, sentenced the monk leader, U Kettaya, to life imprisonment. This would not
be the last involvement of the sangha (Buddhist brotherhood) in politics.
U Ottama, a monk who had studied in India and returned to Burma in 1921, promoted
religious liberation as a way to bring the independence movement to the attention of the
average local Buddhist. After numerous arrests, U Ottama died in prison in 1939. Another
monk, U Wizaya, died in prison in 1929 after a 163-day hunger strike, which began as a
protest against a rule that forbade imprisoned monks from wearing robes.
In the footsteps of these martyrs to the nationalist cause strode the brave monks who,
risking arrest and worse, marched the streets in 2007. Monks currently account for 256
of Burma’s 1994 political prisoners and include the 31-year-old U Gambira, one of the
organisers of the 2007 protests, who is serving a sentence of 68 years.