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Archiver > INDIA > 2006-09 > 1158922835


From: "Ian Chard" <>
Subject: Re: [INDIA] Burma History
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 12:00:35 +0100


Maureen

It's because we can't pronounce the local names!

Ian
UK

-----Original Message-----
From: [mailto:] On
Behalf Of Maureen Brady
Sent: 22 September 2006 11:36
To: ; India List
Subject: Re: [INDIA] Burma History

Hi Liza, Tom

I read somewhere, during the course of my own Burma research, that,
besides the threat of invasion, after the first war, the Brits decided
to get involved in Burma because they also wanted to secure their
control over the entire coastline from India to Singapore. The Siamese
(Thailand) kept their independence by co-operating with the Brits -- I
can't find my notes right now, but I seem to recall there was a
long-standing enmity between the Siamese & Burmese, that the two
countries had been at war several times before the Brits entered the
picture. Also interesting is that Rangoon was originally pronounced
Yangon, as it is spelled on maps today. The Brits seem to have made a
habit of twisting local names -- an example here in SA is Mafeking,
which is actually Mafikeng in the Setswana language (and has also
reverted to the original).

Regards
Maureen

----- Original Message -----
From: "Liza Mahjhrin" <>
To: "India List" <>
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2006 8:10 AM
Subject: Re: [INDIA] Burma History


> Hi Tom,
>
> My mother was brought up in Rangoon, so I have been
> very interested in the history of Burma as my mother's
> family have been a party of it.
>
> Currently I am reading a book called "Burma:
> Insurgency and the politics of ethnicity" by Martin
> Smith, published in 1991 (so it's not really up to
> date). There is a fairly good chapter on British rule
> in Burma. I also found out a lot about Burmese history
> through encyclopedias and some older books.
>
> The British were not initially interested in Burma.
> However, when the Burmese invaded Assam and threatened
> to take over other Indian states along their border,
> that began the first Burmese war, 1824 - 25.
>
>>From then on, they waged another two more wars, each
> time conquering more and more of Burma. It was when
> the British expelled Thibaw, the last Burmese king,
> that was when they began ruling the country as a
> whole. The date I have is 1 Jan 1888.
>
> Burma was then a province of India - which, as you can
> imagine - was not taken lightly in Burma. Only in 1937
> was Burma separated from India and had its own
> colonial government.
>
> Hope this helps a little. I'm sure if you google for
> Burma you will come up with lots of results!
>
> Liza
>
>
>
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