The Burmese–Siamese War (1759–1760) (Burmese: ယိုးဒယား-မြန်မာစစ် (၁၇၅၉–၁၇၆၀); Thai: สงครามพม่า-สยาม (พ.ศ. 2302–2303)) was the first military conflict between the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) and the Ban Phlu Luang Dynasty of the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam. It reignited the centuries-long conflict between the two Southeast Asian states that would last for another century. The Burmese were "on the brink of victory" when they suddenly withdrew from their siege of Ayutthaya because their king Alaungpaya had fallen ill.[6] He died three weeks later, ending the war.
| Burmese–Siamese War (1759–1760) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Burmese–Siamese wars | |||||||||
.png) A map of the Burmese-Siamese War (1759-1760) | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Konbaung dynasty (Burma) |
 Ayutthaya Kingdom (Siam) | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Alaungpaya † Hsinbyushin  Minkhaung Nawrahta |
Ekkathat Uthumphon | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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Royal Siamese Army | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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Invasion force: 3,000 cavalry [4] Rearguard: 6,000 musketeers 500 cavalry[5] |
Tenasserim and Gulf of Siam theaters (initial): 27,000 men 1,300 cavalry 200 elephants[6] Gulf of Siam (later): 60,000 men[7] Suphanburi and Ayutthaya: 45,000 men 3,000 cavalry 300 elephants[6] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The casus belli were over the control of the Tenasserim coast and its trade,[8][9] and the Siamese support for ethnic Mon rebels of the fallen Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom.[6][10] The newly founded Konbaung Dynasty had wanted to reestablish Burmese authority in the upper Tenasserim coast (present-day Mon State) where the Siamese had provided support to the Mon rebels and deployed their troops. The Siamese had refused Burmese demands to hand over the Mon leaders or to stop their intrusions into what the Burmese considered their territory.[11]
The war began in December 1759 when 40,000 Burmese troops led by Alaungpaya and his son Hsinbyushin invaded down the Tenasserim coast from Martaban. Their battle plan was to go around the heavily defended Siamese positions along shorter, more direct invasion routes. The invasion force overran relatively thin Siamese defenses in the coast, crossed the Tenasserim Hills to the shore of the Gulf of Siam, and turned north towards Ayutthaya. Taken by surprise, the Siamese scrambled to meet the Burmese in their south, and put up spirited defensive stands en route to Ayutthaya. But battle-hardened Burmese forces overcame numerically superior Siamese defenses and reached the outskirts of Siamese capital on 11 April 1760. But only five days into the siege, the Burmese king suddenly fell ill and the Burmese command decided to withdraw.[6] An effective rearguard operation by General Minkhaung Nawrahta allowed for an orderly withdrawal.[12]
The war was inconclusive. While the Burmese regained control of the upper coast down to the Tavoy, they had not eliminated the threat to their hold on the peripheral regions, which remained tenuous. They were forced to deal with Siamese-supported ethnic rebellions in the coast (1762, 1764) as well as in Lan Na (1761–1763). The Burmese would launch their next invasion in 1765, and topple the three-centuries-old Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1767.
Background edit
Summary of Burmese–Mon–Siamese conflicts edit
Burmese King Tabinshweti of Toungoo dynasty conquered the Mon Kingdom of Hanthawaddy in Lower Burma in 1539.[13]: 94 [14] However, the Mons soon rebelled and had to be reconquered by King Bayinnaung in 1551.[13]: 105 Burmese kings of Toungoo dynasty established their royal capital at Pegu or Hanthawaddy, which had been the Mon royal seat, respecting Mon culture.[15] In 1555, Bayinnaung conquered the Shan-occupied Ava and Upper Burma,[13]: 108 [14] uniting Burma under a single rule for the first time since the Pagan kingdom. Bayinnaung went on to conquer Lanna Chiang Mai (1558), Manipur (1560) and Tavoy (1562). In 1563, King Bayinnaung led his Burmese armies to invade neighboring Siamese Kingdom of Ayutthaya. King Thammaracha of Phitsanulok, a Siamese vassal king, allied with the Burmese king.[16]: 80 Bayinnaung then went on to lay siege on Ayutthaya, resulting in the surrender of Ayutthaya in 1564.[16]: 81 However, conflicts between Ayutthaya and Burmese-backed Phitsanulok prompted Bayinnaung to send another invasion force to attack Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya fell to Burmese invaders in 1569.[16]: 82 Bayinnaung appointed Thammaracha as King of Ayutthaya and his vassal.[16]: 82 During his reign, Burmese king Bayinnaung expanded his kingdom to unprecedented territorial size and influence. Bayinnaung appointed his own son, Nawrahta Minsaw, to be King of Chiang Mai and ruler over Lanna.
Bayinnaung died in 1581, leaving the throne to his son Nanda Bayin.[14] Burma then entered a period of decline. Naresuan broke his Siam kingdom free from Burmese domination in 1584. In 1586, Nanda Bayin himself marched Burmese forces to attack and lay siege on Ayutthaya in retaliation but failed to reconquer Ayutthaya. After 1587, Burmese forces would not reach Ayutthayan outskirts again for the next two hundred years (until 1760). In 1592, Nanda Bayin sent his son the crown prince Mingyi Swa to invade Siam. Naresuan intercepted the Burmese at Western frontiers near Suphanburi, leading to the Battle of Nong Sarai in 1593,[15][16]: 88 in which Naresuan prevailed over Burmese invaders and the Burmese crown prince was killed in battle. After the victory, Siam went on offensives, reclaiming Tavoy and Tenasserim in 1593 and taking control of Martaban in 1594. Burma disintegrated into competing princely regimes of Ava, Prome and Toungoo. Even King Nawrahta Minsaw of Chiang Mai, himself a son of Bayinnaung, submitted to Naresuan, bringing Lanna under Ayutthayan domination. The Burmese Prince of Toungoo, in collaboration with Arakan Kingdom,[13]: 122 successfully seized Pegu the Burmese capital in 1599.[13]: 123 Naresuan embarked on his grand campaign to invade Lower Burma in 1600. Prince of Toungoo brought Burmese king Nanda Bayin to his hometown at Toungoo, leaving the Arakanese to freely plunder and burn down Pegu.[14] Naresuan followed to Toungoo, laying siege on the city but did not succeed and turned back. Nanda Bayin the Burmese king himself was assassinated in 1600 by Nat Shin Naung, son of the Toungoo prince.
After the death of Nanda Bayin, Burma descended into civil war with regional regimes sprang up at Ava, Prome, Toungoo and Syriam. In 1603, Prince Nyaungyan of Ava attacked Shan States, which were allies of Siam. Naresuan led Siamese armies to support the Shans but died on his way in 1605. Nyaungyan also died in 1605 during his Shan campaign,[13]: 128 succeeded by his son Anaukpetlun. From Ava, Anaukpetlun conquered all of his rival regional regimes, uniting Burma again under his rule. In 1613, Anaukpetlun reestablished Pegu as Burmese royal capital. The new Burmese king also reconquered Martaban, Tavoy (1614)[14] and Chiang Mai (1615)[13]: 132 [14] from Siam. After this, Burmese–Siamese conflicts cooled down and reached stalemate, with Burma being in control of Lanna, Martaban and Tavoy and Siam controlling Tenasserim. King Thalun moved Burmese capital from Pegu in Lower Burma to Ava in Upper Burma in 1636,[13]: 135 The Mons of Lower Burma were then neglected by the Burmese court,[15] allowing them to be more autonomous. In 1660, Qing China invaded Burma in search for Southern Ming Yongli Emperor who had taken refuge in Burma.[17] The panicked Lanna King of Chiang Mai requested aid from King Narai of Ayutthaya. Burma conscripted Mon people to fight Chinese invaders, leading to Mon rebellion at Martaban in 1661.[15] King Narai led Siamese forces north to Lanna but the Chiang Mai king annulled this alliance as the war turned to Burmese favor. Burmese king Pindale sent Burmese armies to subjugate the Mon rebellion, proceeding to invade Western Siam through the Three Pagodas Pass.[15] The Siamese repelled Burmese invaders in 1661 at Saiyok near Kanchanaburi. King Narai conquered Chiang Mai[18] in late 1661. Siam retaliated by attacking Tavoy up to Martaban on Tenasserim Coast in 1662. However, Siam did not seek to permanently occupy Lanna and the Mon lands so these Siamese conquests reverted back to Burmese rule.
Decline and Fall of Toungoo dynasty edit
In 1704, King Charairongba of Meitei Kangleipak Kingdom married off his sister Chakpa Makhao Ngambi to Burmese king Sanay.[19] However, Sanay reportedly mistreated Chakpa Makhao Ngambi, not making her his chief queen as promised. Charairongba then died with a broken heart in 1709, instructing his son and successor Pamheiba to avenge Burma. Pamheiba, the new king of Kangleipak, under influence of Indian guru Shantidas Goswami, converted his kingdom to Hindu Vaishnavism,[20] renamed his kingdom Manipur and renamed himself with a Persianate name Gharib Niwaz. In 1716, the new Burmese king Taninganway sent his envoys asking for a Manipuri princess to marry. Gharib Niwaz, remembering the grudges of his father, was offended by this request. Gharib Niwaz sent his forces to ambush the Burmese envoys,[19] leading to Burmese–Manipuri Wars. Gharib Niwaz led his Manipuri armies to invade and plunder Northwestern Burmese towns along the Chindwin and Mu rivers including Myedu, Tabayin and Mingin. Repeated Manipuri invasions weakened Burma. In 1727, Lanna Chiang Mai broke free from Burmese rule and the Shan State of Mogaung did the same in 1734 with the help of Manipur.[21] Indian Brahmins also told Gharib Niwaz that he should bath in the sacred water of Irrawaddy River,[14] where the Burmese royal capital of Ava situated. The most devastating invasion came in 1739 when Gharib Niwaz seized and burnt down Sagaing,[22] which was just opposite of Ava on the Irrawaddy. Gharib Niwaz, however, did not proceed to attack Ava but instead performed sacred bathing ritual in the Irrawaddy river. Maha Damayaza Dipati, the last Burmese king of Toungoo dynasty, reached a truce with Gharib Niwaz in 1740 with the Manipuri king withdrawing.[22]
After the transfer of Burmese capital from Pegu to Ava in 1635, Burmese court had been sending Myowun or governors to govern Pegu, also called Hanthawaddy, over the Mons in Lower Burma. The Mons, however, had been largely neglected[15] by the Burmese court and they strove for independence. In 1737, a Burmese official Maung Tha Aung became the Myowun of Pegu. Maung Tha Aung imposed heavy taxation on the Mons and became unpopular.[13]: 142 In 1740, when the Burmese court of Ava was dealing with devastating Manipuri invasion, Maung Tha Aung took this opportunity to rebel[13]: 142 and declared himself a Minlaung or pretender. Maung Tha Aung, however, received no support from local Mon populace. King Damayaza of Burma sent his uncle[14] to successfully subjugate and execute Maung Tha Aung the unpopular governor. Burmese court appointed another governor to Pegu but the Mons had enough with Burmese rule. Recent Burmese failures encouraged the Mons to arise.[23] The Mons found cooperation with the Gwe Shans (Shans or Karens who had migrated from Karen Hills to Burma)[24] in their uprising against Burma in 1740. The uprising was led by a Buddhist monk and Minlaung millenarian pretender Smim Htaw[14][15] (Ethnic origin of Smim Htaw is uncertain. Mon chronicles state that Smim Htaw was of the Gwe Shans but Burmese sources point out that Smim Htaw was a son of a fugitive Burmese prince).[13]: 142 [24][23] Thorasengmu, a Peguan official,[24] murdered the new Pegu governor and declared Smim Htaw the King of Pegu, thus restoring the long-defunct Hanthawaddy Kingdom of the Mons[15] in Lower Burma. Smim Htaw made Thorasengmu his prime minister with the title Binnya Dala and married his daughter.[24]
Smim Htaw proceeded to attack Prome to the north. Burmese governors of Martaban and Tavoy, in their panic of Mon insurgency, fled to seek shelter at Ayutthaya in 1742 under protection of King Borommakot.[14][23] Burmese king sent envoys to Ayutthaya in 1744,[14] requesting repatriation of the two Burmese governors. Borommakot reciprocated by dispatching Siamese envoys in 1745[14] to bring these two governors back to Burma. Siamese ambassadors declared open support to Burma against the Mons.[23] Smim Htaw, fearing Siamese attacks in his rear, retreated from Prome. According to Thai chronicles, Burmese–Siamese relations by this time went amicably but, in Burmese perspective, the Burmese court was suspicious about Siam's true allegiance.
Smim Htaw the King of Pegu had a queen who was a daughter of his prime minister Binnya Dala. In 1744, in response to Siamese support to Burma, Smim Htaw sought alliance with Lanna by marrying a daughter of King Ong Kham of Chiang Mai as his second queen. This marriage, however, upset the first queen as Smim Htaw favored his Lanna queen over his first one. The first queen relayed her grievances to her father Binnya Dala, who then conspired against Smim Htaw. In 1746, while Smim Htaw was venturing out to catch some elephants, Binnya Dala seized power in Pegu,[23] declaring himself new king (Burmese sources suggested that Binnya Dala might originally be a Shan, perhaps Northern Thai, elephant mahout from Chiang Mai).[13]: 145 Binnya Dala was a better expansionist than Smim Htaw as he sent his brother Upayaza to successfully took Prome and Toungoo in 1746. In 1747, Smim Htaw rallied his Karen forces in attempt to reclaim his throne but was defeated and took refuge in Ayutthaya, Siam.[24] In 1748, King Gharib Niwaz abdicated the throne of Manipur in favor of his son Chitsai.[25] Next year, in 1749, Gharib Niwaz marched his army to Ava in order to marry off his niece to the Burmese king.[25] In 1750, the new Manipur king Chitsai expelled his father the abdicated king out of Imphal.[25] Gharib Niwaz ended up seeking shelter at Ava with the Burmese king[25] with whom he had reconciled.
In 1751, Hanthawaddy court signed a treaty with French representative Sieur de Bruno, allowing the French to establish a military post at Syriam, while the Mons obtaining French firearms.[15] The Mons then had the advantage of updated European weaponry over the Burmese. Finally in 1751, Binnya Dala sent the Mon forces of 27,000 men under the command of his younger brother Upayaza with his another sibling Talaban as vanguard along the Irrawaddy north to attack the Burmese royal seat of Ava. The Mon forces reached Ava in early 1752. After many defeats, manpower and supplies dwindling, Ava eventually capitulated in March 1752.[13]: 147 [23] Damayaza the last king of Toungoo dynasty surrendered without resistance. Upayaza took the Burmese king and his family down south to Pegu, leaving Talaban to be in charge of Ava, which was burnt to the grounds.[13]: 148 [14] Centuries-old Toungoo dynasty was overthrown by the Mons, who conquered their former overlord – Burma. Gharib Niwaz the abdicated Manipur king, who had been staying in Ava, left Ava to return to Manipur but was assassinated midway by the agents of his own son Chitsai.[25] Upayaza the Mon prince, convinced that Upper Burma had been thoroughly pacified, was more concerned about prospective Siamese retaliation[14] from Tenasserim than potential Burmese resurgence in Upper Burma.
Reign of Borommakot edit
Phetracha ascended the Siamese throne in aftermath of the Siamese Revolution of 1688, establishing the Ban Phlu Luang dynasty, facing regional rebellions at Nakhon Ratchasima in 1689, 1699–1700[26] and at Nakhon Si Thammarat in 1700 and 1704–1705,[27] which took great efforts to quell. At the death of Phetracha in 1703, his son Phra Chao Suea succeeded the throne and executed his half-brother and rival claimant Prince Phra Khwan.[27] After Phra Chao Suea, his son King Thaisa ascended the throne in 1709. Thaisa made his younger brother Prince Phon the Wangna Prince of the Front Palace and heir presumptive. As internal instability had plagued Siam, Siamese court sought to reduce the powers of nobility and regional governors in order to stabilize politics but the opposite actually came true – royal princes and nobles gained more power and Ayutthaya lost control of its periphery. Government structure of Late Ayutthaya served to prevent internal rebellions rather than to defend against Burmese invasions, which had become a distant past memory. Meanwhile, Siamese trade with Qing China flourished. As Southern China suffered from rice shortages,[28] Siam capitalized this situation by daring the Haijin or Chinese ban on overseas trade by sending rice in tributary junks to trade at Canton in 1722.[27][29] Emperor Kangxi allowed the import of cheaper Siamese rice into ports of Canton, Amoy and Ningbo, under the guise of tributary submissions, to relieve famines.[27][28] This might partially lead to Emperor Yongzheng lifting the Haijin ban in 1727. This Sino–Siamese commercial-tributary relations generated revenue for Siamese royal court and private merchants alike. In 1730, Prince Phon of the Front Palace discovered an anti-Buddhist Christian catechism composed by French missionary Louis Laneau, resulting in King Thaisa banning Christian proselytizing through Siamese alphabets and conversion of native Siamese people to Christianity.[30] Siamese court erected stone steles at Catholic seminaries at Ayutthaya and Mergui to enforce this edict.
On his deathbed in 1733, King Thaisa gave the throne to his two sons instead of his younger brother Prince Phon, who had been the Wangna and technically heir presumptive, resulting in a civil war in Ayutthaya between the uncle and his nephews.[16]: 110 Prince Phon initially suffered setbacks to the verge of defeat but his subordinate Khun Chamnan volunteered to rally against the enemies in last resort.[16]: 110 Khun Chamnan valiantly marched against the two princes and miraculously prevailed. Two sons of Thaisa, claimants to the throne, were captured and executed. Prince Phon ascended the Siamese throne as King Borommakot in 1733.[26] Borommakot rewarded his meritorious subject Khun Chamnan with title Chaophraya Chamnan Borirak and position of Phrakhlang or trade minister[16]: 111 [27] as de facto Prime Minister of Siam with immense powers. Borommakot attempted to solve the chronic problem of princely conflicts by creation of Krom or manpower regiment assigned to each prince as the method to control manpower allocation among the princes.[26] Conscripted commoner males preferred to become Phrai Som (princely servants) in the Kroms instead of Phrai Luang (direct royal servants), who were subjected to more labor tasks.[23] Moreover, Sino–Siamese rice trade continued to expand, leading to growth of export-oriented private rice plantations. These proto-middle class Siamese people, who had enriched themselves from trades, avoided royal conscriptions to partake in more profitable activities. Phrai Luang – effective available manpower – was reduced in numbers.[23] Long hiatus from external threats and manpower shortage crippled Siamese defense system.[31] In 1742, Siamese court issued a campaign to round up ten thousands of conscription evaders.[16]: 114
The reign of King Borommakot coincided with last years of Burmese Toungoo dynasty. In 1742, Burmese governors of Martaban and Tavoy fled the Mon insurrection to seek shelter in Ayutthaya.[23] These Burmese governors told Borommakot, in derogatory words, that Smim Htaw the King of Hanthawaddy was of 'lowborn' Gwe Shan origin.[24] Burmese king Damayaza sent envoys to Ayutthaya in 1744,[14] asking for the return of the two Burmese governors. Borommakot responded by sending a diplomatic mission to Ava in 1745[14] to repatriate the Burmese governors. Siamese envoys declared open support to Burma in this Burmese–Mon conflict.[23] Siam considered the rising Mon kingdom in nearer Lower Burma to be a greater threat than crumbling Ava Kingdom in farther Upper Burma.[24][23] Smim Htaw attempted to normalize relations with Siam by sending a request for one of any daughters of Borommakot to marry in 1745. Borommakot, however, was greatly offended by this request as he considered Smim Htaw to be a 'forest-dweller'[24] aspiring to become royalty.
In 1746, Smim Htaw was dethroned by his chancellor Binnya Dala and ended up taking refuge in Ayutthaya in 1747.[24] The Siamese king imprisoned Smim Htaw for his previous offense of asking for Siamese princess for marriage. Binnya Ran, a Mon military man loyal to Smim Htaw, also sought shelter in Siam with 400 Mon people. Borommakot granted Phosamton rice fields north of Ayutthaya[32] (modern Bang Pahan district) for the Mon refugees to settle. Binnya Dala sent emissaries to Ayutthaya in 1748, coming for Smim Htaw and urging Borommakot not to shelter his nemesis. Borommakot, not wanting to send Smim Htaw to his doom, instead sent Smim Htaw off to China[24] on a Chinese junk. Smim Htaw, however, managed to disembark somewhere in Vietnam and made his journey to Chiang Mai in 1749, joining his wife there. In 1750, Smim Htaw asked his father-in-law King of Chiang Mai for Lanna forces to reclaim his Hanthawaddy kingdom but was refused.[24] Perhaps hearing about this, Binnya Ran stole Siamese firearms and gathered some Mon men, taking off to the west in 1750 to support Smim Htaw but was intercepted and captured by Siamese authorities. Borommakot then considered Binnya Ran a rebel and had him executed along with his Mon followers.
Rise of Konbaung dynasty edit
Aung Zeiya was born in 1716 at Moksobo village to the northwest of Burmese capital of Ava – the area that had been subjected to frequent Manipuri raids. He grew up to become the Myothugyi or village headman of Moksobo. When the Mons besieged Ava in early 1752, Aung Zeiya had been the governor and tax collector of forty villages under his jurisdiction.[13]: 150 [33] Upayaza the Mon commander demanded submission from local Burmese leaders in Upper Burma. Aung Zeiya and his retinue was one of many communities in Upper Burma that stayed defiant to the Mon conquerors. In February 1752, about one month before the eventual fall of Ava, Aung Zeiya declared himself Alaungpaya or Future Buddha Bodhisattava, becoming a Minlaung[33] or royal claimant and founding the Konbaung dynasty. Ava fell to the Mons in March 1752. Upayaza was more concerned of possible Siamese attacks from Tenasserim so, after the conquest of Ava, Upayaza ordered all of the Mon forces to return to Pegu in Lower Burma, leaving some forces under Talaban to occupy Ava.[14] This redeployment of Hanthawaddy troops proved a critical turning point in Burmese history as it gave nascent Upper Burmese resistance groups much needed breathing room. The Hanthawaddy command left less than 10,000 men to pacify all of Upper Burma.[34] Historians call the redeployment premature, pointing out that the Siamese threat was never as grave as any counterforce that could rise from Upper Burma, the traditional home of political power in Burma.
Alaungpaya resisted and killed Mon officials sent to subjugate him in May 1752. In June, Talaban himself led a Mon army to put down this undaunting Burmese resistance but was too defeated.[13]: 152 Pegu's inattention to Upper Burma allowed Alaungpaya time to subjugate petty regimes and unify Upper Burma under his rule. Alaungpaya renamed his village Shwebo with the official gilded name of Yadana Theingka (Rattana Singha), digging moats and erecting walls, transforming his village into a royal capital and citadel in June 1753.[35] In late 1753, Alaungpaya assigned his seventeen-year-old son Prince Thado Minsaw (later King Hsinbyushin) to lay siege on Ava. Thado Minsaw finally took Ava in January 1754. Upayaza and Talaban arrived from Hanthawaddy in attempts to reconquer Ava but was repelled.[13]: 154 Alaungpaya expelled Talaban from Prome in 1755.[13]: 155 Merely three years after the Mon conquest of Ava in 1752, the Mons lost their grounds in Burma to this vehement Burmese resurgence.
After taking control of all Upper Burma down to Prome, Alaungpaya made rapid concentrated offensives on Lower Burma. Alaungpaya, however, soon realized that he had one disadvantage. The Mons had signed a treaty with French representative Sieur de Bruno in 1751, allowing the French to establish themselves in Syriam and exchange for supplying Hanthawaddy with European firearms.[15] In order to beat Pegu, Alaungpaya also had to acquire European weapons. Upon attacking Dagon in 1755, Alaungpaya request supply of firearms from the British at Negrais[33] (modern Hainggyi at the mouth of Pathein River). British response to Alaungpaya's request took long time and Alaungpaya conquered Dagon first in mid-1755, renaming the city 'Rangoon' ("End of Strife"). Alaungpaya proceeded to attack Syriam, which was a difficult one because both the British and the French had been residing in the city and providing the defenses. As the British learnt that the French had strong supports to Pegu, just before the Seven Years' War, they decided to declare support for Alaungpaya[33] to counter the French. Alaungpaya, however, was suspicious and angry at the British when he learned that a British warship Arcot fought for the Mons at Syriam.[33] In late 1755, contemplating northern attacks from either Manipur or the Shans in his rear, Alaungpaya left his besieging forces at Syriam with himself personally went north to Ava and sent Burmese forces to attack Manipur. The Burmese attacked and plundered Manipur in 1755, leaving so much damages that the event was called 'First Devastation' (Koolthakahalba) in Manipuri history.[22]
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Alaungpaya personally returned to Syriam front in early 1756. The siege of Syriam took eleven months. Sieur de Bruno asked for additional French forces from Pondicherry to Syriam. Arrival of French reinforcements would strengthen Syriam defenders. In July 1756, Alaungpaya created the Golden Company of Syriam,[14] consisting of 93 Burmese fighters[14] who would sacrifice their lives to French gunshots as vanguard in order to pave way for Alaungpaya to take Syriam. Alaungpaya finally conquered Syriam on 25 July 1756. Two French reinforcement ships arrived only three days late.[14] Alaungpaya tortured Sieur de Bruno and forced the French headman to write a letter to lure the arriving French ships to enter Syriam. Unaware that Syriam had fallen, the two French ships arrived, only to be seized by the Burmese. The Burmese seized a great number of French firearms from the ships, including cannons, field guns and muskets – a great haul to Alaungpaya's armory.[14] Sieur de Bruno was executed by fire roasting. Alaungpaya's conquest of Syriam virtually ended French support to Pegu and left the Mons isolated.
Alaungpaya attacked the Mon capital of Pegu in October 1756.[13]: 163 Cornered and desperate, the Hanthawaddy court only sued for peace. Binnya Dala the King of Pegu agreed to send his daughter, whom Talaban had romantic interest on, to become a consort of Alaungpaya.[13]: 164 Binnya Dala's younger brother Upayaza led the Hanthawaddy princess to visit Alaungpaya at his camps, where Alaungpaya held Upayaza hostage. The Mons were initially satisfied with this arrangement except for Talaban, who did not acknowledge this decision.[13]: 164 Talaban rode off to fight the Burmese, breaking through the Burmese siege and going to Sittaung,[13]: 164 eventually to Chiang Mai. With the Peguans lured into believing that the truce was genuine, Alaungpaya again resumed attacks on Pegu. The Peguans, then deprived of most of their commanders who had surrendered to Alaungpaya, defended their city in last resort. Alaungpaya eventually conquered Pegu city on 6 May 1757, ending the seventeen-year-old Hanthawaddy Kingdom of the Mons. The royal city of Pegu or Hanthawaddy was utterly destroyed on this occasion. Alaungpaya took Binnya Dala the last King of Pegu, his brother Upayaza, captured Mon people to Rangoon, which became new administrative center of Lower Burma replacing Pegu.[36] Alaungpaya 'commanded' the British to visit him.[33] Thomas Lester, a British delegate from Negrais, went to visit the Burmese king at Myanaung in 1757. Lester was made to crawl on his knees to approach Alaungpaya.[33] Anglo–Burmese Treaty of 1757 was concluded, granting British permission to settle at Negrais and Bassein in exchange for annual British supply of gunpowder to Alaungpaya.[33] Alaungpaya then took Hanthawaddy royals back to his capital at Shwebo.
Internal Conflicts of Ayutthaya edit
Reign of King Borommakot was remembered as a 'golden age' of Ayutthaya. His demise foreshadowed the end of Ayutthaya kingdom itself. When Alaungpaya was consolidating his power in Upper Burma, Borommakot sent a religious mission to restore Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lankan Kingdom of Kandy in 1752–1753.[26] Borommakot had three sons born to his principal queens – Thammathibet, Ekkathat and Uthumphon, they held the superior rank of Kromma Khun. Borommakot made Thammathibet Wangna or Front Palace Prince and heir presumptive in 1741. Chaophraya Chamnan Borirak died in 1753,[27] leaving political vacuum in which competing princes rushed to fill in. Prince Thammathibet initially emerged powerful as he was the royal heir. However, Thammathibet faced opposition from Chao Sam Krom or the Three Princes, who were sons of Borommakot born to secondary consorts. They were Prince Chitsunthorn, Prince Sunthornthep and Prince Sepphakdi. These three princes were ranked inferiorly as Kromma Muen. In 1755, Borommakot appointed new ministers Chaophraya Aphairacha as Samuha Nayok or Prime Minister and Chaophraya Kalahom Khlongklaeb as Minister of Military.
The Three Princes appointed some of their servants to the rank of Khun, surpassing the limit of their own princely ranks as they could only promote their servants to the rank of Muen. Prince Thammathibet took this violation of princely ranks seriously and took matters into his own hands by arresting those servants of the Three Princes to be punished. In April 1756, Prince Sunthornthep, one of the Three Princes, retaliated by telling their father King Borommakot that Thammathibet had been in an adulterous relationship with Princess Sangwan, a princess consort of Borommakot. Thammathibet was arrested and he confessed his crime. Prince Thammathibet was whipped with rattan blows one hundred and eighty times, succumbed to his wounds and died in April 1756.[26] After the death of Prince Thammathibet, the office of Front Palace became vacant.[16]: 115 In March 1757, Prince Kromma Muen Thepphiphit, another son of Borommakot, in concert with other ministers of Chatusadom including the Prime Minister Aphairacha, Kalahom the Minister of Military and Phrakhlang the trade minister, proposed to make Uthumphon the new Wangna. Uthumphon initially refused, saying that he had an elder brother, Ekkathat. However, Borommakot intentionally passed over Ekkathat, citing that Ekkathat was incompetent[26] and sure to bring disaster to kingdom. Uthumphon reluctantly accepted the position and was made Wangna Prince of the Front Palace in 1757. Borommakot also exiled Ekkathat to become a monk at Wat Lamut temple to the northeast of Ayutthaya to keep him from powers.
Borommakot died in April 1758.[16]: 115 Uthumphon faced opposition from the Three Princes, who laid their competing claims to kingship. Ekkathat, who had been Buddhist monk at Wat Lamut temple, returned to Ayutthaya to support Uthumphon. The Three Princes sent their forces to break into the royal armory to seize a large number of guns. With civil war looming, five Buddhist prelates beseeched the Three Princes to cease their belligerent actions. The Three Princes complied with the virtuous monks, went to visit and paid obeisance to the new king Uthumphon. However, Ekkathat secretly ordered policemen to arrest the Three Princes to be executed. Uthumphon took the throne in May 1758[26] but Ekkathat stayed at Suriyat Amarin Palace, not returning to Wat Lamut temple despite being a Buddhist monk to impose pressure on his brother Uthumphon. Uthumphon finally gave in, after merely a month on the throne, by abdicating in favor of his elder brother in June. Uthumphon went to become a monk at Wat Pradu temple, earning him epithet Khun Luang Hawat or the King Who Sought Temple. Ekkathat then ascended the throne as the last king of Ayutthaya in June 1758. Ekkathat brought two ministers Phraya Ratchamontri Pin and Chamuen Si Sorarak Chim, brothers of Ekkathat's favorite consort, to government. Phraya Ratchamontri and Chamuen Si Sorarak wielded immense powers in Siamese royal court, even surpassing those ministers of Chatusadom.
Officials and ministers of royal court were upset and offended by the rule of brothers of Ekkathat's consort. In November 1758, dissatisfying ministers, including Chaophraya Aphairacha the Prime Minister and Phraya Yommaraj the Head of Police Bureau, conspired to overthrow Ekkathat in favor of Uthumphon the temple king, whom they considered more capable of being king. The conspiring ministers approached Prince Thepphiphit, who agreed to take lead. Prince Thepphiphit and the conspirators visited Uthumphon at his temple, informing Uthumphon about the plans. Uthumphon, however, preferred religious life and did not trust the conspirators so Uthumphon went to tell Ekkathat about this seditious plot in exchange for Ekkathat not killing the conspirators. Aphairacha, Yommaraj and other conspirators were arrested, not killed but imprisoned. Prince Thepphiphit fled to the west but was caught. Ekkathat then boarded his half-brother Thepphiphit on a Dutch ship to be deported to Sri Lanka in 1758 for his rebellion attempt.[26] Ekkathat also threatened to execute Phraya Phrakhlang for his unproved implication in the plot. The panicked trade minister gave a large sum of money to the king. Ekkathat then spared Phrakhlang and appointed him Chaophraya Phrakhlang the new Samuha Nayok or Prime Minister, replacing Aphairacha. By 1759, pro-Uthumphon supporters had been purged and expelled from royal court as Ekkathat's allies rose to power.
Tenasserim to 1757 edit
Dawei Yazawin or Tavoy chronicles describes the legendary foundation of Tavoy.[37] Buddha himself visited the Tavoy area in 'legendary' times and the local Nat spirit Durakha gave Buddha a durian fruit.[37] Buddha then gave a prophecy about a prosperous city in the area. Later then the deity Indra sent a female Nat spirit to sire a boy with the hermit Gawinanda.[37] The boy grew up and became King Thamandaraza the first king of Thagara[37] – the ancient town of Tavoy. Thagara, allegedly founded in 754 CE,[38] was to the north of modern Dawei on the west bank of Tavoy River. Mon chronicles state that a certain Burmese King of Pagan Kingdom ventured down south to visit the Tavoy area, where he found abundant durian trees. The Burmese king the founded Tavoy as an entrepot to gather and send durians to the Pagan. Francis Mason, an American missionary who began his works at Tavoy, then under British rule, in 1831, recorded the legendary foundation of Tavoy as follows; In 1204, King Narapatisithu of Pagan traveled south and founded Tavoy.[39] Mason also explained that this was the reason why the Tavoyans spoke a Burmese-related language.
Tavoy then came under the rule of Mon Hanthawaddy Kingdom of Lower Burma. The ruler of Tavoy submitted to King Wareru of the Mons. Tavoy city moved to Weidi[38] in 1390 to the south of modern Dawei on the western bank. Another Tavoyan city called Mokti was founded on the eastern bank.[38] In 1488, King Borommaracha III of Ayutthaya conquered Tavoy for the first time. Tavoy then came under Siamese rule, while Tanintharyi or Tenasserim had been a city under Ayutthaya governance since at least mid-fifteenth century, attested with Tenasserim Inscriptions, in which King Trailoknanat of Ayutthaya appointed governor of Tenasserim in 1462 using Khmer language.[40] Tenasserim appeared in a list of Siamese cities composed in 1455, later then incorporated into the Three Seals Law. In 1531, according to Myeik Yazawin or Mergui chronicles, the ruler of Tenasserim founded the new port-town of Marit or Mergui to replace the former port covered with silts. Mergui then emerged as an important trading port on the Tenasserim Coast on Andaman Sea under jurisdiction of Tenasserim.
Throughout history, both Burma and Siam had claimed the entire Tenasserim coast (present-day Mon State and Tanintharyi Region in Myanmar) and control had changed hands several times. The Burmese Pagan Dynasty controlled the entire coast until 1287. Throughout 14th and 16th centuries, Siamese kingdoms (first Sukhothai, later Ayutthaya) controlled much of the coast, up to just south of present-day Mawlamyaing. In the mid-16th century, the Burmese under Toungoo kings Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung tried to regain the coast, first failing in 1548, and finally succeeding in 1564 when they conquered all of Siam for the first time. The Siamese revolted in 1584, and under their king Naresuan regained the lower coast by 1593 and the entire coast by 1594. The Burmese retook the upper coast down to Tavoy in 1615, but failed to recover the rest.[1]
During this period, Mergui on the Andaman Sea was the primary port of Siam through which its trade with India and the West was conducted.[1] In 1683, King Narai of Siam, at suggestion of his First Minister Constantine Phaulkon, appointed a former British East India Company employee Richard Burnaby to be the governor of Mergui. Burnaby and his harbormaster Samuel White went out of Siamese control in their attempts to establish their own personal dominance over the trades of the Bay of Bengal by building a large fleet and attacking rival merchant ships in 1685. These actions enraged the English East India Company stationed at Madras, leading to the Anglo-Siamese War. East India Company considered its former employees Richard Burnaby and Samuel White to be the troublemakers. The Company then sent some ships to impose naval blockade on Mergui in 1687 and to arrest the two Englishmen. Siamese armies, under the Siamese governor of Tenasserim, responded by attacking, resuming control of Mergui and massacring most of the English residents and arrivals there, including Burnaby. King Narai then made a French militaryman Chevalier de Beauregard the Okphra or governor of Mergui.[41] In 1688, King Narai allowed the French to station their troops in Mergui. However, the Siamese Revolution happened shortly after. Siamese armies expelled the French from Mergui. De Beauregard fled on ships and sailed into the Tavoy River to seek refuge at Tavoy, which had been under Burmese rule. Unfortunately, De Beauregard and other French men were attacked and arrested by Tavoyan authorities. De Beauregard was condemned to slavery by Burmese authorities, deported to Pegu and died shortly after in slavery.[41]
The control of Tenasserim coast in the early 18th century was divided between Burma and Siam, with the Burmese controlling down to Tavoy (Dawei) and the Siamese controlling the rest. This arrangement lasted until 1740 (although the Siamese unsuccessfully tried to take the upper coast in 1662–65). According to Thai version of Mon chronicles, in 1740, the Burmese governor of Martaban named Minye Kyawthu, in regard to restoration of Mon Hanthawaddy Kingdom, was fearful that the Mon inhabitants of his city would also rise up so he decided to abandon his city and fled to take refuge at Tavoy. The newly-established Hanthawaddy court then ordered Minye Kyawthu the governor of Martaban to submit. Minye Kyawthu, fearing the Mons, decided to gather his family and sought shelter in Siamese-held Tenasserim along with the governor of Tavoy. Phraya Tanaosi the Siamese governor of Tenasserim sent these two Burmese governors along with their families to Ayutthaya in 1742. King Borommakot also commanded Phraya Tanaosi to march Siamese forces to occupy Tavoy. Tavoy then came under Siamese rule temporarily. King Borommakot sent Siamese emissaries to escort the two Burmese governors of Martaban and Tavoy back to Ava in 1745. Siam probably left Tavoy soon after as the Burmese king appointed a new governor of Tavoy named Minnalhla.
When Ava fell to Mon conquerors in 1752, Minnalhla the governor of Tavoy was left isolated, cut off by the Mon Hanthawaddy Kingdom in Lower Burma. Martaban and Tavoy became independent,[23] not even coming under the rule of Hanthawaddy. In 1754, according to Dawei Yazawin, Minnalhla founded the modern town of Dawei,[38] moved to its present location and sent a letter to the British asking for support. With Alaungpaya's conquest of Pegu in 1757, Alaungpaya acquired Martaban. In the Anglo–Burmese Treaty of 1757, it was stated that the British should not help the "King of Tavoy" against Alaungpaya, meaning that, by 1757 and after, Tavoy was still independent and a formidable rival to Alaungpaya himself.
Mon Rebellion of 1758 edit
After Alaungpaya had taken Rangoon in mid-1755, he proceeded to attack and lay siege on Syriam where both the British and the French had been residing. British ships in Syriam showed allegiance to Alaungpaya by leaving Syriam to join Alaungpaya at Rangoon.[42] Robert Jackson, captain of the British ship Arcot, was reluctant to take Alaungpaya's side along with his fellow British men. Jackson did not personally visit Alaungpaya but rather sent his delegate John Whitehill on a mission to visit Alaungpaya. Alaungpaya commanded the British to hand over their muskets and weapons to him. Captain Jackson of Arcot ship refused to comply. Then Alaungpaya had to personally leave Rangoon for his northern campaigns in late 1755. The French and the Mons at Syriam took this opportunity to sail their fleet to attack the Burmese at Rangoon. Captain Jackson decided to join the French–Mon side with his ship Arcot to attack the Burmese.[42] When Alaungpaya returned to Rangoon in early 1756, Alaungpaya was furious at defection of British ship Arcot and put his grievances on Whitehill, whom he had met in person.
Gharib Niwaz the great king of Manipur abdicated in favor of his son Chitsai in 1749 but was exiled by his own son the new king and ended up seeking shelter in Burmese capital of Ava.[25] When Ava fell to the Mons in 1752, Gharib Niwaz attempted to return to Manipur but King Chitsai, who feared that his father Gharib Niwaz might put his son and preferred heir Shyam Shai on the throne, sent his agents to assassinate Gharib Niwaz and Shyam Shai on their way.[43] Death of Gharib Niwaz marked the downturn of Manipur, which would be plunged into dynastic conflicts. In 1752, Chitsai was overthrown by Bharatsai, another son of Gharib Niwaz.[43] Next year, in 1753, Bharatsai was overthrown and Gaurisiam, son of Shyam Shai and grandson of Gharib Niwaz, was made new King of Manipur.[43] After his victorious conquest of Hanthawaddy in 1757, Alaungpaya embarked on another grand campaign to conquer Manipur in late 1758, declaring to avenge for Gharib Niwaz's treacherous death and to convert Manipur to Theravada Buddhism. Alaungpaya himself led the Burmese forces to enter Manipur through the Aimol Pass,[22] defeating Manipuri prince Bhagyachandra, brother of Gaurisiam, at Pallel.[22] King Gaurisiam of Manipur, along with his Manipuri people, fled into the jungles[22] to escape the invading Burmese. When Alaungpaya entered Imphal the Manipuri capital in November 1758, he found the city to be virtually abandoned and deserted.[22]
In late 1758, the Mons in Lower Burma rose in rebellion, seizing control of Rangoon and Pegu. Nemyo Nawrahta, the Burmese governor of Pegu, was defeated and pushed back to Hinthada. Alaungpaya and Burmese conquerors occupied Imphal the Manipuri capital for nine days[22] in November 1758 until when Alaungpaya heard of Mon insurrection in Lower Burma so Alaungpaya decided to abandon his Manipur campaign to return to Burma. Nemyo Nawrahta managed to retake Rangoon and disperse the Mon rebellion in 1759. A group of Mon rebels boarded on a French ship at Syriam and fled to take refuge at the Siamese port of Mergui.[35] When Alaungpaya returned to Shwebo in February 1759, he learnt that the Mon rebellion had been pacified. At the advent of Seven Years' War, George Pigot the British governor of Madras decided to evacuate British forces from Negrais in order to be redeployed to fight the French in India.[42] Most of the British forces left Negrais in April 1759, leaving only a small contingent to guard a British warehouse there.
In July 1759, King Alaungpaya of Burma marched his Burmese–Shan armies of 60,000 men from Shwebo down south in pilgrimage to make merits at Shwedagon Temple at Rangoon in Lower Burma. Meanwhile, John Whitehill arrived at Rangoon on his private trade venture. Unknowing that he had been subjected to the grudges of the Burmese king due to the defection of British ship Arcot four years ago, Whitehill traveled to Prome to visit Alaungpaya where Whitehill was arrested, physically beaten and chained.[42] Whitehill had to pay a large sum of money to bail himself out of the wrath of Burmese king.[42] Gregory the Armenian man and Lavine, a French man who had formerly been a subordinate of De Bruno, told Alaungpaya that the British at Negrais had supported the Mon rebels with weapons and ammunitions. Alaungpaya was then determined to extinguish the British from Burma. Alaungpaya made a Portuguese man Antonio the governor of Bassein and entrusted Antonio to lead a Burmese force to visit the British at Negrais. Antonio visited Negrais on 6 October 1759[42] where he was greeted by Southby the British headman in Negrais. Lavine invited Southby and other Europeans for a dinner. Antonio then shut the doors of dining room and commanded the Burmese soldiers to kill Southby and other Europeans. Ten Europeans and a hundred of Indian sepoys were massacred in this incident. The massacre of the British of Negrais at Burmese hands in October 1759 temporarily ended British presence in Burma and Anglo–Burmese relations was put to halt for four decades until the mission of Michael Symes in 1795.
Cause of the War edit
Chakravartin ideology edit
Alaungpaya had declared himself Future Buddha or Bodhisattava, the savior who would end sufferings of the world and bring forth a new era of happiness. He was also to be the patron, upholder and restorer of Buddhism. During his prolonging siege of Syriam in 1756, Alaungpaya declared that he was assigned a sacred task from Sakra or Thagyamin (syncretization of the Indic deity Indra and the local Burmese Nat spirit, Thagyamin is the head of Nat pantheon) himself to end worldly strives and to create a peaceful world. Alaungpaya declared that the deity Indra had granted him a mighty lance called Arindama[35] ("Tamer of Enemies") to be used against his enemies. In April 1756, Alaungpaya declared "Golden Message from Indra" (Thagya Shwe Pe Hlwa)[35] to the Mons of Hanthawaddy, grandiosely telling that the deity Thagya had sent a message to the Mons that this new Burmese king possessed great merits and was, as prophesized by Buddha himself, destined to rule over China, India, the Shans, the Mons and Siam.[35] The Mons should unconditionally comply to the verdict of the god Indra in order to avoid bloodsheds. This suggested that Alaungpaya embraced the Indic Chakravartin[44] ("Spinner of the Wheel") ideology of Universal Conqueror – the concept that had also been revered by neighboring Theravadin polities including Siam. Chakravartin is the worldly alternative to Bodhisattava.[45] Conquest of Ayutthaya might be a part of his long-term plan towards greatness.
Alaungpaya's pilgrimage to Rangoon edit
After his return to Shwebo from Manipur campaign in February 1759, Alaungpaya took off on his pilgrimage trip, along with his queen, his sons and his family, to Rangoon for dedication of Zayat or pavilion to the sacred Shwedagon Pagoda and for other merit-making activities.[46] For some reasons, Alaungpaya amassed a huge army to go south with him to Rangoon. Alaungpaya might contemplate dangers from Mon rebels[46] in Lower Burma, who had just been pacified or a grand military campaign, such as the conquest of Ayutthaya. Alaungpaya assigned his eldest son Prince Thiri Thudamayaza of Tabayin, who was also the Upayaza or Crown Prince, to take care of the royal capital Shwebo during his absence. Alaungpaya then organized Burmese forces to join his pilgrimage venture to Lower Burma;[46]
- Prince Thiri Damayaza of Myedu, second son of Alaungpaya, future King Hsinbyushin, then twenty-three years old, would lead the vanguard force of 10,000 men.
- Alaungpaya himself would command the main portion of royal armies, composing of 24,000 men, with Minkhaung Nawrahta as his lieutenant.
- The rearguard force of 11,000 men included;
- Prince Thado Minhla Kyaw of Amyint, son of Alaungpaya, sixteen years old, would command a rearguard force of 5,500 men
- Prince Thado Minsaw of Badon, son of Alaungpaya, future King Bodawpaya, then fourteen years old, would command another rearguard force of 5,500 men.
With total number of 44,000 men, the Burmese forces assembled at Kyaukmyaung[46] on the Irrawaddy River to the east of Shwebo. Alaungpaya also levied Shan forces from the Shan states of Hsenwi, Hsawnghsup, Kale, Mongyin, Mogaung, Bhamo, Mongmit, Thibaw, Yaunghwe and Mongnai.[46] The Shan forces numbered to 25,000 men[46] to march down through Toungoo to support Alaungpaya from another direction. These Burmese–Shan regiments took the total number of 69,000 men.
Alaungpaya left Shwebo along with his queen Candadevi and his family to Kyaukmyaung, where the armies were assembled. The royal retinue left Kyaukmyaung on 19 July 1759 (10th waning of Waso, 1121 ME).[46] Alaungpaya stayed at Rangoon and oversaw the construction of three Zayat pavilions and other ornamental structures dedicated to the Shwedagon Pagoda. The pagoda was also re-gilded. A religious ceremony of dedication was publicly performed. Queen Candadevi went to worship the Shwemawdaw Pagoda of Pegu and the Kyaikkhauk Pagoda of Syriam was also worshipped by the royal family.[46]
Siamese support to the Mons edit
Ever since Naresuan declared Siamese independence from Burmese domination in 1548, Siam had provided shelters to Mon refugees who escaped Burmese suppression and persecution from their homeland in Lower Burma. In late sixteenth century, waves of Mon immigrants entered Siam in 1584, 1595 and 1600.[32] King Naresuan provided shelters for these Mon refugees to settle in the vicinity of Ayutthaya. Under Naresuan, Siam militarily supported and encouraged the Mons to insurrect against their overlord – Burma – to reduce Burmese powers and influence in the region. In the seventeenth century, when the Burmese court of Ava under the Toungoo dynasty conscripted the Mons to fight the invading Chinese armies in 1661, the Mons at Martaban rebelled against Burmese rule. King Narai of Ayutthaya sent Siamese armies to invade Tenasserim Coast up to Martaban, taking a large number of Mon people to settle in Samkhok (modern Pathum Thani), Pakkret and Nonthaburi to the south of Ayutthaya in Lower Chaophraya Basin.[32] Even though the Siamese and the Mons differed in their languages, they were united by their common belief in Theravada Buddhism and the prevailing inter-marriage.[32] The Mons were quickly assimilated into mainstream Siamese society and lost their ethnic identity over the course of time.
In the eighteenth century, the first wave of Mon immigrants arrived in Siam in 1746 when Smim Htaw the King of Hanthawaddy was overthrown. Smim Htaw and his loyal followers led by Binnya Ran arrived in Ayutthaya, where King Borommakot granted the Phosamton area to the north of Ayutthaya[32] for Binnya Ran and his Mon followers to reside. Borommakot sent Siamese diplomatic envoys to visit the Burmese court of Ava in 1744–1745[14] to repatriate some Burmese officials and possibly to observe political situation in Burma. After departure of Smim Htaw from Siam in 1748, the Siamese court of Ayutthaya had been largely ignorant and uninterested in the events in Burma. When the new Burmese king Alaungpaya conquered Pegu in 1757, Ayutthaya did not seem to be bothered by this development. In late 1758, the Mons of Lower Burma rebelled but were quickly quelled. Some French and Mon people took a French ship from Rangoon or Syriam and headed towards Pondicherry to seek refuge but the strong winds blown the ship off course to the Siamese port of Mergui.[35] This French ship, however, was arrested and seized by Siamese authorities in Mergui due to violation of some trade agreements. Ekkathat the King of Siam insisted on keeping this ship hostage, in spite of pleas from his ministers who feared that holding this ship would invoke the wrath of the Burmese king.
When Alaungpaya embarked on his pilgrimage journey down south to Rangoon in July 1759, he learnt about the French and the Mons who had fled to Mergui. Alaungpaya made his claims to the ship as his royal ship and sent his delegates to make demands on the Siamese port of Mergui, urging Siam to repatriate the ship along with its crew. Siamese Mergui officials, however, replied that they cannot return the said ship to Burma without authorization from the Siamese king.[35] Ekkathat stood his grounds, insisting on keeping the ship. Later, on 20 September 1759 (15th waning of Tawthalin 1121 ME),[47] Alaungpaya learnt that his royal cargo trading ships were seized by the Siamese in Tavoy[46] and the Siamese had intruded into the territories of Tavoy, which was considered belonging to Burma but, in fact, Tavoy had been still an independent city-state. These Siamese provocations were perceived by Alaungpaya as Siam being in support to the Mon rebels, even though Siam, in the eighteenth century, had never supplied any military forces or weapons to the Mons, just providing shelters to the incoming Mon refugees. Siam was more concerned about its own internal conflict as a rebellion had just been pacified in late 1758, leaving no room to pay attention to external geopolitical dilemma. Alaungpaya had already amassed his huge armies of nearly 70,000 men on his religious trip to Rangoon in mid-1759, apparently for some grand military expeditions. Incensed by Siamese insult to his dignity, King Alaungpaya was opted to initiate a grand campaign to punish Siam.[46] Burmese–Siamese dispute over the French ship at Mergui might serve as a mere casus belli[14] for Alaungpaya to conduct his grand campaign to conquer Siam to further his glories. Ayutthaya, by 1759, was unaware of how strong the new Burmese regime had become.
Casus belli edit
Alaungpaya was concerned by the continuing flow of Mon rebels to the Siamese controlled territories, believing that the Mons would always be plotting to rebel and win back Lower Burma[48](his concern proved justified. The Mons put up several rebellions in 1758, 1762, 1774, 1783, 1792, and 1824–1826. Each failed rebellion was followed by more Mon flight to Siam[49]). Alaungpaya demanded that the Siamese stop their support of the Mon rebels, surrender their leaders, and cease intrusions into the upper coast, which he considered Burmese territory. The Siamese king Ekkathat refused Burmese demands, instead prepared for war.[11]
While historians generally agree that the Siamese support of the Mon rebels and their cross border raids were some of the causes of war, they do not agree on (other) ulterior motives. Some British colonial era historians of Burmese history (Arthur Phayre, G.E. Harvey) outright downplay the aforementioned reasons as "pretexts", and have suggested that the primary cause of the war was Alaungpaya's desire to restore Bayinnaung's empire (which included Siam).[50][51] David Wyatt, a historian of Thai history, acknowledges that Alaungpaya could have feared "Ayutthaya's backing for the revival of the Kingdom of Pegu" but adds that Alaungpaya, "apparently a rather crude country fellow with scant experience of statecraft was simply continuing to do what he early demonstrated he could do best: lead armies to warfare".[52]
But Burmese historian Htin Aung strongly counters that their analyses greatly understate Alaungpaya's genuine concern for his still nascent and unstable rule in Lower Burma, and that Alaungpaya never invaded Arakan as the Arakanese never showed him any hostility, although Sandoway in southern Arakan had sent him tribute in 1755.[11] Historian Thant Myint-U also points out the Siamese longstanding policy of keeping "a buffer against their aged-old enemies the Burmese" has extended down to the modern era where families of insurgent Burmese leaders are allowed to live in Thailand, and insurgent armies are free to buy arms, ammunition, and other supplies.[53]
Later Western historians provide a somewhat more balanced view. D.G.E. Hall writes that the "chronic raiding" by the Siamese and Mon rebels "alone would have provided an adequate casus belli" although he adds "for a monarch unable to settle down to a peaceable existence".[54] David I. Steinberg, et al., concur that the casus belli grew out of a local rebellion in Tavoy in which the Siamese were thought to be involved.[10] More recently, Helen James states that Alaungpaya likely wanted to capture Siam's trans-peninsula trade, while granting that his "subsidiary motivation" was to stop Siamese attacks and Siamese support for the Mons.[6]
Burmese preparation edit
When King Alaungpaya of Burma decided to conduct his grand campaign to conquer Ayutthaya in late 1759, he was dissuaded by his court astrologers who pointed out that, according to their horoscopic calculations, this campaign would be inauspicious and illnesses might take over the king.[46] Alaungpaya apparently did not listen to these soothsayers and went on to assemble his armies for the invasion of Siam. Alaungpaya commanded his two sons; Prince Amyint and Prince Badon, who had been in charge of the rearguard forces, to march back to accompany the queen and the rest of Burmese royal family to return to Shwebo,[46] while Alaungpaya himself and his second son the Myedu Prince (later King Hsinbyushin) would go on to invade Siam. The Burmese then began to assemble their invasion force, starting during their new year celebrations in April 1759, gathering troops from all over Upper Burma, including from recently conquered northern Shan States and Manipur. By late 1759, Alaungpaya had massed a force of 40 regiments (40,000 men including 3,000 cavalry) at Yangon. Of the 3,000 cavalry, 2,000 were Manipuri "Cassay Horse", who had just been press-ganged into Alaungpaya's service after the Burmese conquest of Manipur in 1758.[55]
Alaungpaya was to lead the invasion personally, and his second son Hsinbyushin was his second-in-command. His first son Naungdawgyi was left to administer the country. Also in his service were his top generals including the likes of Minkhaung Nawrahta who like all Burmese leadership had plenty of military experience. Some in the court urged him to stay behind and allow Hsinbyushin to lead the operation but the king refused.[56]
In September 1759, King Alaungpaya at Rangoon initiated his plans for the conquests of Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai and Lamphun. He assigned the vanguard forces;[35]
- under Minhla Yaza, who commanded a vanguard force of 1,000 men and would left Rangoon first for Martaban in November 1759.
- under Sithu Nawrahta and Thohanbwa the Shan saopha of Yaw, who commanded a vanguard force of 1,000 men, would follow Minhla Raya to leave Rangoon for Martaban.
- Alaungpaya himself would march his main royal armies to leave Rangoon for Martaban in early December 1759.
During Alaungpaya's stay at Rangoon for his preparation of Burmese armies to invade Siam, he sent a Portuguese man named Antonio under his service to bring Burmese forces to massacre the British at Negrais in October 1759. In December, Alaungpaya sent commands to Daw Zweyaset the Mon governor of Martaban to assemble the Mon forces and to gather food resources for the upcoming invasion of Ayutthaya.[35] The Burmese assembled a fleet of 300 ships to transport a portion of their troops directly to the Tenasserim coast.[55] As Alaungpaya had ended his relations with the British in the aftermath of the Negrais incident, he saw the French as the new source of European firearms.[35] In December 1759, Alaungpaya dispatched a royal letter to Thomas Arthur, comte de Lally the governor of Pondicherry, urging the French to resume trade relations with Burma. However, both Lally and Pondicherry itself were in an intense warfare with the British so they did not respond to the Burmese king's request.
Burmese conquest of Tenasserim Coast edit
Burmese conquest of Tavoy edit
Alaungpaya was late on his schedule to conquer Ayutthaya.[35] On 21 December 1759 (3rd waxing of Pyatho 1121 ME),[46] Alaungpaya, along with his second son Prince Myedu (future King Hsinbyushin), left Rangoon with his invasion army, numbering 46,000 infantrymen and 3,500 cavalry (Thai sources gave the number of 30,000.) for Martaban. Alaungpaya sailed his riverine fleet from Rangoon to Hanthawaddy or Pegu the former Mon royal capital through the Bago River. The royal riverine retinue then disembarked at Pegu, going on foot to Martaban, crossing the Sittaung River at Sittaung. At Martaban, a suspicion was raised about Daw Zweyaset, a Mon official whom Alaungpaya had appointed as the governor of Martaban when Alaungpaya took over that city previously in 1757, being in seditious cooperation with Talaban – the former military general of Pegu who had escaped the Burmese conquest. Talaban, after his breaking through of the Burmese siege of Pegu in 1757, went to seek shelter at Lanna Chiang Mai. Talaban later then returned to make his stand at Kawgun[35] (in modern Hpa-An, Kayin State) upstream from Martaban along the Salween River. Alaungpaya found Daw Zweyaset to be guilty of his allegations and had him executed.[46] Alaungpaya appointed another Mon official named Daw Talut to be the new governor of Martaban.[46]
The Burmese armies gathered in Martaban in December 1759. At Martaban, instead of taking the usual route via the Three Pagodas Pass, Alaungpaya invaded south because he had to subjugate the independent Tavoy first. Alaungpaya made claims that Tavoy had rebelled against him.[35] He sent his son Hsinbyushin to lead the vanguard of six regiments (5,000 men, 500 horses) to Tavoy.[57] Minhla Yaza, Sithu Nawrahta and Thohanbwa of Yaw led the vanguard force of 2,000 to successfully take Tavoy.[35] After being an independent city-state for seven years from 1752, Tavoy easily fell to the Burmese in December 1759 or January 1760. The ruler of Tavoy, given his uncertain allegiance situating between the two powers, was executed. A number of Tavoyan people fled the Burmese conquest to Siamese towns of Mergui and Tenasserim. Alaungpaya was informed of Burmese victory over Tavoy on January 4. The Burmese army paused for three days for the rest of army to arrive by land and by sea. Alaungpaya also declared Minhla Yaza to be the sole top commander of the vanguard.[35]
Siamese preparation edit
On 15 January 1760, Alaungpaya dispatched two messengers to deliver his demands to the Siamese authorities at Tenasserim, demanding the Siamese king to return his sojourned French ship at Mergui and its crew and also to return the Tavoyan war refugees to him.[35] The Siamese were unresponsive at best. Alaungpaya pressed his demands again on January 19 but to no avail. Running out of his patience, Alaungpaya finally decided to invade Siamese territories.
Siamese authorities in Tenasserim reported the development to the royal court of Ayutthaya, reporting that "A certain Burmese King named Manglong (possibly from Minlaung) has marched his army of about 30,000 men to successfully conquer Thawai (Tavoy) and now he is going to attack Marit (Mergui)." Ekkathat was panicked. Late Ayutthaya, unlike later early Bangkok, had not yet maintained an intelligence system manned by the Mons and the Karens on the borders. Siamese intelligence system was inaccurate. The Siamese king was falsely informed that the Burmese came in three directions; through the Singkhon Pass, the Three Pagodas Pass and from Chiang Mai. In fact, however, the Burmese only came through the Singkhon Pass. King Ekkathat of Ayutthaya then organized the "first phase" of Siamese defense against the Burmese offensives. He sent 8,000 men to the north, 10,000 men to the Three Pagodas and 14,000 men to Mergui. When it was later became clear that the Burmese only invade through Singkhon, Ekkathat focused his manpower allocation onto that front;
- Division of Phraya Yommaraj; As Phraya Yommaraj the Head of Police Bureau had been imprisoned for his rebellion attempt previously in 1758, Ekkathat appointed Phraya Inthrabodi to be the new Phraya Yommaraj. The new Phraya Yommaraj was assigned the command of a force of 3,000 men with Phraya Phetchaburi Rueang the governor of Phetchaburi as his vanguard commander.
- Division of Phraya Rattanathibet; Phraya Rattanathibet the Minister of Palace Affairs was assigned to command the force of 2,000 men with Phraya Siharaj Decho and Phraya Ratchawangsan, who was the commander of Krom Asa Cham or Malay mercenary regiment, as his vanguard commanders. Khun Rong Palat Chu, a minor official from Wiset Chaichan, also volunteered to fight the Burmese so he, along with his 400 Phrai commoner followers, was levied into this regiment.
Burmese capture of Mergui and Tenasserim edit
After the rest of the Burmese army had arrived, Alaungpaya's army; 5,000 men under the Myedu Prince and 3,000 men under Minkhaung Nawrahta, marched and besieged Mergui, with Alaungpaya's main armies closely following behind.[46] The vastly outnumbered Siamese garrison of 7,000 infantrymen and 300 cavalry was easily overran by the Burmese army. Minhla Yaza the Burmese vanguard commander took Mergui in early February 1760.[35] Siamese town of Tenasserim, which held authorities over Mergui, was within two-day-march distance. These two Siamese towns offered little resistance.[46] In less than two weeks of the war, the Burmese had captured both Mergui and the town of Tenasserim, and controlled the entire Tennaserim coast.[57] Siamese officials from Mergui and Tenasserim simply fled to Inner Siam, going through the Singkhon Pass.
Battle of Singkhon Pass edit
Alaungpaya's declaration of war edit
In February 1760, after winning over the entire Tenasserim coast, Alaungpaya made his mind to continue his offensive campaign in Siam. On 20 February 1760, Alaungpaya, who had been staying at Tavoy, declared his intention to invade Ayutthaya to the Siamese king Ekkathat;[35]
To King of Dvaravati (Ayutthaya), the original reason of King Alaungmintara's visit to Rangoon was to make merits on the Thein Gottaya Hill. A casual inspection at the port was made and the King was reported that one of the ships was stolen and taken to Mergui. Delegates were sent to bring the ship back but they could not because the officers at Mergui would not return the ship without specific permission from Siamese king. Meanwhile, there was a rebellion in Tavoy. It was suppressed and the leader of the rebellion was executed. Many people of Tavoy were frightened and fled to Mergui and Tenasserim. A demand was made for their repatriation. Officers there simply ignored this demand. The King's men went to Mergui and Tenasserim. The stolen ship was not found there. The King also followed them and is now approaching Dvaravati. Alaungmintara expected to meet the Siamese king before reaching Dvaravati.
Perhaps learning about political conflicts in Ayutthaya, Alaungpaya enacted further ruses to Ekkathat;[35]
Dvaravati king does not observe the ten kingly virtues. He had misconducted in his dealings, both with his relatives and his ministers. Alaungmintara, who is a Bodhisattava with no equals in Jambudvīpa (India, in this context, Southeast Asia), had decided to teach Dvaravati king the way of being a virtuous king. He should come and sit at the foot of Lord Bodhisattava to learn his lessons.
Battle of Singkhon Pass (March 1760) edit
Ayutthayan armies arrived too late to rescue Mergui and Tenasserim so they took defensive positions;
- Phraya Yommaraj and his regiments took position at the Singkhon Pass, which was a narrow valley passageway cutting through the Tenasserim Hills – a major entry point for the incoming Burmese between modern Mawdaung and Theinkun.
- Phraya Rattanathibet and his regiments took position at Kuiburi.
Upon learning about Burmese invasion, Ekkathat ordered all of the city governors to b ring their local forces to defend Ayutthaya. This over-centralized defense strategy was characteristic of the reign of Ekkathat. Peripheral governors were obliged to abandon their cities to bring their forces to Ayutthaya, leaving their cities and towns defenseless to the mercy of Burmese invaders. Ekkathat also encouraged Siamese people in outlying towns to take refuge in the jungles in order to avoid being captured by the Burmese.
King Alaungpaya moved from Tavoy to Tenasserim. The Burmese began their offensives into the Singkhon Pass in early March 1760 and five days later they met the Siamese defending forces. Phraya Yommaraj sent his armies under Phraya Siharaj Decho (Bya Tezaw in Burmese)[46] and Phraya Ratchawangsan (Aukbya Yazawunthan in Burmese)[46] the vanguard commanders to face the Burmese, leading to the Battle of Singkhon Pass in early March 1760. This was the first confrontation between regular troops of Burma and Siam in about a century. Thai chronicles gave the number of 15,000 men for the Siamese army. Burmese chronicles, however, gave an astonishing number of 27,000 Siamese men.[46] Pierre Brigot, the Apostolic Vicar of Siam residing in Ayutthaya, writing after the war, gave the number of 15,000 Siamese men in this battle.
The battle result was an absolute victory for the Burmese. Minkhaung Nawrahta, along with his subordinate commander Minhla Yaza, led his Burmese armies of 20,000 Burmese men (number given by Thai sources) to inflict heavy defeat on the Siamese defending armies of Phraya Yommaraj at the Singkhon Pass. The Siamese defeat obliged Phraya Yommaraj to retreat, allowing the Burmese to pass through the Singkhon Pass, entering the Gulf of Siam front.
Gulf of Siam campaign edit
Capture of Kuiburi edit
Knowing that the main Siamese armies would be moving to their south to meet his armies, Alaungpaya did not pause. The Burmese troops quickly moved eastward, crossed over the Tenasserim Hills, and reached present-day Prachuap Khiri Khan Province on the shore of the Gulf of Siam.[58] The southern flank was defended by a Siamese army of 20,000 infantrymen, 1,000 cavalry and 200 elephants, in addition to the 7,000-strong Siamese army that retreated from Tenasserim.[59] Likewise, because of the minimal Siamese resistance in the coast, the 40,000-strong Burmese army was still largely intact although the invasion army was hemmed in the narrow strip of coastline by the Gulf of Siam. The Siamese defenses met the invading force outside Kui Buri but were defeated and forced to retreat.
Capture of Pranburi edit
After defeating the Siamese army at Kui Buri, the Burmese marched 40 km and faced another army at Pranburi. The Burmese won the battle and took the city. After capturing Pranburi, the Burmese encountered much stiffer Siamese resistance.
Siamese reinforcements edit
Seeing the success of the Burmese invasion, Ekkathat reinforced the front with a land and naval force consisting of 60,000 men with 4,000 guns. The guns in the land force were mounted on carriages and elephants while those in the naval force were placed on war boats.[7] Over the next two months (February and March 1760), battle-hardened Burmese forces overcame several spirited Siamese stands, and took Phetchaburi and Ratchaburi.[6][59]
Mainland Siam campaign edit
Battle of Suphan Buri edit
By capturing Ratchaburi, the Burmese had now fought their way out of the narrow Kra Isthmus and made it to mainland Siam by late March 1760 (early Tagu 1121 ME). As the Burmese forces marched towards Ayutthaya, a Siamese force of 30,000 infantrymen and 3,000 cavalry was sent to halt the Burmese army from crossing the Tha Chin River in Suphan Buri. The Burmese launched a three pronged attack (led by Hsinbyushin in the center flanked by generals Minkhaung Nawrahta and Minhla Thiri) on heavily fortified Siamese positions around the city. The Burmese took heavy losses but ultimately prevailed, taking five senior Siamese commanders and their war elephants.[6][60]
Siege of Ayutthaya (1760) edit
Despite heavy losses at Suphan Buri, the Burmese army had to march on towards Ayutthaya. They could not rest since the monsoon season was a little over a month away. As Ayutthaya was surrounded by several rivers, laying siege in the rainy season would have been a daunting task. The whole country would be under several feet of water. Half of the remaining Burmese forces were down with dysentery and Alaungpaya himself was not well.[12]
Nevertheless, the Burmese arrived at the environs of Ayutthaya on 11 April 1760. The Siamese sent a new 15,000-strong army to meet the invaders. But the force, which was probably made up of fresh conscripts, was promptly defeated by the battle-hardened Burmese army, though no longer in full strength. To avoid a long siege, the Burmese king sent envoys into the city, calling upon the Siamese king to surrender, promising that he would not be dethroned. Ekkathat sent envoys of his own to negotiate but found Alaungpaya's terms unacceptable, and negotiations broke down completely.[11] Starting on 14 April, during the Burmese and Siamese new year's celebrations, the Burmese began bombarding the city itself for the next three days.[6]
But the Burmese king's health deteriorated rapidly. He was suffering from either dysentery[11] or scrofula.[6] According to the Siamese sources, he was wounded by the bursting of a shell from a battery whose installation he was personally supervising but the Burmese sources definitely state that he became ill with dysentery. There was no reason for the Burmese chronicles to hide the truth since it is more glorious for a Burmese king to die of wounds received on the battlefield than to die of a common ailment. Moreover, if he had been wounded in the full view of the army, it would have been known to the whole army, creating confusion.[11]
Rearguard edit
The Burmese command kept Alaungpaya's serious illness a secret and ordered a general withdrawal, giving the excuse that the king was indisposed. The king selected the friend of his childhood, Minkhaung Nawrahta, for the signal honor of commanding the rearguard. These were the "pick of the army"—500 cavalry and 6,000 infantrymen, every man of whom had a musket. Minkhaung Nawrahta spread them out and waited. It was two days before the Siamese realized that the main Burmese army had left. The full Siamese force then came out. His men watched the ring closing round them, and fearing to be cut off, pleaded the general to let them fight further back. But he said "Friends, the safety of our Lord the King lies in our keeping. Let us not fight further back lest the sounds of guns break his further sleep." With his leadership, the Burmese forces withdrew in good order, collecting army stragglers along the way.[11][12]
Death of Alaungpaya and end of war edit
Alaungpaya died on 11 May 1760 near Martaban, after being rushed by the advance guard. With his death, the war ended.
Aftermath edit
After Alaungpaya's death, the new Burmese king Naungdawgyi was embroiled in several rebellions, including that of Minkhaung Nawrahta, and could not resume the war.
The war was inconclusive. For all their work, the Burmese gained little of their original objectives. Siam very much remained a thorn to the stability of Burmese peripheral regions. In the following years, Siam continued to provide support to Mon rebels in the south who raised a major rebellion in 1762 as well as those in Lan Na in the north (1761–63). The only lasting territorial gain the Burmese achieved was the upper Tenasserim coast, on which they previously had only a nominal claim (the Siamese retook the lower coast up to Mergui in 1761).[1] Although the Siamese troops no longer openly intruded the border, the Mon rebels continued to operate from the Siamese territory. In 1764, the Mon governor of Tavoy, who was made governor by Alaungpaya only four years earlier, revolted until it was put down in November 1764. Likewise, the instabilities in Lan Na resumed soon after the Burmese army left in February 1764, forcing the army to return again later in the year.[61] The inconclusive nature of the war would lead to the next war in 1765.
Analysis edit
The Burmese success in getting to Ayutthaya is generally attributed to their strategy of going around the established Siamese defenses along the traditional invasion routes.[54] But it is not clear it was the main reason for their success. While the Burmese made the right decision to first attack a lightly defended Tenasserim coast (only 7,000 troops), once they had crossed over to the side of Gulf of Siam, they faced increasingly stiff Siamese resistance. Though the Siamese were initially surprised by the Burmese attack route, they readjusted, and shifted their main forces south.[7] In fact, the latter battles by the Gulf of Siam were costly for the invasion force. The Burmese chronicles report that the Burmese took substantial losses just to break out of the narrow isthmus although they also report that the Siamese also lost more men and ammunition (indeed, the Burmese found the geography of the narrow isthmus so unfavorable to the attacking force that they would revert to attacking Ayutthaya through more direct routes in their next invasion in 1765).
A more likely reason for Burmese success could be that the Burmese, who had been fighting successive wars since 1740, were much more battle-hardened. Their military leaders were all "self-made military men",[62] all of whom had substantial military experience under their belt. On the other hand, it is not clear how much military experience the Siamese leaders or their soldiers had since Siam had been at peace for a long time. The Siamese king had to ask his brother to disrobe to lead the war. The lack of military experience of the Siamese command, probably explains why the Siamese defenses despite having geographic defensive advantages and numerical superiority still lost to a smaller, partial-strength Burmese army along the Gulf of Siam, as well as at Suphanburi and outside Ayutthaya. Likewise, without good leadership, the use of foreign mercenaries did not appear to have made a noticeable difference (the Burmese burned ships manned by foreign mercenaries).[58]
History shows that leadership mattered when most soldiers on both sides were conscripts. The same Siamese conscripts under more capable leaders in another ten years would prove as formidable as any in mainland Southeast Asia, and go on to redress their "historical military inferiority to Burma".[63]
Significance edit
The war marked the resumption of warfare between the two kingdoms that had been dormant since 1665. The inconclusive nature of this war would lead to more wars that would go on until 1854. From a geopolitical standpoint, Burma now had a firmer, though still by no means complete, hold on the upper Tenasserim coast. Still, the southward shift of the line of control was strategically important. The Burmese would launch their next invasion from Tavoy in 1765 and not Martaban as was the case in 1759.
Notes edit
- ^ a b c d James, SEA encyclopedia, pp. 1318–1319
- ^ Harvey, p. 334
- ^ Kyaw Thet, p. 290
- ^ Letwe Nawrahta, p. 142
- ^ Harvey, p. 246
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j James, SEA encyclopedia, p. 302
- ^ a b c Tarling, p. 38
- ^ Baker, et al, p. 21
- ^ James, Fall of Ayutthaya: Reassessment, p. 75
- ^ a b Steinberg, p. 102
- ^ a b c d e f g Htin Aung, pp. 169–170
- ^ a b c Harvey, p. 242
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Phayre, Sir Arthur Purves (1883). History of Burma. Trübner & Company.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Harvey, G.E. (1983). History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824 The Beginning of the English Conquest. Taylor & Francis (published 2019).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j South, Ashley (2013). Mon Nationalism and Civil War in Burma: The Golden Sheldrake. Taylor & Francis.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wyatt, David K. (2003). Thailand: A Short History (2nd ed.). Silkworm Books.
- ^ Swope, Kenneth (2018). On the Trail of the Yellow Tiger: War, Trauma, and Social Dislocation in Southwest China During the Ming-Qing Transition. Nebraska.
- ^ Dhammasami, Khammai (2018). Buddhism, Education and Politics in Burma and Thailand: From the Seventeenth Century to the Present. Bloomsbury Publishing.
- ^ a b Singha, Memchaton (2016). "Marriage Diplomacy Between the States of Manipur and Burma, 18th to 19Th Centuries". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 77: 874–879. JSTOR 26552717.
- ^ Kshetri, Rajendra (2006). The Emergence of Meetei Nationalism: A Study of Two Movements Among the Meeteis. Mittal Publications.
- ^ Andaya, Barbara Watson; Andaya, Leonard Y. (2015). A History of Early Modern Southeast Asia, 1400-1830. Cambridge University Press.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Moyon, Koningthung Ngoru (2023). The Lost Kingdom of Moyon (Bujuur) Iruwng (King) Kuurkam Ngoruw Moyon & The People of Manipur. Shashwat Publication.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lieberman, Victor B. (2014). Burmese Administrative Cycles: Anarchy and Conquest, C. 1580-1760. Princeton University Press.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Brailey, Nigel J. (1970). "A Re-Investigation of the Gwe of Eighteenth Century Burma". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 1 (2): 33–47. doi:10.1017/S0022463400020233. JSTOR 20069871. S2CID 162921874.
- ^ a b c d e f Raj Kumar Somorjit Sana (2010). The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs From 1666 CE to 1850 CE. Waikhom Ananda Meetei.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ruangsilp, Bhawan (2007). Dutch East India Company Merchants at the Court of Ayutthaya: Dutch Perceptions of the Thai Kingdom, C.1604-1765. Brill.
- ^ a b c d e f Blussé, Leonard; Gaastra, Femme S (2016). On the Eighteenth Century as a Category of Asian History. Taylor & Francis.
- ^ a b Kwee, Hui Kian (2005). The Political Economy of Java's Northeast Coast, C. 1740-1800. Brill.
- ^ Latham, A.J.H.; Kawakatsu, Heita (2009). Intra-Asian Trade and Industrialization: Essays in Memory of Yasukichi Yasuba. Taylor & Francis.
- ^ Chaiwan, Saad (1984). "A Study of Christian Mission in Thailand". East Asia Journal of Theology.
- ^ Watson, Noelle; Schellinger, Paul; Ring, Trudy (2012). Asia and Oceania: International Dictionary of Historic Places. Taylor & Francis.
- ^ a b c d e Van Roy, Edward (2010). "Safe Haven: Mon Refugees at the Capitals of Siam from the 1500s to the 1800s" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society. 98.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Hall, D. G. E. (2013). Burma. Read Books Limited.
- ^ Phayre, pp. 150–151
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Than Tun (1985). The Royal Orders of Burma A.D. 1598 - 1885; Part Three, A.D. 1751 - 1781. Kyoto: The Center of Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University.
- ^ Topich, William J.; Leitich, Keith A. (2013). The History of Myanmar. ABC-CLIO.
- ^ a b c d Moore, Elizabeth (2013). "The sacred geography of Dawei: Buddhism in peninsular Myanmar (Burma)" (PDF). Contemporary Buddhism. 14 (2): 298–319. doi:10.1080/14639947.2013.832084. S2CID 43986553.
- ^ a b c d Moore, Elizabeth (June 2011). "Dawei Buddhist culture: a hybrid borderland" (PDF). Myanmar Historical Research Journal. 21.
- ^ Mason, Francis (1860). Burmah, Its People and Natural Productions. T.S. Ranney.
- ^ Vickery, Michael (1973). "The Khmer Inscriptions of Tenasserim: A Reinterpretation" (PDF). Journal of Siam Society.
- ^ a b Smithies, Michael (1998). "Young Beauregard (c. 1665-c. 1692): Soldier of Misfortune in Siam". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 8 (2): 229–235. doi:10.1017/S1356186300009998. JSTOR 25183519.
- ^ a b c d e f Hall, D.G.E. (1931). "The Tragedy of Negrais". Journal of the Burma Research Society. 21. American Baptist Mission Press.
- ^ a b c Th Suresh Singh (2014). The Endless Kabaw Valley: British Created Vicious Cycle of Manipur, Burma and India. Quills Ink Publishing.
- ^ Thant Myint-U (2011). The River of Lost Footsteps. Faber & Faber.
- ^ Heine-Geldern, Robert (1942). "Conceptions of State and Kingship in Southeast Asia". The Far Eastern Quarterly. 2 (1): 15–30. doi:10.2307/2049276. hdl:1813/57485. JSTOR 2049276.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Phraison Salarak (Thien Subindu), Luang (1916). Intercourse between Burma and Siam as recorded in Hmannan Yazawindawgyi. Bangkok.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Alaungpaya Ayedawbon, p. 229
- ^ Htin Aung, pp. 167–168
- ^ Lieberman, p. 205
- ^ Harvey, pp. 241, 250
- ^ Phayre, pp. 168–169
- ^ Wyatt, p. 116
- ^ Myint-U, pp. 287, 299
- ^ a b Hall, Chapter X, p. 24
- ^ a b Alaungpaya Ayedawbon, pp. 141–142
- ^ Alaungpaya Ayedawbon, p. 229
- ^ a b Alaungpaya Ayedawbon, pp. 143–145
- ^ a b Harvey, p. 241
- ^ a b Alaungpaya Ayedawbon, pp. 146–147
- ^ Alaungpaya Ayedawbon, pp. 147–148
- ^ Kyaw Thet, p. 300
- ^ Lieberman, p. 185
- ^ Lieberman, p. 216
References edit
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- Baker, Chris, Christopher John Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit (2009). A history of Thailand (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-76768-2.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Hall, D.G.E. (1960). Burma (3rd ed.). Hutchinson University Library. ISBN 978-1-4067-3503-1.
- Harvey, G. E. (1925). History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
- Htin Aung, Maung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press.
- James, Helen (2004). "Burma-Siam Wars and Tenasserim". In Keat Gin Ooi (ed.). Southeast Asia: a historical encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor, Volume 2. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-57607-770-5.
- James, Helen (2000). "The Fall of Ayutthaya: A Reassessment". Journal of Burma Studies. 5: 75–108. doi:10.1353/jbs.2000.0000. S2CID 162368853.
- Kyaw Thet (1962). History of Union of Burma (in Burmese). Yangon: Yangon University Press.
- Letwe Nawrahta and Twinthin Taikwun (c. 1770). Hla Thamein (ed.). Alaungpaya Ayedawbon (in Burmese) (1961 ed.). Ministry of Culture, Union of Burma.
- Lieberman, Victor B. (2003). Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830, volume 1, Integration on the Mainland. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-80496-7.
- Myint-U, Thant (2006). The River of Lost Footsteps--Histories of Burma. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-16342-6.
- Phayre, Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. (1883). History of Burma (1967 ed.). London: Susil Gupta.
- Steinberg, David Joel (1987). David Joel Steinberg (ed.). In Search of South-East Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
- Tarling, Nicholas (2000). The Cambridge History of South-East Asia, Volume 1, Part 2 from c. 1500 to 1800 (reprint ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66370-0.
- Wyatt, David K. (2003). History of Thailand (2 ed.). Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-08475-7.