I.

Introduction

Myanmar or Burma, republic in South East Asia, bordered on the north by China; on the east by China, Laos, and Thailand; on the south by the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal; and on the west by the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, and India. The country was known as Burma until June 19, 1989, when the military government changed its official name to the Union of Myanmar (Myanma Naingngandaw); this name is recognized by the United Nations, but not by all governments and in this article Myanmar is used for post-June-1989 references. The coastal region is known as Lower Myanmar, while the interior region is known as Upper Myanmar. The total area of the country is 676,552 sq km (261,218 sq mi). Rangoon (Yangon) was formerly the capital of Myanmar. In November 2005 the military government relocated the national capital to the central city of Naypyidaw. Rangoon continues to be the largest city of Myanmar.

II.

Land and Resources

A horseshoe-shaped mountain complex and the valley of the Irrawaddy river system are the dominant topographical features of Myanmar. The mountains of the northern margin rise to 5,881 m (19,296 ft) atop Hkakabo Razi, the highest peak in south-eastern Asia. The two other mountain systems have north-south axes. The Arakan Range, with peaks reaching more than 2,700 m (9,000 ft), forms a barrier between Myanmar and the subcontinent of India. The Bilauktaung range, the southern extension of the Shan Plateau, lies along the boundary between south-western Thailand and south-eastern Lower Myanmar. The Shan Plateau, originating in China, has an average elevation of about 910 m (3,000 ft).

Generally narrow and elongated in the interior, the central lowlands attain a width of about 320 km (200 mi) across the Irrawaddy-Sittang delta. The deltaic plains, extremely fertile and economically the most important section of the country, cover an area of about 46,600 sq km (18,000 sq mi). Both the Arakan (in the north-west) and the Tenasserim (in the south-west) coasts of Myanmar are rocky and fringed with islands. The country has a number of excellent natural harbours.

A.

Climate

Most of Myanmar lies within the tropical zone. Myanmar has three seasons: a hot and wet season from mid-May to October, a cooler season from late October to mid-February, and a very hot season from mid-February to early May. During the hot-wet season, the period of the South-West Monsoon, rains usually fall every day and sometimes all day, bringing almost all the annual average of about 5,080 mm (200 in) of rain to Lower Myanmar and about 760 mm (30 in) to Upper Myanmar, while temperatures average around 29° C (85° F) in Mandalay and 27° C (80° F) in Rangoon. In the cooler season, January temperatures average around 20° C (68° F) in Mandalay and 25° C (77° F) in Rangoon. By the end of the hot season, average temperatures have risen to over 37.8° C (100° F) in many parts of Myanmar. Temperatures are generally lower in mountainous regions.

B.

Natural Resources

The most important resources of Myanmar are its soils and forests. Approximately 250 commercially useful kinds of trees are found, 50 of which have been exploited. The principal forest resource is teak, of which the country holds the majority of the world’s remaining supply. Important mineral deposits are oil and natural gas, along with lead, zinc, tin, tungsten, coal, iron ore, copper, and some marble and limestone. Myanmar is an outstanding source of jade and natural rubies.

The richest soils are found in a narrow alluvial strip along the Bay of Bengal, where mountain streams irrigate the land; in the wide river valleys; and in the alluvial deposits of the Irrawaddy delta and valley. These deep deposits form a vast, fertile belt especially suitable for rice cultivation because of the abundant moisture.

C.

Plants and Animals

Forests and woodland cover about half of Myanmar. In the regions of maximum precipitation, the dense tropical forests contain extensive stands of timber and oil-bearing trees, including commercially valuable teak forests. Other trees include rubber, cinchona, acacia, bamboo, ironwood, mangrove, coconut, betel palm, and, chiefly in the northern highlands, oak, pine, and many species of rhododendron. Tropical fruits such as citrus, bananas, mangoes, and guavas grow in the coastal regions. Vegetation in the arid regions is sparse and stunted.

Jungle animals such as the tiger and leopard are common. Among the larger native quadrupeds, found mainly in the highlands of Upper Myanmar, are the elephant, rhinoceros, wild buffalo, wild boar, and several species of deer and antelope. Elephants, tamed or bred in captivity, are used as work animals, particularly in the timber industry. Smaller quadrupeds include the gibbon, several species of monkey, the wildcat, the flying fox, and the tapir. Myanmar has over 1,200 known varieties of birds, including parrots, peafowl, pheasants, crows, and herons. Among typical reptiles are crocodiles, geckos, cobras, pythons, and turtles. Many edible species of freshwater fish are plentiful.

D.

Environmental Concerns

Although rich in natural resources, Myanmar is among the most impoverished countries in Asia. Only 60 per cent (1990-1998 estimate) of Myanmar's citizens have access to safe water, and only 43 per cent (1990-1998 estimate) are served by adequate sanitation systems. Water-borne infectious diseases are a significant health problem throughout Myanmar. Forests cover 41 per cent (1995) of Myanmar, but the country is suffering deforestation at a rate of 1.4 per cent (1990-1996) every year. Most of the world's remaining teak trees are in Myanmar. Teak wood is in high demand worldwide, and in the early 1990s the teak harvest greatly exceeded the sustainable yield. Forests are also being consumed for fuel, with firewood and other traditional fuels representing 64 per cent (1996) of the country's total energy consumption. Only 0.3 per cent (1997) of Myanmar's land is officially protected, although forest reserves extend over 14 per cent of the country. The country is inhabited by 98 (1996) threatened animal species. Myanmar has ratified international agreements on biodiversity, tropical forests, and the ozone layer. The country has also signed treaties limiting nuclear testing and marine pollution.

III.

Population

The indigenous population of Myanmar is essentially Mongoloid. More than two thirds of the people are Burman, racially akin to the Tibetans and the Chinese. In addition, several indigenous minorities with their own languages and cultures also inhabit the country. The most important of these groups are the Karen (8 per cent), Shan (7 per cent), Mon (2 per cent), Chin (2 per cent), and Kachin (2 per cent). Each minority group has its own state. The Karen are in Lower Myanmar. The Shan, a people related to the Thai, live mainly in the hills along the Thai border. The Mon, or Mon-Khmer, the first major ethnic group known to have migrated to the area of what is now Myanmar, live mainly in the delta region and are becoming assimilated with the Burman ethnic majority.

The Chin, who are related to ethnic groups in neighbouring Assam state, India, live in the north-western mountainous region. The Chin live primarily by hunting and fishing. In Chin society, absolute leaders, who are usually also head priests of the traditional religion, rule the groups. The Kachin, a hill people, are concentrated in the far north of the country, along the Chinese border. They are related ethnically to the Chinese. The Kachin are ruled by hereditary leaders. The population of Myanmar also includes large immigrant minorities, notably from India and China.

A.

Population Characteristics

Myanmar has a population of 47,758,181 (2008 estimate). The overall population density is 73 people per sq km (188 per sq mi), one of the lowest in the region. The population is about 69 per cent rural, with almost half the urban population found in the three largest cities: Rangoon, Mandalay, and Moulmein.

B.

Political Divisions

Myanmar is divided into 14 regions: Chin, Kachin, Karen, Kayah, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan, the 7 states of the ethnic minority groups; and Irrawaddy, Magwe, Mandalay, Pegu, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, and Yangon (Rangoon), the 7 administrative divisions of the area occupied by the Burman majority.

C.

Principal Cities

The largest city and principal seaport is Rangoon (also called Yangon), with a population of 3,874,000 (2003 estimate). Mandalay, population 801,707 (2000 estimate), in the centre of the country, is an important trade centre. Other important cities are Moulmein, population 219,961 (1983), on the Gulf of Martaban, and Sittwe, 107,621 (1983), a major seaport on the Bay of Bengal. The country’s political capital is Naypyidaw, in the centre of the country.

D.

Religion

More than 85 per cent of the people of Myanmar are Buddhists, most of whom adhere to the Theravada school of Buddhism. Small groups of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians also live there. For the Burman majority population, Buddhism is central to daily life, with the monastery (pongyi kyaung) forming the core of the community, especially in the villages. The shinpyu rite of passage, usual for boys, involves entering the monastery temporarily as a novice monk, and many return later in life for temporary retreats. Monks normally begin each day by going round the villages begging alms.

Underlying the everyday practice of Buddhism is an indigenous culture of animism, the worship of spirits known as nat. This provides a basis for many nat festivals, and for much traditional medical practice. Muslims have long formed part of the population, and there is also a significant number of Christians (mostly Baptists), particularly in the hill areas.

E.

Language

The official language, Burmese (or “Myanmar”), is a first language for over half the population, and a second language for most of the remainder. A tonal language, it has its own alphabet and is from the Sino-Tibetan language family, as are many of the over 100 other languages spoken by ethnic minorities in Myanmar (Sino-Tibetan languages are spoken by 78 per cent of the population).

About 6 per cent of the population speaks Shan, a Tai-Kadai language, as a mother tongue, and different forms of the Karen language (Sino-Tibetan) are spoken by similar numbers, in particular S’gaw Karen and Pwo Eastern Karen, each of which have over 1 million first-language speakers in Myanmar. Some Austro-Asiatic languages are also spoken, including Vo, Parauk, Pale Palaung, and Mon. Chinese is also used by an immigrant community.

F.

Education

Education is free, and is compulsory in primary schools between five and ten years of age, and optional for a further four to six years of secondary schooling. Instruction is in Myanmar (Burmese); English is the second language in many secondary schools. In 1995-1996 some 5,995,000 pupils attended about 36,500 primary schools, and about 1,819,600 students attended some 3,040 middle schools and high schools. More than 80 per cent of the adult population is reportedly literate, but this statistic is believed to be a considerable overestimate. In 1994, 2.4 per cent of the national budget was spent on education.

The chief universities of Myanmar are the University of Rangoon (1920) and the University of Mandalay (1925). Other institutions of higher education include state schools of fine arts and of music and drama in Rangoon and in Mandalay, and the Defence Services Academy (1955) in Maymyo. Universities and colleges in the country reportedly enrolled more than 281,260 students in 1995-1996, but institutes of higher education were closed for most of the time over the period since the 1988 rebellion.

G.

Culture

Indian culture strongly influenced the historical development of the culture and civilization of Myanmar. However, such Indian institutions as the caste system were not adopted, and the country also retained an indigenous language and literature.

Myanmar is one of the strongest enclaves of Buddhist culture in all of Asia; the numerous temples have led to the country becoming widely known as the Land of Golden Pagodas.

Formal libraries and museums, as such, are limited in number and facilities. The thousands of Buddhist temples, however, serve as repositories for books and religious artefacts. A particularly noted pagoda is Shwe Dagon, in Rangoon. The National Museum of Art and Archaeology (1952) is in Rangoon, and state museums are in Kyaukpyu, Mandalay, and Moulmein.

Myanmar has a rich literary tradition; Myanmar (Burmese) is a language that is especially suitable for poetry and puns. The first examples of an indigenous literature are found on stone carvings dating from ad 1113. By the 15th century, a rich tradition of historical and religious poetry had developed. Prose works did not become important until the late 19th century, when a proliferation of novels and plays received impetus from a revival of Burmese nationalism. Notable modern writers have included the poet and essayist Thakin Kodaw Hmaine, the novelist and satirist Thakin Thein Pe Myint, and the novelist Ludu U Hla.

A popular form of entertainment is the pwe. A type of folk opera, it combines generally light storylines with music and dance. The texts are taken from local folk tales or the Hindu Ramayana, interspersed with comic or satirical skits; the musical accompaniment comes from an orchestra of tuned gongs, bamboo clappers, bamboo xylophone, cymbals, and hne (a six-reeded oboe).

Secular art is rare in Myanmar; most sculpture and painting is confined to a Buddhist context. Kings and nobles seeking religious merit would commission ornate pagodas. Architecture, as well as other art forms, displays a dominant Indian influence. Artisans are known for their lacquerware and woven silks.

IV.

Economy

Myanmar is primarily an agricultural country, and more than two thirds of the working population is engaged in growing or processing crops; before World War II the then Burma was the world’s foremost rice exporter. Industrial development, which was almost non-existent before World War II, accelerated in the 1960s and 1970s; around 10 per cent of the population now works in industry. From 1962 until 1988 the government of Burma attempted to develop the economy following a “Burmese way to socialism”, with most industries nationalized; the policy was a notable failure, and in recent years the economy has been opened to foreign investment, despite international reluctance to invest owing to Myanmar’s political climate. State enterprises continue to lose money, and there is a flourishing black economy and high inflation (fuelled by heavy military spending). Myanmar has been trying to encourage tourism as an extra source of foreign revenue, but success has been limited by international opposition to the ruling regime. The gross national product of Myanmar is about US$16,300 million (World Bank figure; 1989-1990 prices), or US$400 per capita. The estimated national budget in 2002 included about US$42,447 million in revenue and US$42,447 million in expenditure.

A.

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

About 15 per cent of the total land surface of Myanmar is suitable for farming; in the early 1990s, however, only a small portion of the arable land was under cultivation. The country is one of the leading rice producers in the world; 25.2 million tonnes of rice were harvested in 2006. Much rice is produced in the Irrawaddy delta. Other important crops, grown mainly on small farms in the central lowlands, are maize, cotton, peanuts, legumes, millet, nuts, sesame, sugar cane, and tobacco. A major, though illegal, export crop is opium, with production estimated at 2,560 tonnes in 1996; Myanmar ranks as the world’s second largest opium producer.

The forests of Myanmar are an important source of wealth, especially in teak and natural rubber. In 2006 timber roundwood removals amounted to about 42.5 million cu m (1,503 million cu ft). Important tree products, in addition to rubber, are quinine and catechu, or cutch, the source of a dye.

Fish are caught for local consumption and are a main source of protein in the diet. Freshwater fish are preferred, but the government is now encouraging salt-water fishing. In 2005 the total catch was estimated at about 2,217,466 tonnes.

B.

Mining

Myanmar has a rich and varied supply of minerals. Most of the mines are located in the mountainous areas in the west and along the Tenasserim coast. Such precious stones as jade, rubies, and sapphires are mined, as are copper, nickel, silver, lead, and zinc. In 2004, about 5.48 million barrels of crude oil were produced. Mineral production in 2004 also included silver (1 tonnes), lead (500 tonnes), zinc (200 tonnes), and copper (31,756 tonnes). Large deposits of natural gas and iron ore have also been found.

C.

Manufacturing

Rice-milling and the processing of agricultural products are the chief manufacturing enterprises. In order to spur the industrial sector of the economy, the government has started a steel mill, a jute mill, a brick and tile factory, and other plants. Timber mills, oil refineries, sugar refineries, plants for extracting vegetable oils, flour mills, and cotton mills are also in operation. In 1995-1996 manufacturing output included 67,600 tonnes of sugar, 524,000 tonnes of cement, and 16,800 tonnes of cotton yarn.

D.

Energy

Myanmar has great potential for producing hydroelectricity, and in 2003 about 37 per cent of its electricity was produced by hydroelectric facilities. Most of the rest was generated by thermal plants using coal or refined oil. In 2003 the country’s output was some 7.4 billion kWh.

E.

Currency and Banking

The monetary unit of Myanmar is the kyat of 100 pyas (6.54 kyats equalled US$1; early 2008). The unofficial exchange rate for the kyat is considerably lower. All banks were nationalized in 1963. In 1969 the banks were amalgamated to form the Union of Burma Bank. In 1990 the Central Bank of Myanmar was established; it regulates banking operations, controls the currency, and acts as banking agent for the government. There are also specialized banks providing finance for agriculture, industry and commerce, foreign trade, and economic development projects.

F.

Commerce and Trade

All foreign trade is controlled by the government, but since 1990 firms have been able to directly participate in trade. The principal exports are teak, rice, pulses, cotton, ores, metals, and rubber. The chief imports are machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, textiles, and foodstuffs. In 2000 yearly exports earned about US$1,391 million, and annual imports cost some US$2,369 million. The country’s main trade partners are Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1991 the United States imposed trade sanctions in response to human-rights violations; many other countries and bodies operate similar sanctions against Myanmar.

G.

Transport

The railway system, owned and operated by the government, has 3,955 km (2,645 mi) of track. The railway links all the important cities of the country but does not connect with railways outside the country. In October 2000 the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) approved plans for the Trans-Asia Railway Project, a 5,513-km (3,420-mi) rail link, costing US$2.5 billion. The link, which is scheduled for completion in 2006, will connect Myanmar and six other ASEAN countries (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) with Kunming, in Yunnan Province, China. Inland waterways, totalling about 12,800 km (7,950 mi) of navigable rivers and canals, are far more important as transport arteries than the railway system; most large towns are river ports. The Irrawaddy River is the chief artery, and sections of the Chindwin and Salween rivers are also navigable. The road system totals 27,966 km (17,377 mi), of which about 11 per cent are paved. Several roads cross the border, notably the Burma Road, to China. There are an estimated 40,000 cars (1 per 554 people) in Myanmar, but these figures are not reliable. Myanma Airways International provides both domestic and international services. Mingaladon International Airport serves Rangoon (Yangon).

H.

Communications

All postal, telegraph, telephone, and broadcasting systems are controlled by the government. In 2000 about 168,400 telephones (most of them in Rangoon), 3 million radios, and 344,314 television receivers were in use.

I.

Labour

In 2006 the labour force numbered about 27.3 million people, according to World Bank figures, of whom about 63 per cent were engaged in agriculture and related activities. Few workers are organized into trade unions, and labour disputes are settled by government labour committees.

V.

Government

The country was governed according to the provisions of the constitution of 1948 until the coup d’état of 1962, after which the existing form of government was wiped out. In 1974 a new constitution was adopted. This document served as the basis of governmental organization until its suspension after the military coup of September 1988. Following the coup, a military State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) ruled as a de facto government, ignoring the result of the 1990 elections, which it lost overwhelmingly. This was replaced in 1997 by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), with similar powers and membership. A constitutional convention convened by SLORC in 1993 to rewrite the constitution led to a referendum on its contents in 2008.

A.

Executive and Legislature

Under the 1974 constitution, the country’s chief executive official was the president, who was chairman of the 29-member State Council. The State Council and the Council of Ministers (headed by the prime minister) were chosen by the unicameral People’s Assembly, the principal legislative body. After the 1988 coup the new military government abolished all state organs created under the 1974 constitution, and established the State Law and Order Council (SLORC), which exercised legislative and executive authority; it was composed chiefly of military figures and their appointees. The SPDC, which replaced SLORC in November 1997, brought purely generational and cosmetic changes to the political system.

B.

Political Parties

Following the coup d’état in 1962, the Revolutionary Council established by the military urged that all existing parties unite within a single party, the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP); all other political parties were banned in March 1964. Under the 1974 constitution, the BSPP was confirmed as the only legal political party. Following the September 1988 coup new parties were allowed to register for the planned general elections; 93 parties registered, and contested the elections when they were held in May 1990. However, following the victory of the largest of the opposition parties, the National League for Democracy (NLD)—which had been founded in the months before the coup—the SLORC announced that the elections had been intended to provide only a consultative assembly to negotiate a new constitution, and not a legislative body. Subsequently, the SLORC began deregistering opposition parties, and by the end of 1993 all but 10 of the original 93 parties had been declared illegal. The activities of the remaining parties, including the NLD, were severely curtailed by harassment and the detention of leading members.

C.

Judiciary

Under the 1974 constitution, the judiciary system was centralized, but all civilian courts were suspended after the 1988 military coup. The central judiciary and the local Law and Order Restoration Councils are appointed by the SPDC; there is a chief judge, a five-member Supreme Court, and an Attorney-General.

D.

Local Government

The country is organized as seven divisions inhabited by Burman people and seven states populated by national minorities. The 1974 constitution provided for people’s councils, headed by executive committees, to be elected at all levels of local and regional or state government. This structure was replaced after the 1988 coup by Division, Township, and Village Law and Order Restoration Councils, which control local government; regional commanders have considerable autonomy over their districts.

E.

Health and Welfare

Average life expectancy at birth in Myanmar in 2008 was 60.7 years for men and 65 years for women. Infant mortality in 2008 was 49 deaths per 1,000 live births. In 1956 the government began a social-security programme that seeks to provide accident and illness insurance, free medical care, and survivor’s benefits. It is funded by employers, employees, and the government.

The health services in the country have been greatly extended, and since 1964 the number of rural health stations, dispensaries, and hospitals has steadily increased. In 1995-1996 the country had more than 730 hospitals with a total of 28,370 beds, and 12,245 doctors (1 per 3,554 people), but these official figures may not be accurate. The country has long been faced with leprosy and tuberculosis. The number of malaria cases has sharply declined, however, as a result of aid provided by the World Health Organization. The rate of HIV infection and the number of people contracting AIDS increased rapidly in the early 1990s.

F.

Defence

In 1998 the armed forces of Myanmar included about 429,000 personnel; the army had around 400,000, the navy had 20,000, and the air force had 9,000. There is also a People’s Police Force of 50,000 and a People’s Militia of 35,000, both paramilitary units. The political process is dominated by the military.

G.

International Organizations

Myanmar is a member of the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Colombo Plan.

VI.

History

The history of Myanmar (Burma) has been made by a succession of peoples who migrated down the Irrawaddy River from Tibet and China, and who were influenced by social and political institutions that had been carried across the sea from India. First came the Mon, perhaps as early as 3000 bc. They established settlements in the central area of what is now Myanmar, in the Irrawaddy delta, and farther down the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal. They constructed irrigation systems and developed commercial and cultural contacts with India, while maintaining loose ties with other Mon civilizations in the Chao Phraya river valley of Siam (now Thailand). The Pyu followed much later, moving down the western side of the Irrawaddy and founding a capital near present-day Prome in ad 628. The Burmans, who eventually gave their name to the country that was known for centuries as Burma, entered the Irrawaddy valley in the mid-9th century, absorbing the nearby Pyu and Mon communities. Later waves brought in the Shan and Kachin, who, along with the indigenous Karen, have all played a part in the country’s development.

A.

The Pagan Kingdom

The first unified state was founded in the mid-11th century by the Burman (or Burmese) King Anawrahta at Pagan in what is now Upper Myanmar and was brought to full flower by his able son, Kyanzittha. Their domain advanced from the dry zone to incorporate the delta Mon centres at Pegu and Thaton; they extended political and religious ties overseas to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and fought off a Chinese invasion from the north. The internal structure of the state was that of a Hindu kingdom, with a court at the capital supported by direct household taxes or service obligations drawn from villages, which were under the guidance of hereditary myothugis (“township headmen”). In time, an increasing proportion of the land was donated to Buddhist monasteries in the form of slave villages for the maintenance of the sangha monastic community. Kingship was legitimated by both Hindu ideology and the king’s role as defender of the Buddhist faith. During 250 years of relative peace, the devout rulers built the many pagodas for which Pagan is known today.

The fall of Pagan to the Mongols under Kublai Khan in 1287 was the beginning of a turbulent period during which the area of Upper Myanmar led an uncertain existence between Shan domination and tributary relations with China, while the area of Lower Myanmar reverted to Mon rule based at Pegu.

B.

The Toungoo Dynasty

In the second quarter of the 16th century, a new Burmese dynasty emerged from the sleepy principality of Toungoo in central Burma. With the aid of Portuguese adventurers, the Toungoo dynasty established what became under its third king, Bayinnaung (reigned 1551-1581), a reunified and precariously prosperous state. After his death, succession squabbles and encroachment by the Portuguese along the coast, by the Thais on the east, and by Manipuri horsemen from the west brought on the decline of the dynasty, although the system itself endured until the mid-18th century. Its survival was made possible by a stable administrative and legal system at the central and local levels. The dynasty was finally toppled by a Mon rebellion in 1752.

C.

The Konbaung Dynasty and the Anglo-Burmese Wars

Increasing European commercial and political pressure set the context for the rise and demise of the last Burmese dynasty. During the 1600s and early 1700s competing British, Dutch, and French interests had established commercial ventures at Syriam, near present-day Rangoon, and elsewhere on the coast. In 1752 Alaungpaya founded the Konbaung dynasty by restoring Burmese rule first at Ava and later in the delta. He moved against the British at the Negrais trading post and then initiated another attack on the Thais, whose capital at Ayutthaya was later destroyed by his son King Hsinbyushin (reigned 1763-1776). Another son, Bodawpaya, lost control of Siam but captured the Arakan region.

By the early 19th century, political friction over an Arakanese independence movement based in Bengal was compounded by the military successes of the Burmese general Maha Bandula in Assam. The British responded by sea in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826). The ensuing Treaty of Yandabo left the British in control of Arakan to the west and Tenasserim to the east of the Irrawaddy delta. The production of rice and timber flourished in these two areas under the British, while their relative political stability induced large-scale population growth, a general pattern that was repeated after the remainder of the delta was annexed in the Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852). Commercial ambition and political pretext, heightened by Anglo-French regional rivalry, precipitated the final annexation, when Mandalay fell after a brief battle in 1885. These extensions of British rule were progressively less popular with the resident population, and each in turn required a period of pacification. In the long run, British rule brought widespread administrative and social modernization to a land that, except for the benign efforts of King Mindon, the builder of Mandalay, had been swamped in reclusive policies and wracked by court intrigues.

D.

British Rule

Burmese culture, now submerged under a colonial overlay, had three aspects: the language, with accretions from Mon and Pali; Theravada Buddhism, which had come from Ceylon and mixed with local nat (“animist”) rituals; and the society of rice-growing peasant villages. Under colonial rule the linkage of government and religion was lost, the monastic orders fell into disarray, and the monastic schools, which had given Burma a higher rate of male literacy than England at that time, declined as English became the language of social advancement. The indigenous culture nevertheless persisted in the magical world of the pwe (theatre), in the practice of Buddhism and nat worship, and in the language of the peasantry.

The British moved the capital from royal Mandalay to the port city of Rangoon in 1886, developing it as a sub-station of the British Empire in India. This led to large-scale Indian immigration. Rangoon thus became the hub of a “steel frame” of administration spreading out into the hinterland, where district officers maintained law and order, collected revenue, and administered justice. As the country was opened up to the world market, it became the world’s major exporter of rice—from 500,000 tonnes annually before the fall of Mandalay, to 2 million at the turn of the century, and 3 million before World War II began in 1939. British rule and economic penetration gradually engendered social disintegration and provoked a nationalist movement. This movement used modern institutions, such as the Young Men’s Buddhist Association, student strikes, and political participation in partial self-government to agitate for immediate reforms, including separation from India, and later for independence. In the countryside, the unrelated anti-modern Saya San Rebellion of 1930-1932 drew widespread support, but was crushed.

The political leaders who eventually linked capital and countryside into a truly independent Burma had their start as student leaders who flaunted the title Thakin (master), a term that had previously been applied to the British. The Thakin movement, led by U Aung San and U Nu, formed a Burma Independence Army (BIA), which supported the successful Japanese invasion of Burma in 1942, during World War II. This political movement later took advantage of the strains of wartime occupation and the weakness of the Japanese-installed government near the war’s end to resist Japanese rule under the name of the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL).

E.

The Modern Nation

After the war, the returning British discovered that the AFPFL, led by Aung San, had nearly monopolized indigenous political power. The AFPFL negotiated with Britain to gain Burma’s independence by 1948. It also compelled the inclusion into a “federal” republic of such peripheral groups as the Shan and Karen, thought to have had special British protection. In elections held in April 1947, Aung San’s AFPFL won an overwhelming majority of seats in the constitutional assembly. In July 1947 U Saw, a nationalist political rival of Aung San, had him and six ministers of the new government assassinated, reportedly with the connivance of British former-officials angered by Aung San’s wartime collaborationism. U Nu, former Foreign Minister in the wartime puppet government of Ba Maw, was asked to head the AFPFL and the government.

E.1.

Constitutional Democracy

The country became independent as the Union of Burma on January 4, 1948. Burma’s new independence confronted the AFPFL government of U Nu with a series of political and ethnic insurrections, which continued over the next three decades. During the 1950s a major threat created by the Karen revolt was blunted, and Communist insurgents were forced to retreat into the hills. Burma then established a rigorously non-aligned foreign policy. Economic reconstruction was begun and some new growth undertaken with multilateral foreign aid. AFPFL rule was validated in national elections in 1951-1952 and 1956. By 1958, however, a party split required the constitutional intervention of a caretaker army government for 18 months. The government of General Ne Win tightened administrative discipline to promote modernization and curbed separatist tendencies in the Shan states, where some traditional leaders wanted to exercise the secession right built into the 1947 constitution. The 1960 election gave a resounding victory to U Nu’s faction, based largely on respect for his personal piety. U Nu’s return to power was short-lived, however. His promotion of Buddhism as the state religion and his tolerance for ethnic separatism precipitated a bloodless coup that re-established military rule under Ne Win in March 1962.

E.2.

The Ne Win Regime

During the 1960s and 1970s, Ne Win attempted to build an effective totalitarian government, establish legitimacy with the Burmese people, and maintain autonomy on the world scene. His Revolutionary Council abolished opposition political parties and independent newspapers, ordered the slaughter of protesting students, and drew up a “Burmese way to socialism” involving wholesale nationalization. Ensuing economic chaos forced some rethinking in the early 1970s. A new constitution was promulgated in 1974, transferring power by referendum and single-party election from the military Revolutionary Council to a People’s Assembly, commanded by Ne Win and other former military leaders. The country’s name was also changed to the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma. Student strikes still erupted at intervals, as when U Thant, a political figure of the constitutional democracy period and UN Secretary-General, died and was returned to Burma for burial in 1974.

Ethnic insurrections, which broke out in the Kachin and Shan states after the army coup, continued to deny major areas to government control, including Burma’s part of the Golden Triangle (a major supplier of the world opium market); the Karen insurrection became closely associated with the black market trade on the Thai border. The Burma Communist Party insurrection retained official support from China. At one stage, U Nu escaped to Thailand and attempted to rally an overthrow of Ne Win’s government. In 1980, however, he was permitted to return to Burma as a private citizen. In 1981 Ne Win relinquished the presidency to San Yu, a retired general, but he continued as Chairman of the ruling Burma Socialist Programme Party.

Burma had some success in the post-World War II period through its ability to keep free of major international political involvements, such as the Vietnam War. While maintaining relations with the People’s Republic of China, the government also stressed Burma’s autonomy, reducing its dependence on foreign aid and even delaying membership in the Asian Development Bank. U Nu was active in the movement to make the non-aligned nations a factor in Cold War diplomacy. Burma broke with this group in 1979 in protest at its pro-Soviet tilt; it was readmitted in August 1992.

E.3.

Rebellion and Military Coup

Anti-government riots in March and June 1988, triggered by a surprise currency devaluation that wiped out the value of most people’s savings, led Ne Win to resign as party Chairman in July, ushering in a period of political instability. The head of the riot police temporarily took over government, leading to unrest which left thousands dead across the country. A civilian coalition with military ties then took power, trying to mediate between the military and the growing opposition movement led by U Aung San’s daughter, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and other military and civilian figures. In September General Saw Maung, Chief of Staff under Ne Win, emerged from a bloody power struggle to head a military government, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), which remained ultimately answerable to Ne Win. His coup was staged partly to close growing splits within the military hierarchy; and is estimated by official foreign sources to have cost more than 1,000 lives. In June 1989 the country’s name was officially changed to the Union of Myanmar, and the name of the capital from Rangoon to Yangon. When legislative elections in May 1990 resulted in an overwhelming victory for the opposition National League for Democracy, the SLORC refused to allow the People’s Assembly to convene; some opposition leaders fled to the Thai border and set up an alternative government at the headquarters of the Karen insurrection.

In October 1991 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was held incommunicado under house arrest from July 1989. The ailing Saw Maung was replaced as head of the SLORC by General Than Shwe in April 1992. In January 1993, with the aim of securing a permanent role in government for the military, the SLORC convened a constitutional convention to rewrite the 1974 constitution. The convention was dominated by SLORC supporters, but also included some opposition members; it had still not completed its deliberations by August 1996.

The SLORC also began to court foreign investment, seeking a remedy to the country’s economic crises. By 1994 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was engaged in unofficial discussions with the SLORC, but refused to accept the offer of deportation. In February 1995 the final stronghold of the Karen insurrection fell to SLORC forces.

E.4.

Continuing Repression

In July Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was unexpectedly released from detention; she responded by proposing rapprochement with the SLORC and the army authorities. However, in May 1996 the SLORC arrested numerous activists in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called for the international community to isolate the military regime. However, Myanmar was allowed to join the Regional Forum meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations in July 1996. Harassment of opposition activists continued throughout 1996.

In February and March 1997 the army destroyed the headquarters of Karen rebels who had long been fighting the government along the Thai border. In April the United States agreed new sanctions against Myanmar over human rights abuses. In July 1997 ASEAN admitted Myanmar as a full member, despite protests from the EU and other bodies. Saw Maung, former leader of the SLORC, died the same month, but his successors continued his policies of repression, imprisoning more democracy activists in August. However, the opposition NLD was allowed to hold a congress at Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s house in September, for the first time since 1995. In November the SLORC dissolved itself, giving way to the SPDC, but this change was more a realignment of internal cliques and an opportunity to induct a new generation of military officers than a substantial restructuring of government.

In July and August 1998 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi attempted to drive to meet NLD members outside Rangoon, resulting in widely publicized standoffs before the military authorities forcibly returned her to her home. Universities were reopened in August 1998 for the first time since 1996; student demonstrations followed in September. In March 1999, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's husband Michael Aris, terminally ill with cancer, was refused a visa to enter Myanmar to visit her; she refused to leave the country after his death to attend his funeral, for fear of being denied permission to return.

Tensions continued between the pro-democracy league and the military authorities throughout 2000. In August Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was stopped by police in the Rangoon suburb of Dala as she and party colleagues attempted to travel to the countryside to undertake political organization work. A nine-day standoff between the opposition leader and Myanmar's military regime ensued, after which police forced Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to return to the capital. Following this incident, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under virtual house arrest.

An advance in relations was announced in January 2001, when it was revealed that talks had been held between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the military. The talks, which began in October 2000, represented the first dialogue between the two sides since 1994 and were hailed by diplomats from the European Union as the most significant development in Myanmar internal politics in a decade. During the course of 2001 a number of NLD prisoners were released before, finally, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released in May 2002. The former military dictator Ne Win, who was in power from the late 1950s and oversaw the country’s disastrous economic decline, died in December.

Just 12 months later Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest once more. In August 2003, Khin Nyunt was appointed prime minister. He announced that there would be a conference to discuss proposals for a new constitution; it began in May 2004. Five months later Khin Nyunt was replaced as prime minister by Soe Win, a high-ranking military official, amid fears from international observers that the appointment of such a hardliner would lead to the abandonment of the talks and the continued imprisonment under house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The talks, adjourned in July 2004, were resumed in February 2005.

Myanmar was one of the countries affected by the devastating Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004. The third largest earthquake in recorded history generated a massive tsunami, which caused widespread devastation when it hit land. The number of victims in Myanmar was given at fewer than 100 by the government, but international observers put the figure for loss of life much higher. The coastal areas of the Irradwaddy Delta region were believed to be worst hit. In April 2005 the government announced its decision to relocate the national capital to the central city of Naypyidaw, around 320 km (200 mi) north of Rangoon. The government ministries and administrative bodies were transferred from Rangoon to the purpose-built compound in early November 2005. The supposed reason for the move was to provide better security for government ministries.

The government cracked down violently on a series of marches and demonstrations protesting about the doubling of fuel prices in August 2007, with many marchers imprisoned or tortured. The campaign was picked up in September in a series of daily protest marches led by Buddhist monks against poverty and repression in the country. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was seen in public for the first time in four years, when she appeared outside her home in Rangoon to show her support for the monks. Defying orders to clear the streets, many thousands of monks were rounded up, dozens were killed, and it is estimated that more than 10,000 were detained. Prime Minister Soe Win died in October and was replaced by Thein Sein.

Category 4 cyclone Nargis hit the Irrawaddy delta in early May 2008. An estimated 135,000 people were killed in the floods and subsequent humanitarian crisis after international aid relief was rejected by the junta. International observers, despite being denied access to the country, concluded that the number of deaths had been underestimated and that the death toll could reach one million people. The junta went ahead with the referendum over the newly proposed constitution despite the crisis; according to the government, 92 per cent of the people voted in favour of a document that proposes strengthening the power of the military and bans Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from holding political office.