Anglo-Burmese Wars
Three wars between Britain and Burma
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The Anglo-Burmese Wars, also known as the Indo-Burmese Wars,[1][2] were an armed conflict between two expanding empires, the British Empire and the Konbaung dynasty, that became British Indian Empire's most expensive and longest war, costing 5–13 million pounds sterling (£400 million – £1.1 billion as of 2019) and spanning over 60 years. There were three of these wars between 1824 to 1885.[3]
British victory
- End of the Konbaung dynasty
- Start of British rule in Burma
- Beginning of Burmese resistance
changes All territories of the Konbaung dynasty annexed into British India
| Anglo-Burmese Wars | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of European colonization of Southeast Asia | |||||||||
Photograph of surrender of the Burmese Army, 3rd Anglo-Burmese War | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Siam (until 1826) | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Henry Godwin Garnet Wolseley Harry Prendergast William Amherst Edward Paget Archibald Campbell Joseph Morrison #Co-belligerent: Rama III Chaophraya Mahayotha Phraya Surasena Phraya Chumphon |
 Bagyidaw Thibaw Min (POW) Pagan Min Maung Gyi Kyauk Lon Maha Bandula † Maha Ne Myo † Myawaddy U Sa Minkyaw Thura | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
Presidency armies  Royal RegimentsCo-belligerent: Royal Siamese Army | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Around 80,000 to 100,000 (including Siamese) | 40,000 at full strength with allies, 20,000 by end of Third Anglo-Burmese War | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Heavy, 3,000 killed in action, 10,000 wounded, 20,000 died from disease | Very Heavy, Over 20,000 casualties, entire generation of fighting men destroyed | ||||||||
Chronology
The expansion of Burma (present-day Myanmar) under the Konbaung dynasty had consequences along its frontiers. As those frontiers moved ever closer to the British East India Company and later British India, there were problems both with refugees and military operations spilling over ill-defined borders.[3]
First Anglo-Burmese War
The First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) ended in a British East India Company victory, and by the Treaty of Yandabo, Burma lost territory previously conquered in Assam, Manipur, and Arakan.[4] The British also took possession of Tenasserim with the intention to use it as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with either Burma or Siam.[5] As the century wore on, the British East India Company began to covet the resources and main part of Burma during an era of great territorial expansion.[6]
Second Anglo-Burmese War
In 1852, Commodore Lambert was dispatched to Burma by Lord Dalhousie over a number of minor issues related to the previous treaty.[4] The Burmese immediately made concessions including the removal of a governor whom the British had made their casus belli. Lambert eventually provoked a naval confrontation in extremely questionable circumstances and thus started the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1852, which ended in the British annexation of Pegu province,[3] renamed Lower Burma. The war resulted in a palace revolution in Burma, with King Pagan Min (1846–1853) being replaced by his half brother, Mindon Min (1853–1878).[4]
Third Anglo-Burmese War
King Mindon tried to modernise the Burmese state and economy to ensure its independence, and he established a new capital at Mandalay, which he proceeded to fortify.[3][7] These efforts would eventually prove unsuccessful, however, when the British claimed that Mindon's son Thibaw Min (ruled 1878–1885) was a tyrant intending to side with the French,[8] that he had lost control of the country, thus allowing for disorder at the frontiers, and that he was reneging on a treaty signed by his father.[3] The British declared war once again in 1885, conquering the remainder of the country in the Third Anglo-Burmese War resulting in total annexation of Burma.[3][9]
See also
- Japanese invasion of Burma (during World War II)