Burmese Rungtu Rohingya Meitei Hindustani Tamil Telugu Bengali Gujarati Odia Punjabi Nepalese Yunnanese Mandarin Hokkien Cantonese Hakka Standard Chinese Kedah Malay Southern Thai Northern Thai
Religion
Buddhism (majority) Burmese folk religion Rungtu Animism Hinduism Islam Sikhism Jainism Sanamahism Taoism Confucianism Chinese folk religion Tai folk religion Christianity
Demonym(s)
British Burmese
Monarch
• 1862–1901
Victoria
• 1901–1910
Edward VII
• 1910–1936
George V
• 1936
Edward VIII
• 1936–1948
George VI
Governor
• 1862–1867 (first)
Sir Arthur Purves Phayre[a]
• 1946–1948 (last)
Sir Hubert Rance
Premier
• 1937–1939
Ba Maw
• 1947–1948
U Nu
Legislature
Legislative Council of Burma (1897–1936) Legislature of Burma (1936–1947)
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
House of Representatives
Historical era
Colonial era
• First Anglo-Burmese War
5 March 1824
• Anglo-Burmese Wars
1824–1826, 1852–1853, 1885
• Separation from British India
1937 (Government of Burma Act)
• Attained partial self-governing status within the British Empire
April 1, 1937
• Japanese and Thai invasion
1942–1945
• Independence declared
4 January 1948
Currency
Burmese rupee, Indian rupee, Pound sterling
ISO 3166 code
MM
Preceded by
Succeeded by
1885: Upper Burma
1937: British Raj
1945: State of Burma
1942: Japanese occupation
1943: Thai occupation
1948: Union of Burma
Today part of
Myanmar
The British colonial rule in Burma lasted from 1824 to 1948, from the successive three Anglo-Burmese wars through the creation of Burma as a province of British India to the establishment of an independently administered colony, and finally independence. The region under British control was known as British Burma, and officially known as Burma (Burmese: မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်)[1] from 1886.[2] Various portions of Burmese territories, including Arakan and Tenasserim, were annexed by the British after their victory in the First Anglo-Burmese War; Lower Burma was annexed in 1852 after the Second Anglo-Burmese War. The annexed territories were designated the minor province (a chief commissionership) of British Burma in 1862.[3]
After the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, Upper Burma was annexed, and the following year, the province of Burma in British India was created, becoming a major province (a lieutenant-governorship) in 1897.[3] This arrangement lasted until 1937, when Burma began to be administered separately by the Burma Office under the Secretary of State for India and Burma. British rule was disrupted during the Japanese occupation of much of the country during World War II. Burma achieved independence from British rule on 4 January 1948.
Burma is sometimes referred to as "the Scottish Colony" owing to the heavy role played by Scotsmen in colonising and running the country, one of the most notable being Sir James Scott.[citation needed] It was also known for the heavy role played by Indian elites in managing and administering the colony, especially while it was still a part of the British Raj; some historians have called this a case of co-colonialism.[4]
History of Myanmar
Prehistory of Myanmar 11,000–200 BCE
Pyu city-states 200 BCE – 1050 CE
(Sri Ksetra Kingdom, Tagaung Kingdom)
Mon kingdoms 825?–1057? CE
(Thaton Kingdom)
Arakanese kingdoms 788?–1406
Pagan Kingdom 849–1297
Early Pagan Kingdom 849–1044
Warring states period
Upper Myanmar 1297–1555
Myinsaing and Pinya Kingdoms 1297–1365
Sagaing Kingdom 1315–1365
Kingdom of Ava 1365–1555
Prome Kingdom 1482–1542
Hanthawaddy Kingdom 1287–1539, 1550–1552
Shan States 1215–1563
Kingdom of Mrauk U 1429–1785
Toungoo dynasty 1510–1752
First Toungoo Empire 1510–1599
Nyaungyan Restoration 1599–1752
Restored Hanthawaddy 1740–1757
Konbaung dynasty 1752–1885
British colonial period 1824–1948
Anglo-Burmese Wars 1824–1885
Resistance movement 1885–1895
Nationalist movement 1900–1948
Japanese occupation 1942–1945
Modern era 1948–present
AFPFL government 1948–1962
Ne Win dictatorship 1962–1988
SLORC / SPDC junta 1988–2010
Political reforms 2011–2015
SAC junta 2021–present
Timeline
List of capitals
Leaders
Royal chronicles
Military history
Military rule
Myanmar portal
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Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^"Original Burmese version of Government of Burma Act, 1935, National Archieve of Myanmar". Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
^Burmese part of the Proclamation of annexation of Burma into British Empire in published in Mandalay on 4 January 1886
^ abImperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, p. 29
^Bowser, Matthew J. (22 June 2020). "Partners in Empire? Co-colonialism and the Rise of Anti-Indian Nationalism in Burma, 1930–1938". The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. 49 (1): 118–147. doi:10.1080/03086534.2020.1783113. S2CID 225748025. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
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