Burma

Country statistics

area:	676,577 sq km (261,228 sq mi) 50,913,600
capital (population):	Rangoon (Yangon, 4,101,000)
government:	Military regime
ethnic groups:	Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Mon 2%
languages:	Burmese (official)
religions:	Theravada Buddhist 89%, Christian 5%, Muslim 4%
currency:	Kyat = 100 pyas

Republic in se Asia. Burma is officially the Union of Myanmar. The most densely populated part of the country is the valley of the River Irrawaddy. Mandalay, Burma's second-largest city, lies on the banks of the river. The capital, Rangoon, lies on the shores of the Andaman Sea. Burma's land borders are formed by a chain of Himalayan mountains, which rise in the n to 5881m (19,294ft). In the e, lies the Shan Plateau, home to the Shan tribe. Burma is federated into tribal areas. Sittwe is the main port of the Arakan region, on the Bay of Bengal. In the se, lies the Tenassserim region, which includes the port of Moulmein.

Climate and Vegetation

Burma has a tropical monsoon climate. The humid rainy season lasts from late May to mid-October. Rainfall is generally less inland. Mandalay is relatively dry, with an annual rainfall of 50–100cm (20–50in). The Irrawaddy delta is one of the world's largest rice-growing areas. About 50% of Burma is covered by forest.

History and Politics

Conflict between the Burmans and Mons dominated Burma's early history. In 1044 the Burman King Anawratha unified the Irrawaddy delta region. In 1287 Kublai Khan conquered the Burman capital, Pagan. Burma was divided: the Shan controlled n Burma, while the resurgent Mons held the s. In the 16th century, the Burmans subjugated the Shan. In 1758 Alaungapaya reunified Burma, defeating the Mons kingdom and establishing the Konbaung dynasty.

Wars with British India marked much of the 19th century. The first war (1824) resulted in the British gaining the coastal regions of Tenasserim and Arakan. The second war (1852) saw the British gain control of the Irrawaddy delta. British India annexed Burma in the third war (1885). In 1937 Burma gained limited self-government. Helped by the Burmese Independent Army, led by Aung San, Japan conquered the country in 1942. The installation of a puppet regime led Aung San to form a resistance movement. In 1947 Aung San was murdered. Burma achieved independence in 1948. The socialist AFPFL government, led by U Nu, faced secessionist revolts by communists and Karen tribesmen. In 1958 U Nu invited General Ne Win to re-establish order. Civilian rule returned in 1960, but in 1962 Ne Win mounted a successful coup. His military dictatorship faced mass insurgency. In 1974 Ne Win became president. Mass demonstrations forced Ne Win to resign in 1988, but the military retained power under the guise of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), led by General Saw Muang. In 1989 the country's name changed to Myanmar. The National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won elections in 1990, but SLORC annulled the result and placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. In 1997 SLORC became the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). In 1998, NLD calls for the reconvening of Parliament led to mass detention of political opponents by the SPDC. In 2002 the SPDC released Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. She was arrested again in 2003.

Economy

Burma is one of the world's poorest nations (2000 GDP per capita, US$1500). Agriculture is the main activity, employing 64% of the workforce, mainly at subsistence level. Teak and rice constitute about 66% of exports. It has many mineral resources, mostly unexploited. Burma is famous for its precious stones, especially rubies.

Political map

Physical map

Websites

http://www.myanmar-tourism.com

Burma. South-east Asian country now officially known as Myanmar. Buddhism may have been introduced here by one of Aśoka's missions, and it has been present among the native Mons people from the early centuries ce. The Burmese chronicles claim that Buddhaghoṣa visited the country and established a tradition of Pāli scholarship. The Pāli name for the Mon country to the south is Rāmañña, and the Sinhalese chronicles relate that when the Sinhalese ordination lineage died out King Vijayabāhu I (1059–1114) of Sri Lanka sent to Rāmañña (Burma) for monks to re-establish the Saṃgha. From the 5th to the 15th century the dominant power in the region was the Khmer Empire, in which various forms of Mahāyāna Buddhism were popular. King Anawrahtā (1044–77) unified the country by conquering the southern part and gave his allegiance to the Theravāda, although it is likely the Theravāda was dominant even before then. Anawrahtā's capital, Pagān, was sacked by the Mongols in 1287 and the city with its many thousand pagodas and temples was abandoned. The country was not united again until 1752, but soon afterwards was conquered by the British and became part of the British Empire until it was granted independence in 1948 when U Nu became the first Prime Minister. Attempts to develop a form of ‘Buddhist Socialism’ with Buddhism as the state religion ultimately failed when General Ne Win led a coup in 1962 from which time onwards the country has been ruled by a military junta (SLORC). The regime is not hostile to Buddhism, which remains strong, and 85 per cent of the population are Theravāda Buddhists. However, Buddhist pro-democracy advocates, such as Aung Suu Kyi, have been placed under house arrest and human rights abuses are commonplace. The country presently remains isolated from the international community.

Burma was ruled by the Alaungpaya dynasty from 1752 to 1885. Initially, the dynasty was expansionary, conquering (although failing to hold) Thailand and pressing west towards Arakan and Assam. However, it was severely checked and ultimately defeated by a counter-expansionary drive coming from the British in India. The British conquest of Burma was piecemeal, beginning in 1826 and not reaching completion until 1885. It partly came about as a reaction to deep Burmese hostility and the failures of ‘informal empire’. But it also reflected growing economic ambitions. In colonial Burma, valuable resources of oil, tin, and rubber were more fully exploited and commercial rice cultivation was developed. Originally ruled as a province of British India, the country was given its own administration in 1937. Between 1942 and 1945, Burma was overrun by the Japanese—many of the British, famously, ‘walking out’ to India. After the war, hopes continued in the Colonial Office for a restoration of British dominance. However, an Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League had arisen under the leadership of Aung San to organize large-scale popular resistance to the Japanese. Now it was turned against the British. On 4 January 1948, the Independent Republic of Burma came into existence.

David Anthony Washbrook