What was burma

Although the military no longer runs Myanmar outright, it does still appoint a significant number of legislators - 56 of the upper house members, and of lower house members are military appointees. The remaining and members, respectively, are elected by the people. Aung San Suu Kyi, who won an abortive democratic presidential election in December of and then was kept under house arrest for most of the following two decades, is now a member of the Pyithu Hluttaw representing Kawhmu.

The official language of Myanmar is Burmese, a Sino-Tibetan language that is the native tongue of slightly more than half of the country's people. The government also officially recognizes several minority languages that predominate in Myanmar's Autonomous States: Jingpho, Mon, Karen, and Shan. Myanmar probably has about Myanmar is an exporter of both migrant workers with several million in Thailand alone , and of refugees.

Burmese refugees total more than , people in neighboring Thailand, India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. The government of Myanmar officially recognizes ethnic groups. There are also small numbers of Kachin, Anglo-Indians, and Chin. Most Burmese are very devout and treat monks with great respect. The government does not control religious practice in Myanmar. Myanmar is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of , square miles , square kilometers.

The country is bordered on the northwest by India and Bangladesh , on the northeast by Tibet and China , by Laos and Thailand to the southeast, and by the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea to the south.

Myanmar's coastline is about 1, miles long 1, kilometers. The highest point in Myanmar is Hkakabo Razi, with an elevation of 19, feet 5, meters. Myanmar's major rivers are the Irrawaddy, Thanlwin, and Sittang. The climate of Myanmar is dictated by the monsoons, which bring up to inches 5, mm of rain to coastal regions each summer. The "dry zone" of interior Burma still receives up to 40 inches 1, mm of precipitation per year.

Temperatures in the highlands average about 70 degrees Fahrenheit 21 degrees Celsius , while the coast and delta areas average a steamy 90 degrees 32 Celsius. Under British colonial rule, Burma was the richest country in Southeast Asia, awash in rubies, oil, and valuable timber. Sadly, after decades of mismanagement by post-independence dictators , Myanmar has become one of the poorest nations in the world. Myanmar's currency is the kyat. Humans have lived in what is now Myanmar for at least 15, years.

The principal city, Sri Ksetra, was the power-center of the region from 90 to CE. After the seventh century, it was replaced by a rival city, possibly Halingyi. This new capital was destroyed by the Nanzhao kingdom in the mids, bringing the Pyu period to a close. They established kingdoms in southern Myanmar including Thaton and Pegu in the 6th to 8th centuries. By , the Pyu people had been absorbed by another group, the Bamar, who ruled a powerful kingdom with its capital at Bagan.

The Bagan Kingdom slowly developed in strength until it was able to defeat the Mon at Thaton in and unite all of Myanmar under one king for the first time in history. The Bagan ruled until when their capital was captured by the Mongols. After the fall of Bagan, Myanmar was divided into several rival states, including Ava and Bago.

Myanmar unified once more in under the Toungoo Dynasty, which ruled central Myanmar from to Toungoo over-reached, however, trying to conquer more territory than its revenues could sustain, and it soon lost its grip on several neighboring areas. The state collapsed entirely in , partly at the instigation of French colonial officials. The period between and saw Myanmar at the apex of its power under the Konbaung Dynasty.

This incursion into India brought unwelcome British attention, however. Myanmar lost some of its recent conquests but was basically unscathed. The British took control of southern Burma at that time and added the rest of the country to its Indian sphere after the Third Anglo-Burmese War in Although Burma produced a lot of wealth under British colonial rule, almost all of the benefit went to British officials and their imported Indian underlings.

Over the next few hundred years, these settlements grew, allowing the Nanzhao to become part of the area with minimum conflict. By the 12th century, Pagan had become a dominant power in south-east Asia alongside the Khmer Empire, Song dynasty of China, and Chola dynasty of India. The Myinsaing Kingdom was to be short-lived, and the area was split into four smaller kingdoms: Ava, Hanthawaddy, Shan States and Arakan. This became a turbulent period, with rebellions and external attacks.

There was little stability in the region until , where the country was reunified as a Restored Taungoo Kingdom which included some areas of current Thailand and China. The then King, Thalun , rebuilt the chaotic country and ordered the first census in , introduced a legal and political system, as well as appointing governorships to the Irrawaddy valley.

This stability created a prosperous economy for almost a century, and the kingdom was at peace for the most of what remained of the 17th century. After the fall of Taungoo, the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom which followed was faced with a new dynasty in Shwebo — the militarian Konbaung dynasty.

King Alaungpaya , the leader of the Kongbaung, went on to entirely remove the Hanthawaddy, and reunite Burma, making the largest empire in its history. What was to follow was a series of wars with Siam and China , before turning their attention to the west as they looked to expand the empire.

With China being a much bigger force to the east, and Siam gaining more ground in the south-east, King Bodawpaya the fourth son of Alaungpaya , decided west was the best option to increase the size of his empire. Several invasions were successful during his lifetime — conquering Arakan, Manipur and Assam , which now gave them a border with British India.

This led to a series of three Anglo-Burmese Wars between and Each resulted in further control of Burma by the British Empire, which ended in the annexation of Upper Burma and the entire country becoming a province of India under the control of the British Raj. Despite a constant resistance during this time, Burma would not see independence again for over 60 years until after WWII.

The chaos of the Second World War opened up several unexpected options to the Burmese people. Some believed that helping the British could be exchanged for increased control of their country again, while others wanted to avoid the war altogether. Aung San , co-founder of the Communist Party of Burma and others in a movement known as Thakins , were part of the latter.

The BIA was set up in anticipation of the Japanese invasion of Burma in and formed a temporary government in some areas. The alliance resulted in the Japanese being routed out of Burma by May , and the forces were disarmed following the Kandy conference in Ceylon present-day Sri Lanka in September Independence was to eventually come to fruition on January 4th, as carried out by the next Socialist leader, Thakin Nu.

Between and , Burma started to build economic strength and after some initial support from outside swiftly began to stand on its own. This period saw increased political instability in Burma, a Communist victory in China in , and northern areas of Burma becoming more influenced by this presence.

The country was beginning to become unsettled. There were several protests in , including a peaceful student protest at Rangoon University. Over students were killed when the military stepped in, and this was to mark the starting point of a period of unrest and uncertainty that would change the country forever.

Ne Win quickly set up his ideal Socialist state , isolating it from the rest of the world, establishing a one-party system and nationalised commerce and industry. Even though he retired as president in , Ne Win remained in power until The economy started to grow again as the government began to accept more foreign aid, but falling commodity prices and rising national debt eventually lead to demonetisation of particular bank notes which wiped out the savings of most of the people of Burma.

This caused riots all over the country, leading to the military taking over and ignoring the constitution in favour of martial law. Amongst the chaos, the daughter of Aung San who had done so much in the name of independence and freedom , Aung San Suu Kyi , arose as a natural leader, appealing for help to end the protests and deaths.

The military controlled government changed Burma to Myanmar in , seeing an end to the Socialist state and putting the past behind.

This was intended to be a more inclusive name for the rest of the ethnic groups in the country, as it was not only the Burmese living in Burma. However, the military continued to interfere, holding Aung San Suu Kyi who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in under house arrest. In the general election, the NLD won an absolute majority of seats in both chambers of the Burmese parliament, ensuring that its candidate would become president. However, with Aung San Suu Kyi constitutionally barred from being president, in her trusted and loyal companion Htin Kyaw was nominated to be the first non-military president of the country since , with Aung San Suu Kyi becoming State Counsellor similar to the position of Prime Minister.

Myanmar has been through a lot , and although the name change came under military rule, it saw an end to a one-party Socialist state and aimed to make the country more inclusive to all of its people. It also began a time of change and hope for the people of Myanmar, to have a democracy of their own and bring in an era of much-needed peace.

Calling Myanmar, Burma we feel at Rickshaw is a bit of reminder of its past when it needs to look forward. With a heart-breaking past , visiting a country that is finding its way in the world, bringing tourism gives the economy a much-needed boost, makes it more meaningful for us, and hopefully you too. Myanmar is a treasure chest of culture, history and sights.

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