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village, was surrendered, and the troops were landed. The place was entirely deserted by its inhabitants, the provisions were carried off or destroyed, and the invading force took See also:

possession of a See also:

COMPLETE

complete solitude. On the 28th of May Sir A. Campbell ordered an attack on some of the nearest posts, which were all carried after a steadily weakening See also:

defence. Another attack was made on the loth of See also:

JUNE

June on the stockades at the village of Kemmendine.

Some of these were battered by See also:

ARTILLERY (the O. Fr. artiller, to equip with engines of war, probably comes from Late Lat. articulum, dim. of ars, art, cf. " engine " from ingenium, or of artus, joint)

artillery from the war vessels in the river, and the shot and shells had such effect on the Burmese that they evacuated them, after a very unequal resistance. It soon, how-ever, became apparent that the expedition had been undertaken with very imperfect knowledge of the country, and without adequate See also:

PROVISION (Lat. provisio)

provision. The devastation of the country, which was See also:

PART

part of the defensive See also:

SYSTEM

system of the Burmese, was carried out with unrelenting rigour, and the invaders were soon reduced to See also:

GREAT

great difficulties. The See also:

HEALTH

health of the men declined, and their ranks were fearfully thinned. The monarch of See also:

Ava sent large reinforcements to his dispirited and beaten See also:

army; and See also:

early in June an attack was commenced on the British See also:

LINE

line, but proved unsuccessful. On the 8th the British assaulted. The enemy were beaten at all points; and their strongest stockaded See also:

WORKS

works, battered to pieces by a powerful artillery, were in See also:

general abandoned. With the exception of an attack by the See also:

prince of See also:

THARRAWADDY

Tharrawaddy in the end of See also:

AUGUST (originally Sextilis)

August, the enemy allowed the British to remain unmolested during the months of See also:

JULY

July and August. This See also:

INTERVAL

interval was employed by Sir A. Campbell in subduing the Burmese provinces of See also:

TAVOY

Tavoy and MVlergui, and the whole See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast of See also:

TENASSERIM

Tenasserim. This was an important See also:

CONQUEST

conquest, as the country was salubrious and afforded convalescent stations to the sick, who were now so numerous in the British army that there were scarcely 3000 soldiers See also:

fit for See also:

DUTY (from " due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, dil, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. " debt ")

duty. An expedition was about this See also:

time sent against the old Portuguese fort and factory of Syriam, at the mouth of the See also:

PEGU

Pegu river, which was taken; and in See also:

OCTOBER

October the See also:

province of See also:

MARTABAN

Martaban.was reduced under the authority of the British.

The See also:

RAINY, ROBERT (1826-1906)

rainy See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season terminated about the end of October; and the See also:

court of Ava, alarmed by the discomfiture of its armies, recalled the See also:

VETERAN

veteran legions which were employed in See also:

ARAKAN

Arakan, under their renowned See also:

LEADER, BENJAMIN WILLIAMS (1831– )

leader Maha Bandula. Bandula hastened by forced See also:

MARCHES, THE (It. Le Marche)

marches to the defence of his country; and by the end of See also:

NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November an army of 6o,000 men had surrounded the British position at Rangoon and Kemmendine, for the defence of which Sir Archibald Campbell had only 5000 efficient troops. The enemy in great force made repeated attacks on Kemmendine without success, and on the 7th of See also:

DECEMBER (Lat. decent, ten)

December Bandula was defeated in a See also:

COUNTER

counter attack made by Sir A. Campbell. The fugitives retired to a strong position on the river, which they again entrenched; and here they were attacked by the British on the 15th, and driven in complete confusion from the See also:

field. Sir Archibald Campbell now resolved to advance on See also:

PROME

Prome, about too m. higher up the See also:

IRRAWADDY, or IRAWADI

Irrawaddy river. He moved with his force on the 13th of See also:

FEBRUARY

February 1825 in two divisions, one proceeding by See also:

LAND

land, and the other, under General See also:

WILLOUGHBY

Willoughby See also:

Cotton, destined for the reduction of Danubyu, being embarked on the flotilla. Taking the command of the land force, he continued his advance till the 11th of March, when intelligence reached him of the failure of the attack upon Danubyu. He instantly commenced a See also:

RETROGRADE (from the Lat. retro, backwards, gradiri, to go)

retrograde march; on the 27th he effected a junction with General Cotton's force, and on the 2nd of See also:

APRIL

April entered the entrenchments at Danubyu without resistance, Bandula having been killed by the See also:

EXPLOSION

explosion of a See also:

BOMB

bomb. The See also:

ENGLISH

English general entered Prome on the 25th, and remained there during the rainy season. On the 17th of September an See also:

ARMISTICE (from Lat. arma, arms, and sistere, to stop)

armistice was concluded for one See also:

month. In the course of the summer General See also:

Joseph See also:

Morrison had conquered the province of Arakan; in the See also:

north the Burmese were expelled from Assam; and the British had made some progress in Cachar, though their advance was finally impeded by the thick forests and See also:

JUNGLE (Sans. jangala)

jungle.

The armistice having expired on the 3rd of November, the army of Ava, amounting to 6o,000 men, advanced in three divisions against the British position at Prome, which was defended by 3000 Europeans and 2000 native troops. But the British still triumphed, and after several actions, in which the Burmese were the assailants and were partially successful, Sir A. Campbell, on the 1st of December, attacked the different divisions of their army, and successively drove them from all their positions, and dispersed them in every direction. The Burmese retired on Malun, along the course of the Irrawaddy, where they occupied, with to,000 or 12,000 men, a See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of strongly fortified heights and a formidable .stockade. On the 26th they sent a See also:

FLAG (or " FLAGGE," a common Teutonic word in this sense, but apparently first recorded in English)

flag of truce to the British See also:

CAMP (from Lat. campus, field)

camp; and negotiations having commenced, See also:

peace was proposed to them on the following conditions:—(1) The cession of Arakan, together with the provinces of See also:

MERGUI

Mergui, Tavoy and Ye; (2) the renunciation by the Burmese See also:

SOVEREIGN

sovereign of all claims upon Assam and the contiguous See also:

PETTY, SIR WILLIAM (1623-1687)

petty states; (3) the See also:

COMPANY

Company to be paid a. See also:

CRORE (Hindustani karor)

crore of rupees as an indemnification for the expenses of the war; (4) residents from each court to be allowed, with an escort of fifty men; while it was also stipulated that British See also:

SHIPS

ships should no longer be obliged to unship their rudders and land their guns as formerly in the Burmese ports. This treaty was agreed to and signed, but the ratification of the See also:

king was still wanting; and it was soon apparent that the Burmese had no intention to sign it, but were preparing to renew the contest. On the 19th of January, accordingly, Sir A. Campbell attacked and carried the enemy's position at Malun. Another offer of peace was here made by the Burmese, but it was found to be insincere; and the fugitive army made at the See also:

ancient See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city of See also:

Pagan a final stand in defence of the See also:

capital. They were attacked and overthrown on the 9th of February 1826; and the invading force being now within four days' march of Ava, Dr See also:

Price, an See also:

AMERICAN

American missionary, who with other Europeans had been thrown into See also:

PRISON (derived through the Fr. from the Lat. prehensio, seizure)

prison when the war commenced, was sent to the British camp with the treaty (known as the treaty of Yandaboo) ratified, the prisoners of war released, and an See also:

INSTALMENT (for earlier stallment or estallment, from Fr. estaler, to fix, arrange; the change is probably due to the influence of the verb " install ")

instalment of 25 lakhs of rupees. The war was thus brought to a successful termination, and the British army evacuated the country. -Second Burmese War, 1852.—On the 15th of March 1852 See also:

Lord See also:

Dalhousie sent an See also:

ULTIMATUM (from Lat. ultimus, last)

ultimatum to King Pagan, announcing that hostile operations would be commenced if all his demands were not agreed to by the 1st of April.

Meanwhile a force consisting of 8too troops had been despatched to Rangoon under the command of General H. T. See also:

Godwin, C.B., while Commodore See also:

Lambert commanded the See also:

NAVAL

naval contingent. No reply being given to this See also:

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter, the first See also:

BLOW, JOHN (1648-1708)

blow of the Second Burmese War was struck by the British on the 5th of April 1852, when Martaban was taken. Rangoon town was occupied on the 12th, and the Shwe See also:

DAGON

DagOn See also:

PAGODA (Port. pagode, a word introduced in the 16th century by the early Portuguese adventurers in India, reproducing phonetically some native word, possibly Pers. but-kadah, a house for an idol, or some form of Sansk. bhagavat, divine, holy)

pagoda on the 14th, after heavy fighting, when the Burmese army retired northwards. See also:

BASSEIN

Bassein was seized on the 19th of May, and Pegu was taken on the 3rd of June, after some See also:

sharp fighting See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round the Shwe-maw-daw pagoda. During the rainy season the approval of the See also:

East India Company's court ofdirectors and of the British See also:

government was obtained to the See also:

ANNEXATION (Lat. ad, to, and nexus, joining)

annexation of the See also:

LOWER

lower portion of the Irrawaddy Valley, including Prome. Lord Dalhousie visited Rangoon in July and August, and discussed the whole situation with the See also:

CIVIL

civil, military and naval authorities. In consequence General Godwin occupied Prome on the 9th of October after but slight resistance. Early in December Lord Dalhousie informed King Pagan that the province of Pegu would henceforth See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form part of the British dominions, and that if his troops resisted the measure his whole See also:

KINGDOM

kingdom would be destroyed. The See also:

PROCLAMATION (Lat. proclamare, to make public by announcement)

proclamation of annexation was issued on the loth of January 1853, and thus the Second Burmese War was brought to an end without any treaty being signed. Third Burmese War, 1885-86.—The See also:

IMPOSITION (from Lat. imponere, to place or lay upon)

imposition of an impossible See also:

FINE

fine on the Bombay-Burma Trading Company, coupled with the See also:

THREAT

threat of See also:

CONFISCATION (from Lat. confiscare, to consign to the fiscus, or imperial treasury)

confiscation of all their rights and See also:

PROPERTY

property in See also:

case of non-See also:

PAYMENT (Fr. paiement, from payer, to pay; Lat. pacare, to appease, pax, peace)

payment, led to the British ultimatum of the 22nd of October 1885; and by the 9th of November a See also:

PRACTICAL

practical refusal of the terms having been received at Rangoon, the occupation of See also:

MANDALAY

Mandalay and the dethronement of King See also:

THIBAW, or HSIPAW

Thibaw were determined upon.

At this time, beyond the fact that the country was one of dense jungle, and therefore most unfavourable for military operations, little was known of the interior of Upper Burma; but British steamers had for years been See also:

RUNNING

running on the great river See also:

HIGHWAY

highway of the Irrawaddy, from Rangoon to Mandalay, and it was obvious that the quickest and most satisfactory method of carrying out the British See also:

CAMPAIGN

campaign was an advance by See also:

WATER

water See also:

DIRECT

direct on the capital. Fortunately a large number of See also:

LIGHT

light-See also:

DRAUGHT (from the common Teutonic word " to draw "; cf. Ger. 7'racht, load; the pronunciation led to the variant form " draft," now confined to certain specific meanings)

draught river steamers and See also:

BARGES

barges (or " flats "), belonging to the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, were available at Rangoon, and the See also:

LOCAL

local knowledge of the company's See also:

OFFICERS

officers of the difficult river See also:

NAVIGATION (from Lat. navis, ship, and agere, to move)

navigation was at the disposal of the government. See also:

Major-General, afterwards Sir, H. N. D. Prendergast, V.C., K.C.B., R.E., was placed in command of the expedition. As was only to be expected in an enterprise of this description, the See also:

NAVY

navy as well as the army was called in requisition; and as usual the services rendered by the See also:

SEAMEN, LAWS RELATING TO

seamen and guns were most important. The See also:

TOTAL

total effective of the force was 9034 fighting men, 2810 native followers and 67 guns, and for river service, 24 See also:

machine guns. The river See also:

FLEET

fleet which conveyed the troops and stores was composed of a total of no less than 55 steamers, barges, launches, &c. See also:

THAYETMYO

Thayetmyo was the British See also:

POST

post on the river nearest to the frontier, and here, by 14th November, five days after Thibaw's See also:

ANSWER (derived from and, against, and the same root as swear)

answer had been received, practically the whole expedition was assembled. On the same See also:

day General Prendergast received instructions to commence operations. The Burmese king and his country were taken completely by surprise by the unexampled rapidity of the advance.

There had been no time for them to collect and organize for the stubborn resistance of which the river and its defences were capable. They had not even been able to See also:

block the river by sinking steamers, &c., across it, for, on the very day of the See also:

RECEIPT (M.E. receite, derived through Fr. from Lat. recepta, participle of recipere, to receive)

receipt of orders to advance, the armed steamers, the "Irrawaddy " and " Kathleen," engaged the nearest Burmese batteries, and brought .out from under their guns the king''s steamer and some barges which were lying in readiness for this very purpose. On the 16th the batteries themselves on both See also:

banks were taken by a land attack, the enemy being evidently unprepared and making no resistance. On the 17th of November, however, at Minhla, on the right See also:

BANK

bank of the river, the Burmans in considerable force held successively a See also:

BARRICADE, or BARRICADO (from the Span. barricada, from barrica, a cask, casks filled with earth having been early used to form barricades)

barricade, a pagoda and the See also:

REDOUBT (Fr. redoute, from Med. Lat. reductus, a place of retreat, refuge, reducere, lead back, retire; the intrusive b is due to the O. Fr. redoubter, to fear, Lat. dubitare, to doubt)

redoubt of Minhla. The attack was pressed See also:

home by a See also:

BRIGADE (Fr. and Ger. brigade, Ital. brigata, Span. brigada; the English use of the word dates from the early 17th century)

brigade of native See also:

INFANTRY

infantry on See also:

SHORE

shore, covered by a See also:

BOMBARDMENT

bombardment from the river, and the enemy were defeated with a loss of 170 killed and 276 prisoners, besides many more drowned in the See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to See also:

ESCAPE (in mid. Eng. eschape or escape, from the O. Fr. eschapper, modern echapper, and escaper, low Lat. escapium, from ex, out of, and cappa, cape, cloak; cf. for the sense development the Gr. iichueoOat, literally to put off one's clothes, hence to sli

escape by the river. The advance was continued next day and the following days, the naval brigade and heavy artillery leading and silencing in See also:

SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession the enemy's river defences at Nyaungu, See also:

PAKOKKU

Pakokku and See also:

MYINGYAN

Myingyan. On the 26th of November, when the flotilla was approaching the ancient capital of Ava, envoys from King Thibaw met General Prendergast with offers of surrender; and on the 27th, when the ships See also:

BURN, RICHARD (1709-1785)

BURN-See also:

BURNS See also:

JONES Burn also wrote See also:

DIGEST

Digest of the See also:

MILITIA (Fr. milice, Ger. Miliz, from Lat. miles, soldier, militia, military service)

Militia See also:

LAWS

Laws (176o), and A New See also:

Law See also:

DICTIONARY

Dictionary (2 vols., 1792).

End of Article: BURMESE WARS

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