Title: The making of modern Burma /
Authors: Thant Myint-U
Publisher: Cambridge University Press,
Year: 2001
Subjects: Burma History; Burma History; Burma History
Abstract: "Burma has often been portrayed as a timeless place, a country of egalitarian Buddhist villages, ruled successively by autocratic kings, British colonialists and, most recently, a military dictatorship. The Making of Modern Burma argues instead that many aspects of Burmese society today, from the borders of the state to the social structure of the countryside to the very notion of a Burmese or Burman identity, are largely the creations of the nineteenth century, a period of great change, away from the Ava-based polity of early modern times, and towards the 'British Burma' of the 1900s.
Contents: Introduction: the fall of Mandalay -- Kings and distant wars -- The Irrawaddy valley in the early nineteenth century -- The Court of Ava -- Empire and identity -- The grand reforms of King Mindon -- Revolt and the coming of British rule -- Reformists and royalists at the court of King Thibaw -- War and occupation -- A colonial society -- Conclusion: the making of modern Burma.