Ethnic divisions and political unrest have been common since the first Burman kingdom in the eleventh century. Today, the Shan have their own army who fight against the current Burmese military regime. The Burmese military forcibly maintains control over the country's various ethnic groups, especially the Shan, who wish to have equal importance in government and commerce. As civil war divides families, many sons have died fighting against the Burmese government or have joined the secessionist Shan State Army. Agriculture is the driving force in the Shan economy.
Rice is the major cash and family crop.
Other crops include tea, soybeans, peanuts, coffee, and cotton. People living near larger villages or towns grow vegetables to sell in the market. Shan farmers grow one other crop it is estimated that as much as fifty percent of the world's illegal opium is produced in the Shan State. Traditionally, rice is grown in irrigated fields, especially along the Salween River. Farmers raise cattle and buffalo, not for meat, but to draw heavy wooden plows since farming is not mechanized.