PEGU, formerly an independent kingdom of Asia, now incorporated with the Birman empire, by whose sovereign it was subdued, after long wars. The limits of this state were never very accurately defined, and it probably varied with the fate of war. It included a large tract of country, about 350 miles in length from north to south, and as much in breadth from east to west, situated on and comprising a large portion of the delta of the Irrawaddy. Arracan and Ava were its northern boundaries, Siam its limit on the east, on the south Siam and the sea, and on the west the Bay of Bengal and part of Arracan.

This country, being intersected by the Irrawaddy and its branches, is fertile and well watered; but, owing to the desolations of war, it is wild and uncultivated, overrun in many places with jungle or rank luxuriant grass, affording cover for wild animals, such as tigers, elephants, buffaloes, deer, and other animals. Both banks of the river are covered everywhere with a narrow belt of tall reedy grass. The country from Rangoon throughout is a low champaign. As far as the tide reaches it is covered with a narrow belt of tall reedy grass, and behind with a thick and continuous forest of moderate-sized trees, amongst which the most frequent and remarkable are the sonnera-tia appetalu, and heritiera fomes. Here and there are a few grassy plains. The character of the vegetation changes where the influence of the tide ceases. The country is then covered with a tall rushy grass, a species of saccha-rim, amongst which are scattered trees of from twenty to sixty feet in height. There is very little appearance of inhabitants along the shores of the river, which ought to be the most populous portion of the country. Here and there, on the immediate banks, are a few fishing villages, and in the interior other agricultural villages, with a few patches of rice culture about them. The only culture of any extent is that of the banana, of which extensive groves line the sides of the river. In some parts advantage is taken of the vicinity of the river for the purposes of irrigation; but in general the country is nearly in a desolatè state. Symes, who was sent as ambassador to Ava, gives a similar description of the country. “The country round,” he observes, “as far as our view could reach, displayed a level plain, with clumps of trees at distant intervals; a thick reedy grass had grown in some places very high; in others, where it had been burnt, there appeared good pasturage for cattle; we saw the embanked divisions of a few rice plantations, and discovered the vestiges of former culture and population; but during a walk of two hours the eye was not gratified with the sight of house or inhabitant. Desolated by the contentions of the Birmans and Peguans, the country had not yet recovered from the ravages of war. In our walk we observed many tracks of wild elephants, the spots where hogs had rooted and deer lain, and found the remains of two antelopes that had recently been killed, and were half devoured by tigers. The walks on each side of the river are low, and the land seems adapted to produce excellent crops; but it is now quite deserted, and become the undisputed domains of the wild beasts of the forest.” The chief produce of the country is rice; but where those who sow are not sure that they shall reap [7:17:172]the fruits, they seldom cultivate more than suffices for their immediate subsistence; and to such grievous oppression have the people often been subjected, that they have been forced to abandon their villages and fly into the woods, where they have cultivated small patches of ground, and lived principally upon fish, fowl, venison, and reptiles. The country around Pegu, the capital, was completely laid waste by the victorious troops of Alompra, when he conquered that city in 1757; and to such oppressions were the Peguans subjected, that the country, though fruitful in the extreme, and one of the fairest and most healthful on the globe, has never recovered its former prosperity. The subjugation of the people by the Birmans ushered in a long era of tyranny and persecution, under which, though mitigated, they still suffer. Severe penal laws were imposed on the Taliens or native Peguans. But these have been abrogated by the present sovereign; justice has also been more impartially administered; and it is mentioned by Symes, that the only distinction between the subjected Peguans and the Burmese is the exclusion of the former from all places of public trust and power. The people have also been more reconciled to the Birman yoke by other proceedings of the present monarch, especially by the order which he issued for rebuilding Pegu the capital, encouraging settlers by grants of ground, and inviting the scattered families of former inhabitants to return and repeople their deserted city. The preservation and embellishment of the ancient national temple of Shoomandoo, which has been ordered by the government, is also a popular act. These measures do not appear, however, to have conciliated the Peguans, as Mr Crawford, who visited the country, mentions that in 1827 they had risen in rebellion against the authority of the Burmese; and he was himself a witness to an action between the two contending parties.

Pegu possesses mines of iron, tin, and lead; also of precious metals, namely, rubies, sapphires, and rock crystal. Its most valuable produce, however, is the teak timber, used for ship-building, which is impervious to worms or the bad effects of salt water. The trees, some of which are sixty feet in length by nine in girth, are floated down the Irrawaddy and its tributaries during the rainy seasons. This river is the largest in the country, and, about a hundred miles from the sea, divides into numerous branches, the principal being those of Persaim and Rangoon, which overflow an extensive tract during the rainy season. The Sitang, another large river, flows into the Gulf of Martaban. The principal ports are Siriam, Negrais, and Rangoon.

The history of the eastern nations is for the most part involved in darkness, until the period when the Europeans, in the progress of navigation, found out a maritime route to India; and we learn from the testimony of the Portuguese historians, that about this time four powerful states divided amongst them the regions which lie between the south-east province of British India, Yunan in China, and the Eastern Sea. These states were distinguished amongst the Europeans by the names of Arracan, Ava, Pegu, and Siam; and, from all that is known respecting them, it appears that they carried on constant wars with each other, and with various success. It is mentioned on the authority of Mendez Pinto, that the Birmans, though formerly subject to the king of Pegu, became afterwards masters of Àva, and caused a revolution in Pegu about the middle of the sixteenth century. Their “supremacy continued throughout the seventeenth and also during the first forty years of the last century, when the Peguans in the provinces of Dalla, Martaban, Tongo, and Prome revolted, and a civil war ensued, which was carried on by both parties with the most revolting ferocity. In the year 1744 the British factory at Siriam was destroyed by the “rage of the contending parties. After a tedious and pro tracted war, which was long doubtful, the Peguans, aided with arms by European traders, and joined by renegade Dutch and Portuguese adventurers, gained important advantages over the Birmans, in the years 1750 and 1751. They finally invested Ava, the capital, which the Birmans, disheartened by defeat, surrendered at discretion, and Dweepdee, the last of a long line of kings, was made prisoner with all his family, excepting two sons, who fled to the Siamese, from whom they met with a friendly reception, and with assurances of succour. Apporaza, the brother of the king of Pegu, was left in Ava, the capital, to complete the reduction of the Burmese. But a deliverer unexpectedly arose to the Birmans, in the person of the celebrated Alompra, who was of low extraction, but endowed with a spirit of boldness and enterprise which qualified him for great achievements. He had collected around him a hundred devoted followers, on whom he could rely; and, availing himself of the favourable opportunity when the Birmans were exasperated by oppression, and when the garrison of Ava had been greatly diminished, he attacked the Peguans with irre⅛istible fury, and put every man to the sword. He then retreated to the fort of Monchaboo, where he repelled the feeble assaults of the Peguans, and became the assailant in his turn, attacking and defeating their scattered forces, and finally advancing, by a bold and well-concerted movement, to Ava, of which he took possession. A large armament was now fitted out by the king of Pegu, the command of which was given to Apporaza, who, ascending the stream of the Irrawaddy, appeared before Ava, which he summoned to surrender, but which Shemhuan, the lieutenant of Alompra, declared that he would defend to the last extremity. Alompra had in the mean time collected a formidable fleet, which Apporaza proceeded to attack. The action, which was obstinate and bloody, terminated in the entire discomfiture of the Peguan general, who retired with the wreck of his army to his own country. This action took place in 1754. An alarm was at this time spread in Pegu, that the Birmans in that city were engaged in a conspiracy against the government, upon which the terrified inhabitants flew to arms, and having murdered the deposed monarch, who was detained in prison, they proceeded to put to death every Birman who was found within the city. This act of cruelty was the signal for a general revolt of the Birmans throughout the empire, who retaliated the barbarity of their oppressors, and quickly made themselves masters of Prome, Denobew, Loonzay, and other places. The monarch of Pegu, Beinga Della, alarmed by this disastrous intelligence, levied a new army, with which he marched from Pegu, and commenced the siege of Prome. The city made a resolute defence; and the besiegers, repelled in several attacks, were forced to convert the siege into a blockade. Alompra detached part of his fleet and army to the aid of the besieged, and forty days afterwards followed with his choicest troops. He immediately commenced an attack on the works of the besiegers, who, defeated in a long, close, and bloody action, were at length compelled to seek safety in a precipitate flight. Alompra did not fail to improve his victory. He commenced an active pursuit, and his troops advanced within a few leagues of Bassein unmolested by the enemy. The intelligence of this disaster spread consternation throughout the dominions of Pegu; the king retired from Bassein to his capital; his adherents, abandoned and terrified, consulted each his own safety, and the town and fort of Persaim were completely deserted. Each party was at this time anxious to procure the aid of the French or English, who had factories at Syriam, and who alternately espoused the one or the other side, accordingas it seemed to suit their interests. Many skirmishes ensued, and the war was for some time carried on without any decisive success on either side. The Birmans, however, supported[7:17:173] by the vigour and capacity of Alompra, were making slow but sure advances, and in April 1755 that chief gained a decided victory over Apporaza, in his camp at Synan-gong. The Pegιιans, disheartened, fled to Syriam, and many did not halt till they reached Pegu itself. The Birmans soon afterwards took possession of Rangoon; and an attempt to recover the place by the Peguans was repulsed with loss. It was again attacked by the Peguans, aided by three English ships, and the Birmans were driven from their boats. They still, however, maintained their position on shore till their enemies retreated. In July 1756, Syriam was - taken by assault, and its fall may be said to have decided the contest. As soon as the rainy season subsided, and the low and swampy country which lies between Pegu and Syriam had emerged from the inundations of the monsoon, Alompra ordered his general to advance towards Pegu with a strong body of troops. The whole army followed a few days afterwards, and in four days reached the city, marching through a wasted country. The city of Pegu was occupied by the royal family, and the principal nobles of the nation. Alompra, according to the usual tactics of the Birmans, had recourse for the reduction of the city to blockade, rather than to the doubtful attempt of an assault. The Peguans, reduced to the utmost straits, .were forced at last to surrender the city, which was given up to indiscriminate plunder; a decisive blow was thus given to the independence of Pegu; and Alompra, improving his victory, proceeded to bring into subjection the countries to the eastward, including the fertile districts between Pegu and the three pagodas, which were the ancient boundaries of Pegu and Siam. From this period the kingdom of Pegu has been incorporated with the Burmese dominions; and the Peguans, though occasionally rebelling, have never been able to shake off their oppressive yoke.

Pegu, the capital of the former kingdom of Pegu, situated on the Sitang, formerly a large and populous city, the extent of which may be still traced in the ruins of the walls. These were compose,d of brick badly cemented with clay, about thirty-five feet thick, with small equidistant bastions about 300 yards asunder. The ditch was about sixty yards in breadth, and ten or twelve feet in depth. The ancient city was razed to the ground by the conqueror Alompra, when he took it in 1757, with the exception of the temples, which are numerous; and of these, the great temple of Shoomandoo has alone been renewed and kept in repair. Europeans who visited this city in the year 1600, describe it as a place of great splendour, the streets spacious, and running in a straight line from gate to gate. The king’s palace, with walls and ditches, stood in the middle of the town, built like a fortress; but the interior apartments were all composed of wood with gilt roofs, and the population amounted to 150,000.

As stated in the former article, orders were issued by the Birman monarch to rebuild the ruined city; and the governor of the province was induced to quit Rangoon and to make Pegu his future residence. These measures so far succeeded that a new town was built on the site of the ancient city; and the inhabitants, consisting chiefly of the priests, the followers of the court, and a few poor families, now amount to 7000. The great proportion of the former inhabitants are either extinct, or have been dispersed over the whole extent of the empire. The new city of Pegu is built on the plan of the former city, and occupies about one half of its area; it is fenced round by a stockade from ten to twelve feet high. The plan of the new town is that of one main street running east and west, crossed at right angles by two smaller streets not yet finished. At each extremity of the principal street there is a gate in the stockade, which is defended by a wretched piece of ordnance and a few musqueteers. There are two inferior gates on the north and south sides of the stockade. The streets are spacious, like those of most Birman towns; and the town is paved with brick, large supplies of which are found in the old ruins. All the houses, even those of the meanest classes, are raised from the ground, either on wooden posts or bamboos, according to the size of the building. The monasteries of the priests, and the habitations of the higher classes, are raised to the height of six or eight feet. The houses are all made of mats or sheathing boards, the use of brick or stone in private buildings being prohibited by a royal edict. The dwellings being composed of such combustible materials, the inhabitants are in continual dread of fire; and almost every house has earthen pots filled with water on the roof; and a class of firemen perambulate the streets day and night. The roofs are lightly covered; and, as an additional precaution against fire, at each door stands a long bamboo, with an iron hook at the end, to pull down the thatch. There is also another pole with a grating of iron, to suppress flame by pressure. The house of the maywoon or viceroy is a spacious building, possessing, however, few ornaments; gilding is forbidden to all subjects in the Birman empire; few have even the liberty to paint the pillars of their house, or to use lacker; and the naked wood gives an unfinished appearance to their houses, however roomy or well adapted to their purposes. The greatobjeetthat attracts attention in Pegu is the noble edifice of Shoomandoo or the Golden Supreme. This extraordinary pile of building is erected on double terraces, one raised upon another; the lower and greater terrace, about ten feet above the natural level of the ground, forming an exact parallelogram; the upper and lesser terrace is similar in shape, and rises about twenty feet above the lower terrace, or thirty feet above the level of the ground. These terraces are ascended by flights of stone steps. The temple is pyramidal, composed of brick and mortar, without excavation or aperture of any sort; it is octagonal at the base and spiral at the top, and each side measures at the base 162 feet. This breadth diminishes abruptly, so that its form has been compared to that of a speaking trumpet. The extreme height of the edifice from the level of the country is 361 feet; and on the top is an iron tee or gilded umbrella, seen on every building in the Birman dominions, fifty-six feet in circumference. All around the steps or ascent are placed innumerable marble images of Gaudama their saint. The Rahaans or attendant priests assert that the foundation of this temple was laid two thousand years ago, and that it was brought to its present state of magnificence by successive monarchs. On the south-east angle of the upper terrace are two handsome saloons, supported on pillars sixty feet in length by thirty in breadth; at each angle of the interior and higher terrace is a temple sixty-seven feet in height, resembling in miniature the great temple; and in front are four gigantic representations in masonry of Palloo the evil genius, half beast, half man, seated on his hams, with a large club on the right shoulder. Long. 96. 12. E. Lat. 17. 10. N.