Kingdom of Burma

The Kingdom of Burma is a Puppet State of the Empire of Japan which is East of Nipponwestland, South of South China, North of the Nippon Caliphate and West of the Kingdom of Siam and Kingdom of Laos.

## History

### Origins

#### **Before the British**

Because of its location, trade routes between China and India passed through the country, keeping Burma wealthy through trade, although self-sufficient agriculture was still the basis of the economy. Indian merchants traveled along the coasts and rivers (especially the Irrawaddy River) throughout the regions where the majority of Burmese lived, bringing Indian cultural influences into the country that still exist there today.[*citation needed*] As Burma had been one of the first Southeast Asian countries to adopt Buddhism on a large scale, it continued under the British as the officially patronised religion of most of the population.

Before the British conquest and colonisation, the ruling Konbaung dynasty practiced a tightly centralized form of government. The king was the chief executive with the final say on all matters, but he could not make new laws and could only issue administrative edicts. The country had two codes of law, the Dhammathat and the Hluttaw, the center of government, was divided into three branches—fiscal, executive, and judicial. In theory, the king was in charge of all of the Hluttaw, but none of his orders got put into place until the Hluttaw approved them, thus checking his power. Further dividing the country, provinces were ruled by governors, who were appointed by the Hluttaw, and villages were ruled by hereditary headmen approved by the king.

#### **The British have come**

Conflict began between Burma and the British when the Konbaung dynasty decided to expand into Arakan in the state of Assam, close to British-held Chittagong in India. This led to the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26). The British dispatched a large seaborne expedition that took Rangoon without a fight in 1824. In Danuphyu, at the Ayeyarwadddy Delta, Burmese General Maha Bandula was killed and his armies routed. Burma was forced to cede Assam and other northern provinces. The 1826 Treaty of Yandabo formally ended the First Anglo-Burmese War, the longest and the most expensive war in the history of British India. Fifteen thousand European and Indian soldiers died, together with an unknown number of Burmese army and civilian casualties. The campaign cost the British between 5 and 13 million pounds sterling (between 18 and $48 billion in 2020 U.S. dollars) which led to an economic crisis in British India in 1833.

In 1852, the Second Anglo-Burmese War was provoked by the British, who sought the teak forests in Lower Burma as well as a port between Calcutta and Singapore. After 25 years of peace, British and Burmese fighting started afresh and continued until the British occupied all of Lower Burma. The British were victorious in this war and as a result obtained access to the teak, oil, and rubies of their newly conquered territories.

In Upper Burma, the still unoccupied part of the country, King Mindon had tried to adjust to the thrust of imperialism. He enacted administrative reforms and made Burma more receptive to foreign interests. But the British initiated the Third Anglo-Burmese War, which lasted less than two weeks during November 1885. The British government justified their actions by claiming that the last independent king of Burma, Thibaw Min, was a tyrant and that he was conspiring to give France more influence in the country. British troops entered Mandalay on 28 November 1885. Thus, after three wars gaining various parts of the country, the British occupied all the area of present-day Myanmar, making the territory a Province of British India on 1 January 1886.

#### **British Rule**

Burmese armed resistance continued sporadically for several years, and the British commander had to coerce the High Court of Justice to continue to function. Though war officially ended after only a couple of weeks, resistance continued in northern Burma until 1890, with the British finally resorting to systematic destruction of villages and appointment of new officials to finally halt all guerrilla activity.

Traditional Burmese society was drastically altered by the demise of the monarchy and the separation of religion and state. Intermarriage between Europeans and Burmese gave birth to an indigenous Eurasian community known as the Anglo-Burmese who would come to dominate the colonial society, hovering above the Burmese but below the British.

After Britain took over all of Burma, they continued to send tribute to China to avoid offending them, but this unknowingly lowered the status they held in Chinese minds. It was agreed at the Burma convention in 1886 that China would recognise Britain's occupation of Upper Burma while Britain continued the Burmese payment of tribute every ten years to Peking.

### Japanese Liberation

Burma was liberated by Japan which was easy due to the huge amount of rebellions against the British and was occupied until the end of World War I. After World War I, Japan had restored the monarchy of Burma which was deposed by the British, King Thibaw was their first choice, but he died in 1915 during the War, his first two daughters have no heirs that are legitimate for the throne, so his third daughter was elected as Queen of Burma with Ba Maw as President of the Privy Council.

## Government

The Government of Burma is a Constitutional Monarchy ruled by a King/Queen under a Military Dictatorship ruled by a Junta that is a Privy Council which consists of Damiyos (Japanese Lords within the Imperial Japanese Army and the Thirty Comrades who founded the Burmese National Army) led by a President of the Privy Council who only answers to the King/Queen. The Privy Council elects a Prime Minister who then chooses members of his cabinet.

## Military

### Army

The Burmese armed forces, officially known as the Tatmadaw, consists of a somewhat well organised standing army (Tatmadaw Kyee) and a large swathe of militia groups active within the country under command of the Burmese National Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. The Burmese National Army was formed from group known as the Thirty Comrades under the auspices of the Imperial Japanese Army after training the Burmese nationalists during WWI. The Army consists of many Militias within Burma who are under command of the Privy Council.

### Navy

The Burmese Navy, or Tatmadaw Yay, is incredibly primitive and is in many respects a glorified coast guard, often used to clamp down on the rampant piracy that operates in the Andaman Sea. The navy itself mostly consists of obsolete ships ‘donated’ by Japan and Germany after 1929 to protect Burma (and its foreign trade) from future blockades.

### Air Force

The Burmese Air Force, or Tatmadaw Lei, is still in its infancy and consists of a few fighters loaned by the Empire of Japan from South China. Unlike the navy, Burma lacks any form of domestic means to produce planes, much less train pilots in using them. As such even less regard has been given to it.

## Foreign Relations

* Colonial Relations with the Empire of Japan.
* Great Relations with the Kingdom of Bhutan, the Holy Kingdom of Tibet, the Imperial State of Vietnam and Kingdom of Sikkim.
* Bad Relations with the Kingdom of Siam, the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Laos.