BAGYIDAW

'King Bagyidaw' (; literally Royal Elder Uncle, 23 July 1784 - 15 October 1846) was the seventh king of the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma who reigned from 1819 to 1837. Grandson of King Bodawpaya and son of the Crown Prince who led the armies into Arakan in 1784, he moved the capital from Amarapura back to Ava in 1823.^[2]

Contents

Religion

War

Diplomacy

End of reign

References

External links

Religion

As Sagaing Min (Prince of Sagaing) in 1803, Bagyidaw married Princess Hsinbyume (Lady of the White Elephant, granddaughter of Bodawpaya, 1789-1812), but she died in childbed at the age of 23. He built a beautiful white stupa in her memory called Hsinbyume or Myatheindan Pagoda at Mingun near Mandalay.^[3] His chief queen ''Nanmadaw'' Me Nu built the Maha Aungmye Bonzan Monastery in 1818, more commonly known as ''Me Nu Ok Kyaung'' (Me Nu's Brick Monastery), unusual in that Burmese monasteries traditionally are wooden structures.^[4]

War

Bagyidaw was Master-General of Ordnance during the invasion of Ayutthaya in 1808. He was defeated in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826), losing Arakan (now Rakhine) and Tenasserim (now Tanintharyi). Under the guidance of General Maha Bandula, he had pursued a policy of expansionism, conquering Assam and Manipur and making them tributaries of the kingdom. The British consequently pursued war which began on 5 March 1824, driving the Burmese forces from Assam, Rakhine, and Manipur. On 24 February 1826, Bagyidaw signed the Treaty of Yandabo, ending the war.^[5] During the war the American Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) and his wife among others were seized and imprisoned, later moved to Aungpinle near Amarapura. He was subsequently asked to help with negotiations to conclude the treaty. ^[6]

Diplomacy

John Crawfurd, the first British envoy after the war, failed in his mission of negotiating for a commercial treaty and exchange of Residents between Ava and Calcutta. His successor, Major Henry Burney, had better luck winning over the king with his charming personality and was able to establish the Residency. His greatest achievement was in settling the dispute between Manipur and Burma over which kingdom the Kabaw Valley belonged to in Ava's favour; the Manipuris had occupied the region since the war ended with the tacit approval of the Government of India until Burney concluded from historical records that the Burmese claim was justified. He did not however succeed in returning Tenasserim, which was becoming more of a liability than an asset, at a desired price to the Burmese even when they were informed that the Siamese might bid for the coastal province which once belonged to them.

End of reign

Bagyidaw became afflicted by bouts of depression after the loss of territory under the Treaty of Yandabo, and as his condition worsened the reins of government came under the control of his queen ''Nanmadaw'' Me Nu and her brother ''Minthagyi'' Maung O. He was eventually forced to abdicate his throne in favour of his brother Tharrawaddy Min who raised the standard of rebellion in 1837.

References

1. The Royal Ark:Burma - Konbaung5
2. The Royal Ark: Burma - Konbaung Dynasty
3. Colonel Sladen's Account of Hsinbyume Pagoda at Mingun, 1868
4. The Art and Culture of Burma: The Konbaung Period - Amarapura Dr. Richard M. Cooler
5. Burma, D.G.E.Hall, , , Hutchinson University Library, 1960,
6. Wanderings in Burma George W. Bird

External links

★ Journal of An Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Court of Ava in the year 1826-1827 by John Crawfurd SOAS

★ Was "Yadza" Really Ro(d)gers? Gerry Abbott, SOAS, Autumn 2005