Burma (The Southeast Asian Way)

Burma, formally the Kingdom of Burma, is a nation in Southeast Asia. Its capital is Mandalay while the largest city is Yangon. Burma is bordered by China to the north, India and Bangladesh to the west and Lan Xang and Siam to the east. Burma has a population of around 70 million people and is one of the wealthiest countries in Asia. The largest ethic group are the Burmese. Burma is rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas and other mineral resources.

Early history
The feudal system in Burma originated quite early. Historical and archeological documents proved that different ethic groups migrated to Burma from different regions formed feudal dynasties and played important roles in the process of creating the country of Burma.

In the third to the first century BC, multiple kingdoms and micro-states was founded by the Mon and Pyu people. They had an agriculture society, planting and selling rice as well as minerals and wood to India, China, Indochina and even made it far to the Middle East.

During the 8th and 9th centry AD, the Burmese from the eastern Himalayas came in and replaced the Pyu in central Burma and formed their own kingdom of Pagan. In the 7th century the Shan people coming from Yunnan migrated into Northeastern Burma and formed their own country.

Pagan Dynasty
In 849, after the Pyu were pushed out of the North by the Mon people, the Burmese set up their own settlements and took Bagan as their own settlement and took Bagan as their place of residence. Over the next two centuries, dynasties were constantly waging warfare to win the war. In 1044, a royal military leader of the Burmese lineage, Anawrahta, who killed King Sokkat, became king of Bagan, opening up a golden period of Burmese history. The Pagan dynasty surrounding conquered micro-states, made good relations with Indian kingdoms and stopped the Khmer expansion in the Tenasserim coast. They promoted Buddhism as the national religion.

The kingdom began to decline in the mid-13th century and collpased due to repeated Mongol invasions. The collapse was followed by 250 years of political fragmentation that lasted well into the 16th century. The Burmese kingdom of Ava tried to recreate the Burmese empire by waging wars with other kingdoms following the break-up but failed.

Taungoo Dynasty
After more than three centuries being divided into small nations, the Taungoo dynasty in the sixteenth century carried out many wars of territorial expansion and unification. In 1541, the Burmese, under the leadership of King Tabinshweht,  took advantage of the constant battles between the Shan and the Mon and attacked Inwa - the capital of the Shan. He then proceeded to the successful conquests in the south, captured the Mon king and moved the capital to Bago. The empire sucessfully conquered Aytthuaya and Lan Xang.

During this period, trade with neighboring countries was strongly developed. Pegu became an important port for merchants traveling to northern Burma and to China along the Ayeyarwady River. Important ports in the Burmese deltas such as Syriam, Martaban and Bassein are also convenient stops for traders from Southeast Asia.

However, the Second Burmese Empire also entered a period of decline after King Bayinnaung died in 1581. The kingdom was not sufficient enough to maintain power and protect their territories. The battles between the ethnic groups emerged. In 1636, the Burmese capital was forced to be moved to Inwa in the wake of the Mon's attacks. All exchanges with the outside world were stalled. Burma's second feudal empire gradually disintegrated.

Konbaung dynasty
In 1752, taking advantaged of the Tangoo imperial court being weakened, along French support, the Mon had captured the capital Inwa and tried to control Burma. However, the Burmese didn't give up on power that easily. General Aung Giaeya ousted the Mon form power. A year later, in 1753, he won back Inwa and named himself the king, taking the name of Alaungpaya, placing the royal palace in Shwebo. The imperial city is called Konbaung. Konbaung is also the name of the dynasty.

Only seven years later, in 1755, King Alaungpaya won back Payay, conquering the Shan states. In 1755, he took Dagon (where he named Yangon, meaning "end of hatred", then captured the Mon capital of Bago in 1757). After eight years of war, King Alaungpaya unified the country and established the Konbaung Dynasty.

After the Burmese-Siamese war (1765–67), The Konbaung dynasty annexed the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya. Peaceful relations between the Konbaung and the Qing were established. Burmese control of Siam didn't last long as Siam regained its independance.

In respond to the British taking control of India and the Malay peninsula, Burma began concessing to the British and French. Mindon took control after a coup d'teat overthrowing his uncle, and attempted to make numerous reforms to modernized his country to avoid colonization by the British.

Education

 * Scolars are sent to the west to learn about the Industrial Revolution and military techonogy.
 * Opening multiple schools adapting elements from the West.

Diplomacy

 * Conducting multilateral diplomacy. Increasing relations with Ottoman, USA and France to counter the British.

Adminstration
1) Consultation of a body 2) Unify in action 3) Compliance with laws 4) Respect the teachings of the elders. 5) Do not oppress women. 6) Respect of religious worship 7) Protection of monks.
 * Consolidation of central centralization regimes. Issue wage regime to reduce the power and income of mandarins.
 * Efforts to convert Burma into constitutional monarchy
 * In 1871, Pho Hlaing wrote the Mahasamatavinicchaya political treatise on the relationship between the king and the people. In it, he argued that the king's rule was not established by supernatural powers but from inheritance
 * In 1878, Pho Hlaing published Rajadhammasangaha, a revolutionary treatise. Based on influences from Buddhism, he set seven criteria for a patterned state:

Economy
Due to the reforms, Burma successfully avoided British colonization and steadily grown to become one of the wealthiest countries in Asia. Mindon's successor, Thibaw, reformed the constutution making Burma a constitutional monarchy. In the 60's, Burma was the world's largest exporter of rice. World War II onwards was the industrialize period of Burma as well as the rest of Southeast Asia. During World War II, being distanced from the warfare, Burma and other countries in the region focus on producing and exporting food and weapons to combatants. This had helped developing Burmese economy as well as other countries.
 * Restructure of the financial system.
 * Reform of the tax collection system to increase the direct tax revenue.
 * Remove trading barriers
 * During the American Civil War, prices of cotton increased (the Confederated States were embargoed). Mindon has taken advantage of this opportunity to boost cotton exports to make money for innovation.
 * Promote trade in cotton, silk, tea and silver with China through Yunnan and Southeast Asia through the Yangon harbor.
 * Boost trade with the British (mostly to British Raj)