The history of Myanmar can be traced back 5,000 years. At that time, the villages along the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar were already inhabited. The division of Myanmar into "Upper Burma" and "Lower Burma" is an artificial division after British colonial rule.
Legend has it that in 200 BC the Piyu entered the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River and controlled the trade routes between China and India. Two centuries later, the Mon came to the Sitang River valley, and in 849 the Burmese took over the Pyu River valley and founded the city of Bagan.
- After the formation of a unified state in 1044, it experienced three feudal dynasties: Bagan, Dongwu and Kampung.
- Between 1824 and 1885, the British launched three wars of invasion and occupation of Burma.
- In 1886, the British classified Burma as a province of British India.
- In 1937, Myanmar seceded from British India and came under the direct rule of the British Governor-General.
- In 1942, Japanese troops occupied Burma. In 1945, there was a general uprising throughout the country, and Burma was restored. After the British regained control of Burma.
- In October 1947, Britain was forced to promulgate the Burma Independence Act. On January 4, 1948, Myanmar declared its independence from the Commonwealth and established the Union of Burma.
- It was renamed the Socialist Republic of the Union of Myanmar in January 1974 and the "Union of Myanmar" on 23 September 1988.
Bagan Dynasty (1044–1287)
The Bagan Dynasty was founded in 1044 by King Anurutha (1044–1077) as the first unified empire in Burma, with Theravada Buddhism as its state religion. King Anurutha conquered the Shan and Mon peoples and expanded his territory. During the reign of King Alencidu (1111-1167), Theravada Buddhism gradually became mainstream and reached its peak in the early 13th century. Of the more than 3,000 temples built at that time, 100 have survived to this day. In 1287, the Yuan ruler Kublai Khan led a large-scale invasion of the Yuan army, ending the Bagan Dynasty. After that, Myanmar entered the Shan period.
Donggu Dynasty (1531–1752)
In 1531, the Burmese Mangying Ti (1531-1550) unified Burma for the second time, established the Donggu Dynasty and proclaimed himself king, and in 1546 established the capital city of Bago. Mang Yinglong then ascended the throne, exhausted his resources due to repeated wars with the powerful Tai kingdom of Ayutthaya (Ayutthaya Kingdom), and finally moved the capital to Ava when the city of Bago was occupied by the Akha in 1599. The Kingdom of Donggu eventually fell in 1752. In 1753, the Burmese Yongya appeared, drove out the Mon who had captured Awa at that time, and established the city of Daguang.
Kampung dynasty (1752–1885)
The period from 1782 to 1819 was the authoritarian period of King Potau, and his repeated ambitions to invade Thailand made the British who occupied India at the time worried about the possible threat posed by Burma.
Colonial period
Tensions between Britain and Burma reached their peak in the Anglo-Burmese Wars of 1824–1826 and 1852. The British won both battles and eventually captured the city of Bago and called it Lower Burma. After the British entered Burma, the economy of Upper Burma also improved significantly. In 1886, Britain again won the Third Anglo-Burmese War, when the British incorporated Burma as an Indian province and established the government in Yangon. During the British colonial rule, transportation and education in Myanmar improved dramatically. The British worked hard to develop waterways, which allowed countless steam boats to sail on the Irrawaddy River. Railways and roads were also built and improved to compensate for the lack of waterways. At this time, the influx of Indian immigrants led to cheap labor and threatened the local economy. As a result, the Burmese began to develop hatred of the Indians, which led to the outbreak of anti-Indian riots in 1930.
In 1936, in the first and only election under British rule, Dr. Bhamo was elected Prime Minister of a British-controlled government, and in 1937, the British created a unique Burmese constitution that agreed to Burmese autonomy.
During World War II, Japan occupied Burma in May 1942 and established a Burmese puppet government headed by Bhamo. With the support of Japan, General Aung San, who opposed the British colonial government and yearned for independence, organized the Burma Independence Volunteer Army, and in 1942 he led the army to participate in the battle against the British army and the Chinese Expeditionary Force with the support of the Japanese army, and then declared Burma's independence from Britain with the support of the Japanese army. In 1944, when the Japanese army was losing ground and Aung San began to support the Allies of the United States and Britain, and organized the "Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League" to fight the Japanese army. After Japan's surrender in 1945, the declaration of Burma's independence was valid. Post-war Burma remained under British control. After the British Parliament formally recognized the independence of Burma on 4 January 1948, the Union of Burma was formally established in early 1948.