,524 



BIRMAN EMPIRE. 



Airman s t a te of permanent vassalage several of the neighbour- 

 :jn P' rc ' ing provinces, he died in 1770, and was succeeded in 

 " the government by his son Chengenza. The new 



prince, unlike his predecessors, was the slave of his 

 pleasures and the tyrant of his people. During his 

 reign, the military operations of the Birmans appear 

 to nave been completely suspended, whilst the neigh- 

 bouring nations, who had so recently experienced the 

 power of their arms, felt no inclination to become the 

 aggressors. At last, in consequence of his numerous 

 acts of savage cruelty, a formidable conspiracy was 

 excited against him, headed by one of his uncles: the 

 conspirators surrounded his palace, and though he 

 saved himself by flight, yet after various adventures, 

 he was slain in 178'2, and fell unlamented, as he had 

 lived despised by his people. 



Shembuan Menderagee, the head of the conspiracy, 

 was the fourth son of Alompra, and had carefully 

 concealed under an humble exterior, and an apparent 

 love of retirement, ambition that aspired to the pos- 

 session of the crown ; and though Mornien, who was 

 formerly deprived of the kingdom when a minor by 

 his uncle Shembuan, and placed in retirement under 

 the care of the priests, was now raised to the throne, 

 he enjoyed his dignity only eleven days. Menderagee, 

 who was also his uncle, seized on the reins of govern- 

 ment, and made Mornien prisoner. Deposition and 

 imprisonment, however, did not satisfy the usurper ; 

 but without assigning any cause, or granting even 

 the form of a trial, the unfortunate nephew was, by 

 his uncle's orders, drowned in the river between two 

 jars, conformably to the Bhutan mode of executing 

 members of the royal family. Desirous of extending 

 his dominions, the new king in 1783 attacked the 

 Rajah of Arracan, and in the short space of a few 

 months accomplished the conquest of that kingdom, 

 which, with its dependencies, was formed into a pro- 

 vince of the Birman empire. He next directed his 

 arms against Siam, which, since the attack by Shem- 

 buan, had enjoyed some respite from hostility, and 

 was beginning to recover its ancient vigour. In his 

 first attempt he was foiled, and being mortified with 

 the disappointment, he resolved, as soon as possible, 

 to retrieve the disgrace which his arms had sustained. 

 With this view, he marched in the spring of 1786 at 

 the head of 30,000 men ; but he had scarcely enter- 

 ed the territories of the enemy, when he was opposed 

 by the king of Siam, and after a furious engagement 

 completely routed. In the following year the Sia- 

 mese made an unsuccessful invasion of the Birman 

 empire ; and at last in 1793, they concluded a treaty 

 of peace highly favourable to the Birman interests. 

 Soon after this, some of the Birman troops made an 

 incursion into the British territories, in search of some 

 banditti who had taken refuge in our dominions. 

 Though at first this circumstance had a threatening 

 aspect, yet the robbers, as they were found guilty of 

 the charges brought against them, were delivered up, 

 and the whole affair was amicably settled. At the 

 same time, ;this event furnished us with the opportu- 

 nity of acquiring more accurate knowledge of a peo- 

 ple whose situation, extent of territory, and commer- 

 cial connections with British India, rendered a liberal 

 intercourse with them highly desirable. In order to 



promote this important object, the governor-general Uirman 

 Sir John Shore, now Lard Teignraoutb, sent Cap- l"- m P' rf - 

 tain Symes on an embassy t'j the Birman court, and /"' 



it was on this occasion that we acquired the principal 

 information that we possess of the present state of 

 this empire. 



The climate of the Birman empire appears to be climate, 

 very healthy and agreeable. The season* are regular, 

 and the extremes of heat and cold are seldom expe- 

 rienced for any considerable length of time. Imme- 

 diately before the commencement of the rains, the 

 heat indeed becomes very intense, but it is only of 

 short duration Towards the end of May, Colonel 

 Symes found the thermometer at 98 about noon. 



The soil of the southern provinces of the Birman Agricul- 

 empire is remarkably fertile, and produces as luxurious lure - 

 crops of rice as are to be found in the finest parts of 

 Bengal ; but in some parts extensive plains are to be 

 seen, on which the vestiges of cultivation are evident, 

 which have been desolated by the ravages of war du- 

 ring the contest between the Birmans and the Pe- 

 guese, so that the finest territories in the world have 

 in many places become the domain of the wild beasts 

 of the forest. In the northern parts of the empire, 

 the country is irregular and mountainous ; but the 

 plains and valleys, particularly near the rivers, are ex- 

 ceedingly fertile. They yield excellent wheat, and 

 the various kinds of small grain which grow in Hin- 

 dostan, with most of the different species of esculent 

 vegetables. Sugar tanes, tobacco of a superior qua- 

 lity, cotton, indigo, and the various tropical fruits, 

 are natural products of this country. The art of 

 agriculture, however, is still in a state of imperfec- 

 tion ; but this does not seem to arise so much from 

 want of skill in the people as from their present situa- 

 tion, which renders great exertion to procure subsist- 

 ence by no means necessary. The Birmans 'are in a 

 state similar to that of a colony in a new territory : 

 land is cheap and abundant, while labour is procured 

 with difficulty ; and hence, they cultivate only the 

 most fertile spots, and even then only in an indifferent 

 manner, leaving the greater part of the work to na- 

 ture, which has been very bountiful to this country. 

 In some quarters, however, neat farms are to be seen ; 

 the lands are fenced and divided into inclosures to re- 

 ceive the cattle, of which there are great abundance ; 

 the fields are divided by thorn hedges ; the low 

 grounds are prepared for rice, and the higher lands 

 are planted with leguminous shrubs, or left for pas- 

 ture. The cattle used in some parts of the country 

 for draft and tillage are remarkably good ; they em- 

 ploy only two of them in the plough, which turns up 

 the soil very superficially. In their large carts they 

 put four strong oxen, which are driven at the gallop 

 by a girl standing up in the vehicle, who manages the 

 reins and whip with ease and dexterity. In conse- 

 quence of many parts of the country remaining in a 

 state of nature, the woods arc large and numerous, 

 affording an abundant supply of various kinds of tim- 

 ber. The monarch of the Birman forests, however, 

 is the teak tree, which grows in great plenty in the 

 southern parts of the empire, near the large rivers, 

 and is considered as superior to the European oak. 

 This species of wood is of peculiar importance to our 



