P E 
thus involved a fmall party of his countryman in rebel¬ 
lion againft their conquerors, reprefented to them that 
there no longer exifted for them any fafety but in vi&ory; 
that they would never be forgiven, and muft refolve to 
conquer or perifh. He invited the Birmans of the neigh¬ 
bouring towns to join his ftandard, and he found a fmall 
number who were willing to embrace his apparently def- 
perate fortunes: with thefe he adopted the fudden refo- 
lution of marching towards Ava, before the numerous 
detachments of Peguers that were fcattered over the pro¬ 
vinces could be recalled for its defence. As he advanced, 
fame magnified his numbers. The governor of Ava, who 
had not more than 3000 men, was difconcerted ; and, 
defpairing of fuccefs, defected that city with his troops, 
and a few of his countrymen who remained behind him 
were put to death by the populace. Inltead of advancing 
in perfon, Alompra now fent his fecond fon Shembuan 
to take poll'efiion of Ava. Thefe events occurred in au¬ 
tumn 1753. 
In confequence of his firft fuccefs, Alompra’s reputa¬ 
tion became unbounded. His countrymen everywhere 
revolted, and attached themfelves to him as their deli¬ 
verer. The Pegu king was alarmed for the northern dif- 
trifts of his own territory, in which the Birman popula¬ 
tion exceeded that of the Peguers. A large force was 
colle&ed under Apporaza, the Pegu king’s brother. It 
confifted of an army, and of a numerous fleet of war- 
boats, which failed up the Irawaddy to reduce the infur- 
gents. He laid fiege to Ava, where Shembuan held out 
forty days, till his father Alompra advanced to his aid. 
Apporaza raifed the fiege, and went to encounter Alom¬ 
pra. The conteft was chiefly confined to the fleet; the 
armies only fkirmifning on-fliore. Shembuan having ad¬ 
vanced from the fort of Ava to attack the rear of the Pe¬ 
guers, they gave way and fled with precipitation, buffer¬ 
ing great daughter in their retreat. The Peguers, en¬ 
raged by thefe misfortunes, put to death the dethroned 
monarch of the Birmans, together with all the principal 
men of his nation, to the amount of feveral hundreds, 
that were in their power, under pretence that they had 
been detefted in a plot againft their conquerors. This 
only rendered the mutual hatred of the nations more vio¬ 
lent ; and in feveral towns the Birmans rofe upon the 
Pegu garrifons, and maflacred the whole of them. 
In the mean time Alompra continued to improve his 
fortune, and avowedly endeavoured to eftablifh in his 
own perfon the fovereignty of his country. When the 
fon of the late king attempted to return, he drove him 
back to his afylum among theSiamefe. Towards the end 
of the year 1754, the Pegu king, Beinga Della, with a 
confiderable army, laid fiege to Prome, a frontier town 
defended by a folid u'all, a deep ditch, and a ltrong ftock- 
ade. The Birmans fuccefsfully refilled a general alfault, 
and the Peguers had recourfe to a blockade. Alompra 
fent thirty-fix war-boats to the affiftance of the town, 
which ftands upon a river ; the commander of thefe threw 
himfelf with a confiderable fupply of men and provifions 
into the town, and fent back his boats, only a few of 
which were taken. After a further delay of fix weeks, 
Alompra arrived in perfon, and attacked the Peguers 
both by land and water. Inltead of keeping up a fire of 
mufquetry as ufual, the boats clofed,and, after a defperate 
engagement, the Peguers abandoned the fiege. 
The tide of fuccefs was now fo completely turned, that 
the war was become defenfive on the part of the king of 
Pegu. He retired to his capital, which being near the 
fea-coaft, the conteft became a kind of maritime warfare 
in the mouths and creeks of the rivers; which laft are 
extremely numerous in the low delta-land near their 
mouth. At this time both the French and Englifli were 
in pofleffion of factories in the Pegu country ; and both 
the Peguers and Birmans folicited the affiftance of the 
ftrangers, being abundantly fenfible that a few (hips of 
burden furnifhed with guns would give a vaft advantage 
to either party, in a conteft againft the war-boats ufed in 
yOL. XIX. No. 1318. 
G U. 475 
their country. In the courfe of the year 1755 both the 
French and Englifh appear to have entered fecretly into 
feparate negotiations with each of the parties, and to have 
promifed aid to each of them. Both of them ultimately 
broke faith with Alompra, and joined the people of Pegu. 
Notwithftanding this affiftance, the Birman leader conti¬ 
nued to enjoy a career of fuccefs. He was viftorious on 
land, and the aid of the foreigners by water only pro¬ 
duced a flight degree of embarraflment. At one time 
three Englifh fliips and one French fliip affifted the Pegu 
force, confuting of zoo armed boats, while 10,000 men 
marched along with them as a land-force ; but the Bir¬ 
mans difconcerted the attack by a ftratagem. With con¬ 
fiderable ingenuity they conftrufted fire-rafts, confifting 
of a number of boats fattened together, and filled with 
combuftibles. Thefe rafts were floated with a ftrong 
fpring-tide to where the European fliips lay at anchor, 
and directed with fuclr ikill and effeft as to oblige them 
to flip their cables and remove, the French fliip narrowly 
efcaping deftruttion. Alompra at laft fucceeded in 
cutting oft’ the communication between Pegu and the 
fea. A French fhip, coming to the affiftance of the Pe¬ 
guers, was taken by furprife ; and, as her papers proved 
the object of her voyage, her officers were put to death by 
the order of Alompra : other foreigners, however, parti¬ 
cularly the Englifli, taken in the important Pegu-town 
of Syriam, were buffered to depart unmolefted, though he 
had fufficient reafon to complain of their countrymen. 
Alompra was at laft, in confequence of his fuccefs in 
every quarter, enabled to lay fiege to Pegu itfelf, the ca¬ 
pital of his enemies. It was fituated on an extenfive 
plain, furrounded with a high folid wall, flanked by fmall 
towers, and ftrengthened on each face by demibaftions 
equidiftant. A broad ditch contained about three feet 
depth of water; and the pagoda ofShoemadoo, which will 
be afterwards defcribed, ferved as a citadel. Circumval- 
lation is a favourite mode of warfare with the Birmans, 
as they are almoft deftitute of cannon, and therefore truft 
rather to famine than to force. Having inverted Pegu, 
and erefted numerous ftockades both to hem in the 
town, and to fecure his own army againft external at¬ 
tack, Alompra, in the month of January 1757, refolved 
to wait patiently till the want of fupplies fhould bring 
the city into his power. After a fiege of two months the 
numerous population of Pegu became mutinous in con¬ 
fequence of want. The king fummoned a council of 
his family and chiefs, and propofed to fue for peace, on 
condition of being allowed to govern his country, con- 
fentingjo do homage for it to the Birman monarch. The 
propofai was accepted by Alompra ; but, as a preliminary, 
the Pegu king was under the r.eceffity of furrendering to 
the conqueror his only unmarried daughter. For fome 
days the peace feemed reftored, and the befiegers and the 
beiieged mingled with each other in amity ; but Alom¬ 
pra, probably with a treacherous intention, having intro¬ 
duced fome foldiers in difguife into the town, they were 
feized and put to death by order of the king of Pegu’s 
nephew Choupavea. Hoftilities recommenced ; and at 
laft the king of Pegu, who appears to have been a timid 
man, privately admitted the Birmans into the city, on 
condition that his own life fhould be fpared. And from 
that time the whole kingdom of Pegu has continued 
united to the Birman empire. 
One attempt was, however, made by the Peguers, 
about ten or twelve years after, to recover their indepen¬ 
dence; and the occafion was this. Shembuan, who had 
now afcended the Birman throne, had w’aged fuccefsful 
war againft the Siamefe in 1766, and had reduced the city 
of Siam to pay tribute. But, being foon after engaged in 
a war with the Chinefe, he found that, as foon as his ar¬ 
mies were recalled from Siam, his authority was difre- 
garded there. He therefore fent one of his generals once 
more into their country ; but he met with fuch oppofi- 
tion as compelled him to retreat and to demand rein¬ 
forcements. This laft requeft was complied with, in a 
6 F manner 
