Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
Located in the northeast of the country, Shan State covers one-quarter of Burma’s land mass. It was traditionally separated into principalities and is mostly comprised of ethnic Shan, Burman Pa-O, Intha, Taungyo, Danu, Palaung and Kachin peoples.<br/><br/> The ethnic Tai-Shan people are believed to have migrated from Yunnan in China. The Shan are descendants of the oldest branch of the Tai-Shan, known as ‘Tai Long’ (Great Tai) or ‘Thai Yai’ (Big Thai). The Tai-Shan who migrated to the south and now inhabit modern-day Laos and Thailand are known as ‘Tai Noi’ (Little Tai) or ‘Tai Nyai’.<br/><br/> The Shan have inhabited the Shan Plateau and other parts of modern-day Myanmar as far back as the 10th century CE. The Shan kingdom of Mong Mao (Muang Mao) existed as early as the 10th century CE, but became a Burmese vassal state during the reign of King Anawrahta of Pagan (1044-1077).
The British conquest of Burma began in 1824 in response to a Burmese attempt to invade India. By 1886, and after two further wars, Britain had incorporated the entire country into the British Raj. To stimulate trade and facilitate changes, the British brought in Indians and Chinese, who quickly displaced the Burmese in urban areas. To this day Rangoon and Mandalay have large ethnic Indian populations. Railways and schools were built, as well as a large number of prisons, including the infamous Insein Prison, then as now used for political prisoners.<br/><br/> Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Rangoon on occasion all the way until the 1930s. Burma was administered as a province of British India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma finally gained independence from Britain on January 4, 1948.
During the reigns of King Mongkut, King Rama IV (1851—68) and King Chulalongkorn, Rama V (1868—1910), the vast majority of Siamese were rice farmers who employed simple methods and rudimentary tools to work the fields. Nevertheless, harvests were bountiful due to the climate and fertile soil, and many farmers were able to produce three harvests per year. Prior to the kings' modernisation drive, Siam's farmers had to give one-quarter of their rice harvest to the king as tax. To ensure the entire population was well fed, Siam had a law that only when three year's supply of rice was stocked, would the country export the product. Similar state monopolies existed for other foods.