| Burmese–Siamese War (1788) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Burmese–Siamese wars | |||||||
 The advance of the Siamese elephant-mounted forces along the Banthat Range, painted by Hem Vejakorn. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Konbaung dynasty (Burma) |  Rattanakosin Kingdom (Siam) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Maha Thiri Thihathu | Rama I | ||||||
The Tavoy campaign of 1788 was a conflict between the Kingdom of Burma under Konbaung dynasty and the Kingdom of Siam under the Chakri dynasty over the town of Tavoy and the Tenasserim Coast.
The Tenasserim Coast had been battlegrounds of the vying for control between Burma and Siam since the sixteenth century. [1] Tenasserim Coast consisted of two parts; the northern part centered on the town of Tavoy and the southern part centered on the town of Tanintharyi (Thai : ตะนาวศรี, RTGS: Tanao Si). At the mouth of the Tenasserim River laid the port city of Mergui, which was an important Siamese trading port during the reign of King Narai. [1] The Tenasserim Coast was known as "Tavoy, Mergui and Tenassserim" in Thai sources. The inhabitants of Tavoy were called "Tavoyan" [2] as a distinct ethnicity and might relate to the Mon people. The inhabitants of Tanintharyi were Siamese [3] or Siamese-Mon mixture. A seventeenth-century account stated that the inhabitants of Mergui were "Burmese, Siamese, Chinese, Indian, Malay and European". [4]
During the Burmese–Siamese War (1568–1569), the Burmese under King Bayinnaung gained control over Tavoy, [1] Tanintharyi and the whole coast from the Siamese. King Naresuan of Siam regained the coast [1] in 1592. Later King Anaukpetlun of the Burmese Toungoo dynasty retook Tavoy. The Tenasserim Coast then became separated into two portions; the northern Tavoy portion under Burmese domination and the southern part, comprising Tanintharyi and Mergui, under Siamese control. This power balance existed for about one hundred years.
The Mon rebellions in the eighteenth century toppled [1] the Burmese Toungoo dynasty and established the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom. The Burmese recovered themselves under the Konbaung dynasty who ended [1] the Hanthawaddy Kingdom and realized the importance of keeping Lower Burma and the Tenasserim Coast under control to prevent further Mon rebellions. The Burmese Konbaung dynasty suppressed [5] the Mon people who, in great number, took refuge on the Tenasserim Coast and in Siam. [6] Siam indirectly supported the Mon rebels by providing them with shelters. King Alaungpaya of Konbaung dynasty invaded Siam in the Burmese–Siamese War (1759–60) and conquered Mergui and Tanintharyi. The whole coastline of Tenasserim then came under Burmese control. [1] During the Nine Armies' War (1785-86), King Bodawpaya of Burma used the Tenasserim Coast the base for his expeditions into Siam.
After the Burmese defeat in the Nine Armies' War, the power balance on the Tenasserim Coast shifted in favor of the Siamese who went on their offensives. King Rama I of Siam, along with his generals, marched to Tavoy in January 1788. He sent his two generals Chao Phraya Mahasena Pli and Chao Phraya Rattanapipit ahead as vanguard. The Siamese troops crossed the Tenasserim Hills at modern Pilok, Thong Pha Phum District, Kanchanaburi Province. Steeped mountains of the route hindered transportations. King Rama I himself had to climb through the ropes to reach the mountaintop. [7] The two Siamese generals defeated the Burmese led by Natmilin in the Battle of Kaleinaung . King Rama I then laid siege on Tavoy, leading to the siege of Tavoy that lasted for half a month. [7] The town of Tavoy was defended by the Burmese general Maha Thiri Thihathu ("Kinwun Mingyi" in Thai sources) and Nemyo Kyawdin the governor of Tavoy. The Burmese did not yield and King Rama I finally decided to retreat.
Nemyo Kyawdin the governor of Tavoy (personal name Nga Myat Pyu, [8] known as Myinzaingza in Thai sources), who had successfully defended the town from the invading Siamese, wished for himself to be appointed to the governorship of Martaban. However, King Bodawpaya instead made Minhla Sithu [8] as the governor of Martaban that had authorities over Tavoy. The relations between Nemyo Kyawdin and Minhla Sithu were not good and Minhla Sithu reported to King Bodawpaya. King Bodawpaya ordered Nemyo Kyawdin relieved of his governorship and arrested for trials at Amarapura. When the new governor arrived in Tavoy, Nemyo Kyawdin had him killed. King Bodawpaya declared Nemyo Kyawdin a rebel and arrested his father Metkaya Bo. Myinzaingza Nemyo Kyawdin then decided to defect to the Siamese cause against King Bodawpaya.
Lady Chi, a lost niece of King Rama I (she was a daughter of an elder brother of King Rama I), had been captured as captive and deported to Tavoy during the Fall of Ayutthaya. Nemyo Kyawdin found out her existence. Nemyo Kyawdin wrote a letter inscribed on a gold plate to King Rama I to submit to Siam in March 1792. He also had Lady Chi write another letter to the Siamese king. [7] King Rama I, upon seeing the letters of Nemyo Kyawdin and his niece Lady Chi, was determined to take Tavoy. This led to the Burmese–Siamese War (1792–1794).
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok Maharat, personal name Thongduang (ทองด้วง), also known as Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. His full title in Thai is Phra Bat Somdet Phra Paramoruracha Maha Chakri Boromanat Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok. He ascended the throne in 1782, following the deposition of King Taksin of Thonburi. He was also celebrated as the founder of Rattanakosin as the new capital of the reunited kingdom.
Hsinbyushin was king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1763 to 1776. The second son of the dynasty founder Alaungpaya is best known for his wars with Qing China and Siam, and is considered the most militaristic king of the dynasty. His successful defense against four Qing invasions preserved Burmese independence. His 1765 invasion of Ayutthaya brought an end to the Ayutthaya Kingdom. The near simultaneous victories over Qing and Siam has been referred to as testimony "to a truly astonishing elan unmatched since Bayinnaung." He also raised the Shwedagon Pagoda to its current height in April 1775.
Mon kingdoms were polities established by the Mon-speaking people in parts of present-day Myanmar and Thailand. The polities ranged from Dvaravati and Haripuñjaya in present-day northern Thailand to Thaton, Hanthawaddy (1287–1539), and the Restored Hanthawaddy (1740–1757) in southern Myanmar.
Tanintharyi Region is a region of Myanmar, covering the long narrow southern part of the country on the northern Malay Peninsula, reaching to the Kra Isthmus. It borders the Andaman Sea to the west and the Tenasserim Hills, beyond which lie Thailand, to the east. To the north is the Mon State. There are many islands off the coast, the large Mergui Archipelago in the southern and central coastal areas and the smaller Moscos Islands off the northern shores. The capital of the division is Dawei (Tavoy). Other important cities include Myeik (Mergui) and Kawthaung. The division covers an area of 43,344.9 square kilometres (16,735.6 sq mi), and had a population of 1,406,434 at the 2014 Census.
The Burmese–Siamese War (1785–1786), known as the Nine Armies' Wars in Siamese history because the Burmese came in nine armies, was the first war between the Konbaung dynasty of Burma and the Siamese Rattanakosin Kingdom of the Chakri dynasty.
The Tha Din Daeng campaign was a short conflict, occurring in 1786 in Tha Din Daeng, now in Kanchanaburi Province in western Thailand. The belligerents were King Bodawpaya of the Burmese Konbaung Dynasty, against Phraphutthayotfa Chulalok and Maha Sura Singhanat of the Rattanakosin Kingdom.
Thado Minsaw, also known as Shwedaung Min (ရွှေတောင်မင်း), was heir-apparent of Burma from 1783 to 1808, during the reign of his father King Bodawpaya of Konbaung dynasty. As Prince of Shwedaung and Dabayin, he was entrusted by the king to manage the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom, and when necessary, to lead the Royal Army against enemies. Thado Minsaw is best known for his conquest of Arakan in 1784–1785 and the subsequent removal of Mahamuni Buddha from Mrauk-U to Amarapura. He also led the successful defense of Tenasserim (Taninthayi) coast in 1792 in the war with Siam. The crown prince also led the revitalization of Burmese theater in the late 18th century by bringing a group of young artists to his court.
The Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom, also known as the Neo-Ramanic State was the kingdom that ruled Lower Burma and parts of Upper Burma from 1740 to 1757. The kingdom grew out of a rebellion by the Mon led population of Pegu, who then rallied the other Mon as well as Delta Bama and Karens of Lower Burma, against the Toungoo Dynasty of Ava in Upper Burma. The rebellion succeeded in expelling Toungoo loyalists and restored the Mon-speaking Kingdom of Hanthawaddy which ruled Lower Burma from 1287 to 1539. The restored Hanthawady kingdom also claim heritage to Bayinaung's early Toungoo Empire whose capital was based in Pegu and guaranteed the loyalty of the non-Mon population of Lower Burma. Supported by the French, the upstart kingdom quickly carved out a space for itself in Lower Burma, and continued its push northward. In March 1752, its forces captured Ava, and ended the 266-year-old Toungoo dynasty.
Ekkathat or Borommoracha III or King of Suriyamarin Throne Hall was the 6th monarch of the Ban Phlu Luang dynasty, the 33rd and the last monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, ruling from 1758 to 7 April 1767, prior to the fall of Ayutthaya. Moreover, he was called by the people in his time as "King Khiruean", which meant "the king with skin disease", due to his chloasma.
The Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War was the war fought between the Konbaung Dynasty and the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom of Burma (Myanmar) from 1752 to 1757. The war was the last of several wars between the Burmese-speaking north and the Mon-speaking south that ended the Mon people's centuries-long dominance of the south.
The Burmese–Siamese War (1759–1760) or Alaungpaya's War was the military conflict between the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) and the Ban Phlu Luang Dynasty of the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam, in which the Burmese forces under King Alaungpaya of the Konbaung dynasty invaded Siam. After about a century of relative hiatus of Burmese–Siamese conflicts, this war reignited the new round of military conflicts between Burma and Siam that would last for about a century to come.
The Burmese–Siamese War of 1765–1767, also known as the war of the second fall of Ayutthaya was the second military conflict between Burma under the Konbaung dynasty and Ayutthaya Kingdom under the Siamese Ban Phlu Luang dynasty that lasted from 1765 until 1767, and the war that ended the 417-year-old Ayutthaya Kingdom.
The military history of Myanmar (Burma) spans over a millennium, and is one of the main factors that have shaped the history of the country, and to a certain degree, the history of Southeast Asia. At various times in history, successive Burmese kingdoms were also involved in warfare against their neighbouring states in the surrounding regions of modern Burmese borders—from Bengal, Manipur and Assam in the west, to Yunnan (the southern China) in the northeast, to Laos and Siam in the east and southeast.
The Burmese–Siamese War (1593–1600), also known as the Naresuan War (ဗြနရာဇ်စစ်ပွဲ)was the war fought between the Toungoo Dynasty of Burma and the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam. The war was the culmination of Siam's move towards independence following subjugation after the Burmese–Siamese War (1584–1593). The war ended with a victory by Siam, which seized the cities of Tavoy and Tenasserim, and laid siege to two major cities of the Toungoo Dynasty.
The Burmese–Siamese War (1809–1812) or the Burmese Invasion of Thalang was an armed conflict fought between Burma under Konbaung dynasty and Siam under the Chakri dynasty, during the period of June 1809 and January 1812. The war centered on the control of the Phuket Island, also known as Thalang or Junk Ceylon, and the tin rich Andaman Coast. The war also involved the Kedah Sultanate. This occasion was the last Burmese offensive expedition into Siamese territories in Thai history, with British acquisition of the Tenasserim Coast in 1826, following the First Anglo-Burmese War, removing several hundred miles of the existing land border between Siam and Burma. The war also left Phuket devastated and depopulated for many decades until its reemergence as a tin mining center in the late 19th century.
The Burmese–Siamese War (1775–1776) or Maha Thiha Thura's Invasion of Siam or Athi Wungyi's War was a major military conflict between the Konbaung dynasty of Burma and the Thonburi Kingdom of Siam.
The Burmese–Siamese War (1792–1794) or the Siamese Invasion of Tavoy was the conflict between the Kingdom of Burma under Konbaung dynasty and the Kingdom of Siam under the Chakri dynasty over the town of Tavoy and the Tenasserim Coast.
Burmese-Siamese War (1802–1805) was the military conflict between the Kingdom of Burma under the Konbaung dynasty and Kingdom of Siam under the Chakri dynasty over the Lan Na city-states. It is composed of two parts: the Burmese Invasion of Chiang Mai in 1802 and the Siamese Invasion of Chiang Saen in 1804. The Burmese King Bodawpaya attempted to reclaim the lost dominions in Lan Na, east of Salween River. Lan Na, under leadership of Prince Kawila of Chiang Mai with Siamese support, successfully repelled the Burmese invasion. The Siamese under King Rama I then dispatched troops, in retaliation, to attack Burmese Chiang Saen in 1805. The town of Chiang Saen surrendered and came under Siamese rule. The wars resulted in the permanent eradication of Burmese influence from Lan Na.
The Burmese-Siamese War (1797–1798) was a military conflict between the Kingdom of Burma under the Konbaung dynasty and the Kingdom of Siam under the Chakri dynasty over the Lan Na city-states.
Chaophraya Mahasena, personal name Pli, was the Samuha Kalahom or Prime Minister of Southern Siam from 1782 to 1794. He was known for his roles in many military campaigns for Siam in the late eighteenth century.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)