The White Heron Descends on the Peacock: Britain Invades Burma 1810-1826

By Ian Malcolm Macphee

King Bodawpaya had a complex personality. He raised his sons, Princes Bagyidaw and Tharrawaddy, differently which led to consequences for the Kingdom of Burma as it struggled to understand the British Empire. Told through the political and personal interplay of real historical characters: The Chief Minister, Prince Mekkhara, his daughter Shwei Myet, the famed writer, U Sa, his wife, Mya Thein and the army Commander Maha Bandula are the main focus of this historical drama along with the conniving brother and sister, Menthagyi and Meh Nu. There were British professional men who tried to understand Burmese customs: William White, Felix Carey and Henry Gouger - their story is included and their inability to influence their superiors in the British headquarters at Calcutta.

The eventual British conquest culminated in the savage war of 1824-26 which was so costly to both sides. [ Burmese resilience continued until 1885 when after the third war, the British finally conquered the whole Kingdom - but this goes beyond this story. Since regaining independence in 1946 Burma has faced and is facing many momentous challenges]

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ian Malcolm Macphee
• Release date: Sep 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370319459

Ian Malcolm Macphee

I gained an LL.B from the University of Sydney and an M.A. from the University of Hawaii (many credits being from Yale) and was a Member of the House of Representatives in the Australian Parliament from 1974-90. When I was Minister for Immigration from 1979-82 I was responsible for the settlement in Australia of many thousands of refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia. Helping integrate Australia into Southeast Asia and the South Pacific was my principal objective. I practised law in Australia and Papua New Guinea and studied Burma in particular when at Yale. As few people knew of this remarkable country, its people and their culture I vowed to write a history of British conquest from the Burmese perspective. Insufficient sources existed for me to do so, however, and I had to then write an historical novel. Here it is!

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THE WHITE HERON DESCENDS ON THE PEACOCK

- BRITAIN INVADES BURMA 1810-1826 -

Ian Malcolm Macphee

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR AT SMASHWORDS

COPYRIGHT 2017 Ian Malcolm Macphee

MELBOURNE. AUSTRALIA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowlegments

Prologue: Why I Wrote This Story

Glossary

Bibliography

Map

Error: Reference source not found

DEDICATION

To my son, Scobie James Macphee and his generation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

In my explanation of why I told this story I thankfully acknowledge people who assisted me over many years but in the actual writing I am especially grateful to my wife Julie who read every draft and gave me wise advice based upon her extensive reading of history and historical novels. When I reached the final stage of drafting I was also assisted by friends who had also read such works. In particular I thank the late Di Gribble, Joan Grant, Barry Jones,the late Jim Harriott, Nan McNab, Alex Miller and Russell Newton.

********

WHY I WROTE THIS STORY

My interest in Burma and current affairs began on my tenth birthday, 13th July 1948. In our small rented flat in Sydney my parents gave me a world atlas and we studied it together. My father had been in the Australian Navy and had travelled the world with an open mind. As he guided my fingers across the world map I realised how far Australia is from Great Britain and asked: why do Australians call England home? For I had heard many people do so. As my mother had migrated from Scotland when aged fourteen and my father’s family had done so in 1856, they laughingly stressed that they never called England home! We then returned to the map and Dad showed me all of the nations of the Asian region that had been colonised by European powers. One wedged between China and India was called Burma. Dad then told me that newly arrived neighbours, Percy and Marjorie Smart, had been in the British administration there. A few hours later they joined us for lunch and talked with enthusiasm about the people of Burma. They had just left there when the transition to independence was complete and deplored the assassination of General Aung San when he was writing Burma’s constitution. During that and subsequent discussions they so praised Burmese culture and kindness and I became keen to learn more. They soon joined the Australian administration in our nearest Pacific neighbour, Papua New Guinea.

The night after our lunch with the Smarts my father brought home some Pakistani naval officers who were working with him on vessels that the Australian Government was supplying to that newly independent nation. Soon my mother was invited to leave her kitchen while the men prepared Pakistani food that we soon loved. While they cooked, Dad showed me the atlas again and explained how the British had created East and West Pakistan and that East Pakistan adjoined Burma, now Myanmar. This is now the nation of Bangladesh where Chittagong borders Arakan, the part of Myanmar that is involved in the Rohingya conflict and features considerably in this book. Most people in Arakan are referred to as Rakhine.

About that time my father introduced me to the poem of Rudyard Kipling called IF. Dad was agnostic but embraced the essential ethics of most philosophies and religions. IF had become a guide for his behaviour. It soon became mine. Hence, until trying to relax when I became seventy, I was driven by lines that had driven Dad:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds worth of distant run,

Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it.

And, which is more, you’ll be a man my son.

Kipling had spent seven years in India and visited Burma. He seems to have had a commendable outward looking view of human values and his many poems helped me gain an interest in literature. Having researched and drafted this book for so long, at the age of 79 I have drawn upon an earlier passage of IF:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone

And so hold on, when there is nothing in you

Except the will which says to you ‘hold on'.

A further coincidence with my introduction to Burma and Kipling was the fact that one of the most popular songs on radio in that part of my childhood was The Road to Mandalay sung my world-famous Australian baritone, Peter Dawson. The song was based on a poem written by Kipling in 1890 when he was twenty-four. Mandalay was the Capital of Burma when the British completed their conquest in 1885. In Burmese, Mandalay is Shwemyo, the golden city. Its official name in Pali was Yadanabon meaning cluster of gems. As pioneering British historian D.G.E. Hall described it:

The Royal City containing the palace was a walled square with each side a mile and a quarter long, and with mud-mortar-built machicolated walls twenty-six feet high, surrounded by wooden look-out towers of traditional Burmese design. The walls were pierced by twelve gates, three on each side and surrounded by a wide moat.

The road to Mandalay was the Ayeyarwaddy river (termed Irrawaddy by the British). Kipling was attracted to Burmese women and found one waiting near the old Moulmein pagoda, termed Mawlamyine by the Burmese. When my wife Julie and I visited Mandalay in 2012 with a Scottish friend who was born in Burma and his English wife we could not resist singing that song as we cruised along the river to Moulmein.

As Burma had entered my heart when I was ten, I gradually resolved to try to help Australia integrate with its region. It soon emerged that the way I was most likely to help was by entering politics. This was inspired by my parents’ dearest friend, Eileen Furley, who was active in the formation and consolidation of the Liberal Party and became a Member of the Legislative Council in the New South Wales Parliament. Like my parents, Eileen felt that the war with Japan might have been avoided if we had engaged with our region. From then on the Asia-Pacific area became my focus of interest. After graduating in law at Sydney University and having worked in the legal aid office in Sydney I became a legal aid defence lawyer in Papua New Guinea. Sixteen years after I had first met them, the Smarts greeted me at Port Moresby airport as the next phase of my life began in March 1964. When dining over the next two years the Smarts gave me further insights into Burma as well as discussing Papua New Guinea, our nearest neighbour on the Pacific Ocean.

After travelling to courts in Papua New Guinea extensively for over two years. I wished to study our nearest neighbour on the Indian Ocean, Indonesia. Fortunately I was granted an East West Centre Scholarship to the University of Hawaii that enabled me to study the history of all of our neighbours and meet students from all countries in the region. My mentor was Professor Bob Van Neil, a specialist on Indonesia. For about half of their course, American students studied in a country in the Asia-Pacific region and regional students studied on the American mainland. Professor Van Neil arranged for me to attend Yale for the next year to learn from his friend and another Indonesian specialist, Professor Harry Benda. In the summer of 1967 I learnt Indonesian and hoped to study that country over the next two semesters. Each of the eight students doing their M.A. had to focus on one of the eight countries of Southeast Asia and share data with the other students so that each had a knowledge of the region. All others there were American and had worked in Southeast Asia with the American Peace Corps. None had lived in Burma so that country was allocated to me. My reaction was positive. If I was unable to research Indonesia, what a joy it would be to study a country that had been of interest to me for so long!

Professor Van Neil had told me that Professor Benda was internationally respected. And I soon learnt why. His vast knowledge of Southeast Asia was inspiring. The State Department in Washington sought his advice on many occasions but this ceased in 1968 when the Defence Department dominated advice to the President and Congress on Vietnam. That further illustrated the need for one nation to understand another before making crucial decisions such as engaging in war.

The more I researched the more I became enraptured by the many races of Burma and their rich cultures. Yale has a fine collection of English histories of Burma and some outstanding translations of Burmese works. I was soon enthralled by the egalitarian communal culture and the basic literacy and numeracy taught to boys in Buddhist schools and conveyed to girls via families and community activities. While kings ruled in an absolute sense they were advised and often restrained by a form of Parliament, the Hluttaw, that was also the High Court. While ministers were appointed by kings, most kings were wise enough to appoint very experienced men (no women!) as ministers and, while they could be dismissed by the king, traditionally the Hluttaw gave independent advice. Such matters will emerge in the story.

Upon returning to Australia I pursued careers in law and politics. I did not become foreign minister but, as immigration minister, helped settle refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia in particular and also helped Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser introduce a series of measures that enabled Australia to become a genuinely integrated multicultural society, a process that should continue to evolve. That was as near as I could get to helping Australia integrate into our region. Tragically, integration with Asia was ignored by the Howard government that gained power thirteen years after the fall of the Fraser government. Instead of having the potential to be a conduit between the Asia-Pacific and the United States of America, Australia became America’s Deputy Sheriff in our region. That is another story!

I retired as a lawyer at the age of sixty to write a book that revealed the rich culture of Burma that is mostly unknown and affirm or correct history as written from a British perspective. I believe I have read all English language material relevant to my theme. This includes many Burmese sources translated into English. Fortunately, Monash University and the State Library of Victoria were located near where I then lived in Melbourne. Both have wonderful sources. Some in the State Library were brought to Melbourne by Sir Redmond Barry in the nineteenth century and might otherwise have been destroyed in World War Two. Yet, when I examined my folder of Yale sources I found some that were not available in Australia. Consequently, I returned to Yale to study them again in 1998.

There I was helped by a fellow Australian, Professor Ben Kiernan, who continues to occupy the role held by Professor Benda when I had studied there. As I searched Yale University Library for my sources on Burma I eventually found them under thick dust that had fallen from the roof when the library had been renovated. I then found that they still had the old Yale reference system whereas all other books by then had the Library of Congress system. It seemed that the books I had researched thirty years earlier might not have been read since. If so, I had further reason to reveal Burma to the world; for other Yale students would not have done so using those sources.

I am not critical of most of the histories of Burma written by British scholars but, inevitably, they relied upon documents of officials of the British colonial administration in India. Many documents were based upon false assumptions of Burmese intentions. Few colonialists or missionaries made any effort to understand Burmese motivations and they dismissed Burmese culture as being inferior to their own. But it was not. It was different. I have tried to reveal this as I have striven to view events from a Burmese perspective.

Sadly, I soon found that not enough resources were extant to do so as a complete history. Centuries of scholarship and records had been kept on bark parchments in monasteries and ultimately in the University of Rangoon. Many were destroyed by earthquakes and monsoons over the centuries but most that survived were destroyed when the Japanese invaded Burma and the British re-invaded during World War Two. Fortunately, some of the originals had been translated and relocated before the bombings. But they lacked enough information to portray events from the Burmese perspective as a balanced history with appropriate footnotes. Yet some that survived were contemporary to events in my story. Thus, as the 21st century dawned I remained motivated to write as the suffering of the Burmese people under the junta and the defiance of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters provided another reason to show the world that those suffering had mostly had a free society with essential ethical practices that should be understood worldwide so that their situation could be better appreciated.

Thus I have written an historical drama. As I immersed myself in the topic I felt the characters to be real and my desire to reveal them historically in dialogue and my detailed explanation of Burmese culture is more history than drama!

The principal characters existed but have been recorded in a skeletal manner. Piecing together what is known of them gave me confidence to portray them as the real people they have since become to me. I have not distorted any established facts but have adopted the most probable explanations where material is absent, disputed or unverified.

The resilient Burmese people and their egalitarian communal culture is largely unknown beyond a small collection of scholars. I hope that this book prompts many readers to explore further Burma and its history and, in particular, that this story will inspire another writer to reveal the later rule of King Mindon who epitomised the application of values of the Buddha as this contrasted with kings who had preceded him.

I also hope that readers will enjoy the experience of viewing nineteenth century Burma as I perceive it to have been.

GLOSSARY.

1. BURMESE TITLES

Ahmudan: Crown Service Landholders.

Akauk-wun: Customs Collector.

Athi: Non-Crown Service Landholders.

Atwin-wun: Senior Court attendants comprising the Byedaik.

Ayeyarwaddy: a major river termed Irrawaddy by the British.

Bodhisattva: A being on the verge of becoming a Buddha, especially one who has renounced nibbana to aid others enhance their prospects of achieving that state.

Bo-gyok: Commander-in-Chief of the Burmese Royal Army.

B.E.: Burmese Era [commenced in 638 AD.]

Byedaik: The King’s Private Council that administered the Palace and comprised the Chief Atwinwun and four other atwinwuns.

Chignon: a smooth knot, twist or arrangement of hair, especially at the nape of the neck.

Corvee: Duty to perform some public work with reduced taxes.

Crown Prince: heir apparent; termed Einshemin in Burmese.

Cutch: tough bark or leaves.

Dacoity: brigandry, robbery.

Dah: sword or knife usually made of metal (heated and beaten to desired shape and size).

Dhamma: A Pali word embracing concepts including: the essence of existence; the ultimate law; and ultimate reality.

Dhammapada: the Path that leads to Enlightenment.

Dhammathats: treatises that record Burmese customary law.

Glebe land: land belonging to the Sangha and yielding tax exempt revenue.

Hmannan Yazawin: Glass Palace Chronicle.

Hluttaw: The body responsible for policy advice to the King, limited legislative functions and for executive and judicial administration throughout the Kingdom. It had a Chairman, four wun-gyis and four wun-dauks; i.e. senior and junior ministers who also acted as judges.

Htamein: a specific female variation of a longyi.

Hti: Umbrella.

Ile de France: used mostly for Mauritius but sometimes for Madagascar.

Jataka Tales: Stories about the meritorious deeds of Gautama Buddha in his former existences. They illustrate how an accumulation of selfless deeds can ensure eventual liberation from the cycle of rebirths.

Kadaw: ceremony at which officials declare loyalty to the King.

Kala: Foreigner.

Kaladet: Wooden Bell.

Kamma: Karma (Sanskrit): merit or good works.

Kason: Full Moon.

Kun: Betel leaf.

Kyaung: Buddhist monastery and school.

Lanka: Sinhalese name for British Ceylon; now Sri Lanka.

Longyi: a garment worn by both genders.

Myo: the smallest administrative unit, usually of two or more villages.

Myo-sa: A member of the Royal family deriving income from a Myo. An eater of others’ earnings.

Myo-thugyi: Myo hereditary head subject to removal by a majority of villagers comprising the myo.

Myo-wun: Provincial Governor appointed and replaced by the King.

Nagan: Royal Ear or spy, sometimes covert but mostly officials known to survey and report to the King on the conduct of other officials.

Nat: Spirit; subject of worship or fear.

Nibbana: Nirvana (Sanskrit): a state of Enlightenment and permanent peace; an escape from endless rebirth and, therefore, desire and pain; a blowing out of the candle.

Nun: With its Greek and Latin origins, all Burmese sources I have read adopt this ancient and widely used word for a devout woman living in contemplation in a complex under vows of poverty and chastity.

Padouk: Yellow flowering tree, the blossoming of which presages the imminence of heavy rains.

Palanquin: a platform fitted to poles carried on men’s shoulders.

Parabaik: Books of thick paper folded in concertina style.

Pasoh: a variation of the longyi.

Pein-gaw: dugout canoe, most efficient in shallow water.

Pongyi: Monk.

Pwe: National Burmese entertainment - drama or comedy, comprising music, dancing and dialogue; especially performed during festivals.

Quid: betel nut.

Salwe: a sash made from strands of thread (often gold or silver) worn over the left shoulder and slung across the chest and under the right arm. It symbolised nobility and obliged the wearer to practise virtue to bring peace and happiness to all beings.

Sangha: The administration of Buddhism in Burma.

Sayadaw: a pongyi who heads a kyaung.

Shweidaik: Royal Treasury.

Sikhara: pinnacle or mitre-like spire on a pagoda.

Sittans: Census and other statistical surveys.

Steatite: Soapstone writing instrument.

Stupa: A mound commemorating the Buddha’s death, originally a funeral tumulus or burial mound.

Taik: A circle or collection of myos (which, in turn, were collections of villages). Increasingly a taik became the basic administrative unit in Lower Burma where the population was scattered.

Taik-thugyi: head of a taik. With trade growth on main rivers, taiks became more like towns as distinct from villages or myos. Now myo is used for town.

Tawthalin: the annual boating festival.

Thamadi: assessor or arbitrator elected annually by villagers. At a ceremony at the village or myo pagoda the elected person promises to do justice in determining the tax to be paid by each household.

Thathanabaing: The head of the Buddhist administration (Sangha).

Tripitaka: Buddhist Text.

Vinaya: Ecclesiastical Law incorporating Monastic disciplines, including: poverty, celibacy, and peaceableness. Monks may each only possess a begging bowl, sewing needle, prayer beads, a razor and drinking water filter.

Wun: Term applied to ministers, regardless of rank.

Wun-gyi: Senior minister.

Wun-dauk: Junior minister.

Ya-Za Sippey: Royal Doctor.

Ywa: village. Also termed Yatkwet.

Ywa-thugyi: hereditary head of a village.

2. BURMESE PLACE NAMES

Ava: a capital of Burma.

Bagan: the ancient Capital of Burma (termed Pagan by the British).

Chittagong: A province of British India (now part of Bangladesh).

Fort William: Calcutta headquarters of British East India Company.

Pegu: A province of Burma that includes Rangoon (now Yangon).

Rakhine: A province of Burma (called Arakan by the British).

Yangon: city in Lower Burma (previously named Dagon and Rangoon).

3. PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS

King Bodawpaya: last son of Alaungpaya who founded the Konbaung Dynasty in 1752. Bodawpaya ruled from 1782-1819.

King Bagyidaw: grandson of Bodawpaya, his heir apparent and successor.

Prince Tharrawaddy: younger brother of Bagyidaw.

Prince Mekkhara: distinguished Hluttaw Chairman, distant cousin of King Bodawpaya and father-in-law of Bagyidaw.

Shwe Myet: daughter of Mekkhara and First Wife of Bagyidaw.

U Sa: multi-talented minister of the King, Army General, composer and playwright who held the title Myawaddy Wun-gyi. (Also termed Maung Za.)

Mya Thein: archaeology student and wife of U Sa.

Meh Nu: Second Wife and, ultimately, Chief Queen of King Bagyidaw.

Menthagyi: Prince of Salin, Meh Nu’s brother, later Hluttaw Chairman.

Ba Thaw: the most trusted spy of Bodawpaya and Mekkhara.

Maha Bandula: the Commander-in-Chief of the Burmese Army.

Minhla Sithu: a General in the Burmese Army.

Colonel Morgan, British Army officer in India

Baba Sheen: English-speaking Burmese official of Armenian birth.

William Rogers: a Burmese subject and official of British birth.

Felix Carey: British Baptist Missionary; Royal Doctor to King

Bodawpaya.

Adoniram and Ann Judson: American Baptist Missionaries.

Captain John Canning: British Army officer and Envoy to Burma.

Ensign, later Captain, William White: British Army officer.

General Sir Archibald Campbell: Commander of British Army in Burma.

Henry Gouger: a British merchant.

4. TERMS OF ADDRESS FOR NON-ROYAL SUBJECTS

FEMALE: Daw - Adult; Khin - Teenager; Ma - Young girl.

MALE: U - Adult; Ko - Teenager; Maung - young boy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Crucial to my research was BURMA (World Bibliographical Series, Vol 132) by Patricia Herbert, Oxford, 1991.

MAPS

For those readers interested, I recommend a map of Burma 1811-26 based upon that published in The British Lion and the Burmese Tiger by Terence R. Blackburn, APH Publishing, New Delhi, 2002. It locates the names that recur most in the book. Any map stretching from the Cape of Good Hope across the Indian Ocean to Java. This would place Burma in a geographical perspective and identify other places mentioned in the story: Madagascar, Mauritius, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, India, China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia.

CHAPTER 1

In 1810 continuing fighting along the Arakan border was the crucial issue facing the Burmese kingdom and British India

In Calcutta, Governor General Wellesley sent Captain Canning as Envoy of the British East India Company to talk to the King of Burma. On 28 February 1810 he reached the Burmese Capital, Amarapura. As Pegu is the province in which Yangon is the main port, the Myo-wun of Pegu had welcomed the Envoy in Yangon and with Baba Sheen, the Yangon Customs Collector, had accompanied the mission up the Ayeyarwaddy from Yangon. Both would attend the audience with the King and Baba Sheen would be the interpreter. The Myo-wun escorted Canning to his accommodation and soon took him to meet the Crown Prince and Hluttaw Chairman, Prince Mekkhara, who greeted Canning cordially.

Captain Canning wore his military uniform and the Crown Prince was resplendent in formal Court attire but sought to create an informal atmosphere of welcome. At the entrance to the audience room, Bagyidaw extended his hand to the Envoy in the European manner and invited Canning to sit on a large cushion opposite his. Four ministers sat on each side of him and the Myo-wun of Pegu sat further to his left; Baba Sheen sat behind the Envoy to whisper as interpreter. Canning’s six officials were divided on each side of him.

As soon as all were seated and attendants had laid out sweetmeats and lime juice, Bagyidaw said: 'Welcome to Amarapura, Captain Canning. Did you have a smooth voyage from India?'

'Yes, Your Highness. The ocean was calm, although the weather was rather hot.'

'Is there still famine in India?'

'A little. But most of India is prosperous.'

'Aha. You are fortunate. Here in Burma famine still holds the people in its grip. But, please refresh yourself before we speak further.'

When all had partaken modestly, Bagyidaw spoke directly to Canning once more. 'There are several matters we should discuss, but first let us address your wish to have our king support your trade embargo on French ports. I understand from the Myo-wun of Pegu, who sailed with you from Yangon, that this is important. But I must stress that such delicate matters are best handled by an exchange of letters between our Kings. It is important for the King of Burma to know that the Governor General is making such a request with the authority of the British King. Had the treaty concerning border security been signed with the authority of both our kings, it could not have been breached by the next Governor General or his successor. Because it was breached, rebels invading Burma from British protection and returning to that protection have not been sent back to Burma by British troops to face trial here, as the treaty obliged the Governor General to do. Sir John Shore honoured the treaty but his successor did not. I must, therefore, ask you to request that the present Governor General honour the treaty and convey your King’s support for its continuation. We desire peace between our kingdoms and the treaty is the best way of ensuring that.'

Canning cleared his throat, paused, then said stiffly: 'I am only authorised to ask His Majesty to ban from Burmese ports ships that have traded in French ports, regardless of their flag.'

'Really? Why should we offend friendly kings in India, China, Siam, Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao kingdoms by banning their ships if they have traded with the French? What benefit would that bring to Burma? And how would we know whether they have visited French ports or intend to do so? We require them to obey our laws in our ports and along our coast. Regional custom entitles ships on high seas to go where they please.'

'Your Highness said that Burma wants peace with Great Britain. As a sign of that desire, my King wishes your King to ban from Burmese ports any ships that enter French ports. France is Great Britain’s enemy. Any kingdom trading with the French might also be deemed an enemy. For trade enables the French Treasury to buy more weapons to fight us.'

'You have not explained how we could identify whether ships had been to French ports. And, if your King wishes my King to agree to that, he should request that in writing. We know that your war with the French is in many parts of the world, not merely in the Indian Ocean. Few French traders visit our ports now. They no longer buy our teak and they buy more garments and crafts from China and India than they do from Burma. We do not aid France but are diplomatically neutral. France would construe an embargo as hostile and deem Burma to be an enemy.'

Canning lent forward as he responded softly but distinctly: 'Burma has a choice. Be an enemy of Great Britain or of France.'

As this futile discussion had continued, Mekkhara had deduced that the Envoy would give the King no other option. With the Crown Prince's nodding assent Mekkhara then asked: 'have you asked the King of Siam to ban ships entering his ports that have traded with French ports?'

Canning avoided the Chairman’s probing stare. After a brief silence, he mumbled: 'there is far more trade by many more countries in Bangkok than in Yangon. Many of those are allies of Great Britain against France and do not trade in French ports for that reason.'

'That would also be true of those trading in Yangon.'

'How can we be sure of that? Your King attacks Siam. Is that to aid the French to extend their power in this region?'

'No. Except for one occasion twenty-five years ago, the King has only invaded Siam's north to capture labour to build canals to relieve our famine. He would not do that if you honoured your treaty obligations on the border and if you sold us modern weapons so that we needed less troops there to repel invaders. This is the worst famine for over twenty years and it has caused many inland villagers to flee to jungles and raid villages near streams. They are called dacoits and are like pirates at sea. We need troops to find them. The combination of famine, poor weapons and your breach of the treaty has increased our need for soldiers and forced us to attack Siam to get canal labour to replace Burmese who would have built those canals but must now be in our army. The choice is yours. You could end tension between us by honouring the treaty or allowing us to pursue rebels into Chittagong in accordance with custom; and selling us modern weapons to do so. We would then cease invading Siam.'

Throughout the discussion, Canning’s face had remained expressionless. He now responded curtly. 'I am not authorised to discuss such issues. My mission is specific. I am to return to Calcutta as soon as I have spoken with your King. I am ordered to gain your King’s consent to the embargo against vessels trading in French ports. I am not authorised to discuss the regional custom of hot pursuit of rebels and cannot imagine any governor general agreeing to it.'

Mekkhara intervened immediately. 'Our King will not discuss them as separate issues. In the last fifteen years our king has written several letters to your King and has sent ten envoys to Calcutta to discuss border issues. No letter has been answered. And none of the last nine envoys was met by an official with authority to discuss anything! Officials at Fort William made no effort to communicate with our King’s envoys. Why should we side with you against France when you breach the treaty you asked our King to sign and refuse to discuss our right to return to regional custom to deal with border raids from British territory by Burmese rebels? You will leave us with no choice but to return to that custom.'

Canning again remained silent. The Crown Prince resumed: 'as Prince Mekkhara said, Captain Symes made great efforts to understand Burma’s role in this region. He showed me a map of Europe and compared it with our region. While China and India are huge by comparison with European kingdoms that send traders here, Burma is also large. As I was then learning about French and British wars I was amazed to learn that Burma is larger than France and Britain combined! Yet a war between them is extending around the world!'

Silence prevailed for several minutes. The Crown Prince then rose and left the room. His officials followed. Baba Sheen then escorted the Envoy and his party to their accommodation.

One other courtier had sat behind the Crown Prince and had not been introduced to the Envoy. He was Ba Thaw, the King’s most trusted nagan (spy). Ba Thaw, the Royal Ear, had attended Hluttaw meetings for the twenty-eight years of Bodawpaya’s reign and had always reported to the King immediately after ministers agreed upon advice they would give the King. As ministers usually conferred with officials before seeing the King this enabled Ba Thaw to report in detail and prepare the King for the advice that would follow. While this was an informal audience with an envoy, the King had ordered Ba Thaw to attend and report to him. As the ageing Royal Ear began to walk to the King, the Crown Prince spoke to the Hluttaw Chairman. 'Ba Thaw will report factually to the King. His words will be balanced but the information will anger the King. What advice can we give His Majesty?'

As Bagyidaw had spoken, Mekkhara saw Baba Sheen leave Canning’s apartment and beckoned him to join them as they walked to see the King. When he did, Mekkhara asked: 'as Customs Collector you have deep knowledge of our trade. Do we really have such little trade with French ports that an embargo would not harm us?'

'Yes, Your Highness. Fifteen years ago a British envoy, Captain Symes, asked the King to ban French ships from Burmese ports. His Majesty refused. At that time trade in teak with France boosted the Burmese Treasury. Captain Symes was satisfied that the specific French trade was not a threat to the British Company in India. As Prince Bagyidaw told the Envoy today, the French no longer buy our teak. Instead, they buy it from America for ship building. Some of our garments, lacquer ware and crafts of gold and silver are sold to French traders as well as to British, Dutch and Portuguese. But, as Your Highness knows, most of our trade is by river and ox-cart to China and India, especially in gems. Therefore, banning Burmese trade with French ports would not be a huge loss. But enforcing a ban on vessels of other kingdoms trading with French ports would be difficult as we have no way of proving whether a ship has been to a French port. Even if we did, banning ships from other kingdoms that trade with French ports would lose us trade with those kingdoms. Our gems remain an important trade item but most of our coastal trade is in crops. In our famine it does not matter but will do when crops return. We could agree to the ban for a year while border matters are discussed. Whether we could ever enforce it is another matter.'

The Crown Prince clearly absorbed the reality that an unenforceable pledge could be given for a brief period. He, therefore concurred: 'we should only agree to a ban for a year if the British promise to support us in controlling Burmese rebels entering from India.'

Baba Sheen smiled in agreement and faced the Crown Prince: 'I hear rumours from traders about continued disruption on the border between Arakan and Chittagong. Your Highness might advise His Majesty to agree to the embargo for a year provided that the British agree to return to the border treaty that they insisted upon but then abandoned; or accept the fact that we will return to regional custom of hot pursuit. That could be the basis upon which to test British sincerity.' The Crown Prince accepted this advice. They were now outside the King’s private audience room and asked a courtier to tell the King of their arrival.

When the Crown Prince and Hluttaw Chairman entered, the King was angry. This was neither unusual nor unexpected. Ba Thaw remained prostrate before the King. Answering a crisp demand, Bagyidaw gave a calm, succinct account of the exchange with Canning and gave him the advice he had just agreed upon with Mekkhara. The King did not comment but remained angry. He then sent a Royal messenger to order the Envoy to attend the Lion Throne Room with the Hluttaw immediately. The King then ordered Mekkhara to call all ministers to join them. The Myo-wun of Pegu was also ordered to attend and Baba Sheen was ordered to be the interpreter. Within ten minutes all were seated on cushions in the small audience room.

The Crown Prince sat to the right of the throne. The Hluttaw Chairman faced him; his eight ministers and the myo-wun sat on his left. The Envoy faced the King’s throne; his six officials were on his right. Baba Sheen was behind Canning. Ba Thaw sat behind Bagyidaw. Silence prevailed but tension rose slowly as five minutes passed. Then the King entered the rear door, hastily climbed the six rear steps, threw himself upon the throne and demanded of the Envoy: 'why will your King not correspond with me? Does he know where Burma is? Or how important it is in this region?'

'My King is seized with the importance of Burma and wants the best possible relations with Your Majesty. Hence his order to the Governor General to send me to confer with Your Majesty.'

'I am insulted by your King’s failure to send a letter with you to ask that we discuss all matters relevant to peace between our kingdoms. You have told the Crown Prince that you are only authorised to ask me to ban entry into Burmese ports of ships of any kingdom that might trade with French ports. Even it we knew whether they had traded with French ports, banning traders would worsen our poverty in this famine and provoke anger in kingdoms from which those traders come. You have told the Crown Prince that Burma has the choice of being the enemy of France or Britain. But is Britain our friend? You are not empowered to discuss any issue of vital importance to Burma’s relations with the borders of India controlled by British forces! Is that the act of a friendly kingdom?'

The undemonstrative Canning replied with contrasting calm. 'My King is fully informed and only wants peace on the border. No British arms were given to rebels; but we have too few British troops there to capture rebels. Our Army has too many areas of unrest to quell elsewhere.'

The King boomed: 'you have millions of poor Indians to conscript. You crush rebels in India and on its other borders. Why not on our border? We could catch them but you will not let our troops enter Chittagong in accordance with custom. And you will not sell me arms to defend Burma.'

'If Your Majesty’s troops entered Chittagong, my Governor General and King would deem it an invasion.'

'It would not be so deemed by local custom and could not occur if your King had signed the treaty I signed. You either adhere to the treaty or local custom. Either way, rebels should return to face Burmese justice. If you refuse to do either, I deem the British King to be unfriendly.'

'The harsh hilly terrain in Chittagong and demands on British troops fighting Napoleon make it difficult to maintain sufficient officers to conscript and train more sepoys to capture rebels on the border.'

'Then let my Army enter Chittagong, capture and return rebels to Burma in accordance with centuries of custom! If Chinese rebels enter Burma, form an army, attack China and return to Burma, we help Chinese capture them and, if we lack enough troops on the border, allow the Emperor’s Army to enter Burma to do so. We have the same right in China.'

Canning stayed silent. The King shouted: 'your war with France does not concern Burma. Marco Polo, that nosey Italian explorer, spent time in Arakan six hundred years ago and tried to study the history of that region. If you have read Marco Polo you will know that kings of Burma in the Bagan era were also kings of Bengala which you term Bengal. The Arakan Yoma has not been a border between Bengala and Burma. The border issue is simple: if you will not honour the treaty you must accept regional custom. When Burmese rebels attack Burma from British territory and return to that territory you must catch them and give them to my army so that they face Burmese justice.'

As the King stared at Canning, awaiting a reply, Canning’s face was austere and he did not reply. This infuriated the King who shouted: 'If you lack troops to do so, you must allow our troops to capture and return them to Burma. If you do not, I will find my Napoleon and reclaim the eastern part of Bengal!'

The Envoy looked discomforted; but was more composed than Mekkhara had expected him to be under such a verbal assault. More disturbing for the Chairman was the likely report of this outburst that Canning would give Fort William. Baba Sheen had told Mekkhara that traders competing with the Company list Canning amongst officials who argue that conquest of Arakan would augment British Bengal and that mountains would then isolate the rest of Burma from British India. The King’s threat could encourage the British to conquer Arakan soon.

As Mekkhara anguished, the King’s capricious temperament adopted a voice of reason. 'I have always wanted your King’s friendship. But we cannot achieve that without an embassy from your King to discuss all issues. It is twelve years since a Governor General received an envoy of mine. I have sent nine since then, four in the last year. China and Burma have mostly exchanged embassies every three years to discuss common interests. Agreements are confirmed in an exchange of letters between Burmese kings and Chinese emperors. When particular problems arise, envoys are sent to negotiate. When the present Emperor failed to conquer Burma he ceased contact but, after a few years, used traders as informal envoys and recently resumed traditional contact. I have just returned from a conference with the Emperor’s delegates on the border between China and Burma. The Emperor was embarrassed when his army was defeated by mine and suffered what British traders call a loss of face. But he understands that normal relations must be restored in the interests of both kingdoms. Such sensible relations are essential to Burma and British controlled India. Yet your Governor General does not understand that. Your King sent an envoy to China seventeen years ago with a letter signed by your King to the Emperor. Diplomacy prospered as a result. Yet, when your Governor General sent Captain Symes here two years after I wrote to your King, the Governor General did not accord Burma the courtesy of sending a letter from his King. Nor did he when Captain Symes returned seven years later or when Captain Cox and you became Resident. Why? Captain Symes understood my concerns when I asked him why Burma should be treated differently from China. Yet your King continues to insult me. Why?'

Canning, perhaps bereft of an answer, tightened his lips. This sent the King into a rage. His eyes bulged, cheeks puffed and mouth foamed. After rising and turning his back on Canning, he half-turned again and spoke to Canning with what Mekkhara deemed stunning rationality. 'You scorn my reasonable request. You British talk of the Law of Nations but defy it when it suits you. You do that constantly on the Arakan border. You talk of diplomacy but reject the regional custom of ensuring that mutual concerns of two great kingdoms are discussed in a context set by their kings. We must identify factors that may impede peace and find means of surmounting those. In particular, we must have an agreed process for resolving border disputes caused by rebels to whom you give sanctuary. We must also agree on boundaries. We and our protectorates have set borders by custom. Yet you demarcate them unilaterally to let your elephant hunters trespass on our land, kill our wonderful beasts and steal precious ivory.'

As Canning remained silent but the edge of a smile arose, the King continued: 'How can I live in peace with you? You smirk at a grave situation in which avoidable tensions between us have no agreed resolution process. You only wish to discuss the French. Hah! We do not care about the French! They cut off their King's head! I could not correspond with him if I wished! France is not yet a neighbour of Burma. Britain is. And it is your King with whom I wish peace. Return to your Governor General and tell him that, unless your King sends an envoy to negotiate our territorial boundaries and a process for resolving disputes, we will act alone!'

These last words were shouted at the same pitch as was his earlier threat to find his own Napoleon! He had stormed out of his Throne room. The audience with the King had ended. Yet, that with the Crown Prince resumed. Canning turned in his cross-legged position to face the Crown Prince, still seated slightly above him but below and to the right of the vacant throne. In pleading tone and with obvious concern, the Envoy asserted: 'my King has a Parliament with which he shares power. The Governor General is authorised by the King and Parliament to exercise supreme power over British territory acquired in or near India. He is effectively King of British India and this makes the Governor General equal in status to the King of Burma.'

Again, Mekkhara was impressed by Bagyidaw’s composure after the King’s further display of anger. For the Crown Prince responded immediately: 'India is larger than Burma and the Governor General’s authority is greater than that of any provincial governor in Burma, which we term myo-wun. But we know that your Governor General may be dismissed by your King or his Parliament. He is not equal to any King. And you have confirmed that your Governor General is instructed by London when it suits the King, Parliament or Company. Our Hluttaw formally appoints our King and advises him on policy and executive issues. Kings rarely reverse Hluttaw legal decisions but a King’s authority cannot be removed by the Hluttaw, as can the Governor General’s by Parliament. We learnt that from Captain Symes.'

Canning did not respond. Bagyidaw asked: 'please confirm that the sole purpose of your mission is to ask the King to ban ships from entering Burmese ports if they have traded with French ports.'

Canning hesitated, appearing to ponder whether the question contained a trap. He then replied softly: 'yes.'

Reaching from his crossed legs, Bagyidaw then challenged Canning in a clear, calm voice: 'does your King accept the principle of treating ships of friends in a more favourable way from those of enemies?'

The Envoy’s face was blank and he remained silent. The Crown Prince looked at him teasingly. Canning averted his gaze. Bagyidaw exclaimed: 'but, surely in Europe, as in this region, different treatment is accorded to kingdoms deemed friends, not enemies! It makes sense to offer a friend an inducement to impose an embargo. If the friend loses money by the embargo, surely there is compensation?'

Canning struggled to reply. When he did he said: 'the Governor General lacks authority to make exceptions to London's edict to embargo ships trading with French ports.'

Leaning towards the Envoy again, Bagyidaw asserted: 'that confirms that the Governor General’s status does not equal our King’s.' Canning lowered his head and was silent. Bagyidaw continued his interrogation: 'Is your King asking my King to impose an embargo on ships using French ports without compensating Burmese traders for resultant income loss?'

Canning remained silent. Bagyidaw persisted. 'Or, if my King imposed the embargo, would your King express appreciation by selling arms to enable Burma to protect its border? And would he revert to the treaty or local custom in dealing with rebels abusing British sanctuary?'

'I am not authorised to discuss any conditions. I have been ordered to seek your King’s approval to the embargo.'

'And if His Majesty declines to impose it?'

'My King will construe that as a hostile act.'

'With what consequences?’

'That will depend upon whatever advice my King accepts.'

'And what advice will your Governor General give him?'

'That is a matter for the Governor General to consider.'

The Crown Prince and his Hluttaw Chairman again exchanged glances. Then Mekkhara asserted to the Envoy: 'at least you have conceded that the Governor General is not a sovereign. It is his duty to advise his King about border issues and obtain authority to resolve them. Please urge him to do so in the manner requested by the Crown Prince.'

'The embargo on French ports is worldwide. That is why the Governor General receives orders from London on that. He has authority to decide on border issues. He governs more than sixty million people, far more than do the Kings of Great Britain and Burma.'

Mekkhara responded vigorously. 'However many he is obliged to rule, he does so on behalf of his King. He is not, therefore, equal to our King. Yet he behaves as though he is superior to our King.'

U Sa, the minister seated beside Mekkhara, then muttered: 'quod erat demonstrandum.' Canning sweated, involuntarily wiping his brow and neck with a square of cotton he plucked from his pocket.

Prince Bagyidaw sensed that this was a triumphal note upon which to end the Envoy's audience. The Crown Prince rose and left the room. His Hluttaw followed.

With springing steps of ebullient triumph, U Sa almost left the room ahead of the Crown Prince. It took Mekkhara many strides to catch him. By then U Sa had decided not to admit that he could not translate the Latin phrase into Burmese. But he had learnt enough to know that it was apposite! He then told Mekkhara that he had to run to a latrine and would see him in the Crown Prince’s meeting room.

Mekkhara then turned to Baba Sheen who had been asked by the Envoy to leave his party until requested to join them later. As they walked to the meeting room, Mekkhara said: 'I did not understand U Sa’s words. But Canning and you seemed to do so. What did the words mean?'

'Literally they meant: which was to be demonstrated or shown. It is mostly used to mean: that proves my point. I did not translate it for I could see that Canning understood how U Sa judged the Envoy’s words and Your Highness’s response. Canning would have been most disconcerted by U Sa’s knowledge of Latin and assumed that others have it. And if we understand Latin we have other knowledge that he would not have thought we had. This will worry him if he tries to mislead us.'

'And do you think that he is misleading us?'

'I have not made up my mind about Canning’s intentions. I have met some Englishmen who lack personality. Captain Symes called them buttoned-up. Canning seems like that. But it seems clear that he assumes that we are vastly inferior to the English in culture. He has no wish to examine that assumption. But he might now that he thinks that we might understand Latin. Yet I suspect that he will still wish to merely discharge his orders as soon as possible and return to India. Still, he might worry about U Sa’s knowledge of Latin and conclude that we are far better educated than he had assumed. Whether this alters his conduct remains to be seen.'

Baba Sheen suspected that U Sa did not fully understand the phrase but did not spoil his fun. He had more important information to impart to Prince Mekkhara. Other ministers walked behind the Crown Prince and so Baba Sheen seized his rare moment alone with the Chairman and said: 'Your Highness and the Crown Prince referred to the accountability of Governors General to Kings and Parliament. That was most appropriate.'

'Thank you. Our remarks were based on what little we have learnt. When you say they were most appropriate, do you know detail I do not?'

'Yes. British traders in Yangon have told me that Lord Wellesley was condemned by Parliament for his constant military aggression in India. Canning will now be worried that you know much more than you declared or he would have imagined you know. He will now be most careful, lest he make assertions that you might know are false.'

Mekkhara halted and turned to face the interpreter. 'Was Wellesley punished? I never thought that such a thing might happen until I pondered the process this morning. I know that British kings and Parliament have power over Governors General. But I had not considered that punishment might be dispensed, as it is here for myo-wuns and other officials who fail in their duty.'

'Wellesley was recalled to Britain to answer charges before Parliament and be censured by Company Directors. About forty years ago, Parliament took some control over the East India Company and appointed a Governor General to control traders in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. It also appointed Governors in those three provinces and in Canton, in China. Those Governors are similar to our myo-wuns. Governors General are above them and also have power in Malay states. But they report to Parliament. More than one Governor General has been removed by the King and Parliament; Wellesley is the most recent. Parliament condemned his military aggression in India. His orders were to consolidate control of territory occupied by the Company and enlarge trade. Instead, aided by two of his brothers, one of whom now leads Britain's fight against Napoleon, he expanded Company territory by military threats and by war when threats failed. He expelled all French from India because of Napoleon.'

'As you know, being so far upstream from all ports I do not speak to traders. Apart from being told of the impact of trade on our prosperity and any breach of law by traders, I know little about them. My limited conversations with some in Yangon and Prome left me with an abiding memory of the hatred between British and French. You told me that the French conquered Britain about eight hundred years ago and they have fought ever since. I recall learning that the French helped Americans gain independence from Britain. The hatred must be deep and old. We cannot afford to be dragged into it.'

They resumed walking as Baba Sheen replied. 'That is correct, Your Highness. Hence, we must consider the embargo request seriously. While the British must know that we do not have connection with the French, as many Indian rulers did, they still fear French expansion in the Lao kingdoms, Cambodia and Vietnam. That makes Burma most vulnerable. His Majesty today said that the French are not yet on our border. But if they conquer the kingdoms on our eastern border while the British are on our western border I fear that the British will attack us if ever they think that the French might do so first. Both powers are ruthless. As I mentioned, one of Wellesley’s brothers is fighting Napoleon in Europe. When in India with Wellesley he conquered many rajas and slaughtered thousands of their troops. Wellesley justified the costly wars on the claim that Napoleon was in Egypt and, if successful there, might attack British India through Mysore. To other overland and maritime traders that seemed so unlikely that I never bored you with the gossip. Each Burmese Buddhist mission to Benares learnt of Wellesley's determination to expand his empire in India regardless of whether there might be trade benefits. It was that which led to his recall to explain his conduct to Parliament. Traders tell me that, while Company directors in London were content with increased income he gained them, once costs exceeded income they became angry. He ignored their protests, so they turned to Parliament. After he made Tanjore and Oudh tributary kingdoms, he was, I am told, ordered not to pursue a planned attack on the Maratha Confederacy that, as you know, controlled central India. He disobeyed and his conquest of the Maratha was at huge military cost and traders doubted it would produce gains justifying that. After Symes’ last visit and Canning's Residency in Yangon, the British took Poona from the Maratha and conquered Delhi, Agra and elsewhere so that, five years ago, the Company ruled most of northern India and bordered the Punjab. Again, Wellesley's brother, Arthur, was a hero to most British. That was why he was then sent to fight the French in Europe. But Wellesley was rebuked by Company directors in London for spending their money on war with scant prospect of greater trade. I think he resigned before he could be dismissed; but Parliament debated his conduct for three years before he and his warrior brother convinced Parliament that beating the French was more important than financial loss for the Company. Instead of being punished he was made Ambassador to Spain to help that kingdom fight Napoleon. While it illustrates the intensity of hatred between Britain and France, I raise it to confirm Your Highness’ view of the Governor General’s status and your assertion that Burma is entitled to ask for the same diplomatic courtesies that are extended by Britain and its Company to China.'

'

Thank you for that detail. I know little of Lord Minto. Is he better than Wellesley as a Governor General, despite not being willing to improve relations with Burma?'

'No. A condition of Lord Minto's appointment was that he would not make more land conquests but should increase Company profits. Traders who compete with the Company tell me that most senior officers at Fort William have construed this instruction literally. Therefore, Lord Minto has not engaged in war by land but has waged ceaseless war by sea from the Persian Gulf to Mauritius. And has annexed Malacca and other Malay kingdoms. Whether he has increased Company profits I do not know. Doubtless the order to punish French ports is used to justify this extension of empire regardless of profit and whether the French are involved in all ports conquered. Currently, he is leading an expedition to conquer Java. Hence, those who support him are bent on war. I regret to say that Canning is such a person.'

'Again, I’m obliged to you for that detail and admit that, as they do not affect Burma directly, I have not followed such matters.' Baba Sheen smiled and nodded. Mekkhara then added: 'I have a final question before we join the Crown Prince. Until now I had not thought that the French might try to conquer Burma after they occupy nearby Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao kingdoms. But your words suggests that these European enemies will compete to conquer Burma. Is that what you fear?'

'Yes. The immediate concern of the British is that they do not want the French to trade with China or India, which they can do through Burma. If they trade with Burma they might become rich enough to pay rajas to give them land in India and compete with the British there for parts of India that the British do not yet rule. For generations, traders had dreams of extensive overland trade from China through Bhamo to Yangon and thence by sea to Europe. That was one reason for the visits of Symes, Cox and Canning. It was also an aim of the French. If only the British and French could agree, it might become a reality and Yangon would prosper. But the French and British fight everywhere and compete in China. Both wish to trade with Burma if we will support them against the other. Now that French pirates have robbed many of our traders, Your Highness might consider becoming an ally of the British against the French if a sensible border agreement is reached. I do not like Canning but understand some of his dislike for us. Do you recall that, when he came here as British Resident a decade ago, he brought gifts for the King that were stolen from the Customs House?'

'No. I was writing my dictionary at that time. Tell me about it.'

'The thieves were Burmese and French. Our Customs Collector then was a Portuguese named Joseph Xavier da Cruz, known as Jhansi. To him we owe well paved streets, bridges, wharves and the brick customs house. He was held responsible for the theft and left in disgrace, after forty years service. Canning was angered by the theft and alarmed when, by calamitous timing, a French warship, Jeune Africaine, reached Yangon. It carried forty-six chests, each with twenty-five muskets. A thousand were given by the French Government to the King; the rest were for him to purchase. That would be one reason why the British have not sold us arms as they promised. They probably presume that the