Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Brief history
A relative newcomer by Burmese standards, Yangon is a largely colonial creation, although
itsrootsrundeepintoearlyBurmesehistory.Afishingvillagenamed
Dagon
wasestablished
here in the early eleventh century by the Mon, then the dominant power in Lower Burma,
although it remained a relative backwater despite the presence of the revered Shwedagon Pa-
goda.In1755,KingAlaungpaya,founderofthe
Konbaungdynasty
,
seizedcontrolofDagon,
renamingit
Yangon
anddivertingtradeherefromnearbyThanlyin,previouslythemajorport
hereabouts. The British captured Yangon during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26),
but returned it to the Burmese in 1827 following the conclusion of hostilities.
Yangon's sudden and unexpected rise to national pre-eminence occurred following the
Se-
condAnglo-BurmeseWar
of1852,during which the British recaptured the city (along with
the rest of Lower Burma). The formerly modest town was selected as the site of the new
capital of British Burma thanks to its location at the meeting point of the Indian Ocean and
Ayeyarwady River, navigable for almost 1600km into the heart of the country. The antique
