The Burmese to the east of India became a rising power at the beginning of the nineteenth century. By the time it had conquered Manipur, part of Assam, etc. it started to extend its territorial boundary towards the British in India. This in turn had led to boundary disputes between the two which triggered the first Anglo-Burmese war and the Yandabo Treaty. But the primary cause of the conflict between the Burmese and the British was their imperial designs. 

The First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26)

 The British attempted to develop trade relations with Burma but failed. They, therefore, had picked up border disputes as pretexts of war with the motive to put pressure on the Burmese. The crisis erupted when Lord Amherst came to India as Governor General of the company in the year 1823. The Burmese themselves gave the opportunity to the British for a war.

 The Burmese had developed a false sense of power after defeating and conquering Manipur, Arakan, and Assam. Their commander-in-chief, Maha Bundela had started believing that they could defeat the British as easily as they had defeated the Meteis and Assamese. Even the common people of Burma started believing that they could take on the English and their king’s supremacy over the British. On the other hand, the British were equally desirous of war against Burma. After all, it would serve their imperial designs well. The pretexts of the war were the border disputes.

 The story goes like this, some of the Englishman who went hunting were captured by the Burmese. The Burmese had demanded custom duty from a few English traders who had carried their goods through Nulla of Koor. Finally, both came into conflict over the possession of the island Shahpuri which was under the possession of the British. The Burmese asked the British to declare the island neutral. However, the British denied resulting in the Burmese attacking and capturing the island. Though the Burmese gave up their possession soon after. Lord Amherst decided on war and declared it in February 1824.

The Treaty of Yandabo

 The British attacked Burma from two sides. One was from the land route of the Northeast and the other was via the sea. The British had defeated the Burmese in Rangoon which was through the sea route. But faced heavy odds from the land route as they went through dense forests and also the rainy season further aggravated their difficulties. The Burmese commander defeated the British at Ramoo near Chittagong. But, in the south, the British easily captured Rangoon in May 1824. The British could not march forward because of the heavy rain and the breakthrough of the epidemic. The commander Maha Bundela was then recalled by the king of Burma in the south. He, however, was defeated in a battle against the British on December 15, 1824. The British conquered Assam in the year 1825 and moved forward from Rangoon. Maha Bundela checked the progress of the British for a period of one month but soon after was killed in a battle in April 1825. The British had captured Prome, the capital of lower Burma. The Burmese came forward for negotiations when the British were about sixty miles from their capital Yandabo. After that, the Treaty of Yandabo was signed between both parties in February 1826. By its terms.

l  The Burmese had to give up their claims over Assam, Cachar, and Jaintia.

l  It surrendered Tavoy, Yeh, Arakan, Mergui, and Tenasserim to the British.

l  It accepted Manipur as an independent state and agreed to have Gambhir Singh as its ruler.

l  It agreed to pay a war indemnity of rupees one and a half crores to the British.

l  Both parties accepted each other as friends and were ready to depute and receive each other’s ambassadors.

Causes and results of the first Burmese War

The British had benefited greatly from the war as they were successful in acquiring extensive territories in the Northeast. It afterward,  also gave them the facility to conquer the Burmese. But the causes of the war and lack of planning from the British side were a talk among many historians. According to historians, the British were not successful in properly planning the war resulting in an enormous loss of men and materials. The war was dispatched by the British in a rush and by not having adequate knowledge of the topography of the region they were invading. This lack of knowledge and preparations had somewhat made their expedition a little tougher than how it normally would have taken its course.

 Regarding the causes of the First Anglo Burmese war, many unbiased historians had concluded that there was no just reason behind the onset of the war. The Burmese had asked the British to declare the island Shahpuri on the neutral ground which was quite reasonable. The Burmese were also justified when they said that the Arakanese attacked their territories from the territory of the British and that they wanted to stop it. Even the British Government of India in its letter of December 25, 1825, to the Directors of the company, accepted the fact that the causes of the war were flimsy but at that particular time both the parties being capable and strong, it is said that the war was fought in the most opportune time.