ABSTRACT
The death of a Burmese King, especially of one leaving about a hundred children, as Bodopra did, is apt to result in a scramble for the throne, and much killing of his brothers by the one who succeeds in seizing it. Though the Burmese are apt to think that sons should come before grandsons, all Bagyidaw’s uncles, except two, seem to have acquiesced in his succession. The ruler of Assam next tried to throw off the Burmese yoke, but Bundula defeated him also, in 1822, and Assam then became a Burmese province, the ruler taking refuge in British territory. The Burmese then pushed on and threw up entrenchments on the banks of the Surma. Colonel Bowen failed in an attempt to storm this stockade, but the Burmese soon after abandoned the position and returned to Manipur. The Burmese were completely taken by surprise, but a feeble and ill-directed fire was opened upon the ships from a sixteen-gun battery.
