ABSTRACT

In the official British view, the first Anglo-Burmese war broke out entirely because of Myanmar's aggressiveness and wanton pugnacity. After the first Anglo-Burmese war, Myanmar was seen increasingly by the trading and manufacturing interests in Britain as the exclusive back door to a vast market in the interior of China. The Bombay-Burmah Trading Corporation had since 1862 been working the Ningyan teak forests, north of Toungoo within Upper Myanmar, under a lease contract with the Burmese king. The delegation was introduced to the British queen not by the foreign secretary but by the secretary of state for India, a deliberate move to demonstrate the Indian government's paramountcy over Myanmar. In contrast, the delegation was received warmly in Italy and France. The British doctrine of paramountcy in India was sought to be extended to those neighboring regions considered vital for the Indian empire's security.