Treaty of Yandabo

The British were already in a commanding position when initial peace negotiations commenced in September 1825 in Ngagyaungbinzeik, 20 miles north of Pyay (Prome). After their victory at the Battle of Danubyu in April 1825 that killed Burmese commander-in-chief Gen. Maha Bandula, the British consolidated their gains in Lower Burma, Rakhine and Taninthayi coasts as well as in Assam and Manipur. The British demanded that the Burmese recognize independence and "desist from interference with Assam, Manipur and Cachar", "cede Rakhine and its dependencies", receive a British Resident at the Court of Ava, and pay an indemnity of two million pounds sterling. Yangon and Taninthayi would be held until the indemnity was paid. The Court of Ava had not expected, and was unwilling to accept, the full dismemberment of their western empire and the crushing penalty demanded. But with the army severely depleted, the Burmese envoy, the lord of Kawlin, replied that his government: • Would give up any claim to Assam and Manipur • Objected to the British choice for the future Manipuri raja • Would cede the Taninthayi coast but not Rakhine. The British were unimpressed: "The question is not how much you will cede to us but how much we shall return to you". == Breakdown of negotiations ==

The negotiations broke down, and the Burmese decided to fight on. In November 1825, the Burmese forces under Maha Ne Myo, mainly consisting of several Shan regiments led by their own Shan sawbwas, made a daring push to recapture Pyay and nearly succeeded. == Signing ==

Left with little choice, the Burmese sued for peace. The Burmese king Bagyidaw sent a delegation, consisting of one American, one English and two Burmese ministers, to meet the commander of British forces, General Sir Archibald Campbell. The Burmese paid 250,000 pounds sterling in gold and silver bullion as the first installment of the indemnity, and also released British prisoners of war. ==Aftermath==

The treaty imposed a severe financial burden on the Burmese kingdom and effectively left it crippled. The British terms in the negotiations were strongly influenced by the heavy cost in lives and money which the war had entailed. Some 40,000 British and Indians troops had been involved, of whom 15,000 had been killed. The cost to British India's finances had been almost ruinous, amounting to approximately 13 million pounds sterling. The cost of war contributed to a severe economic crisis in India, which by 1833 had bankrupted the Bengal agency houses and cost the British East India Company its remaining privileges, including the monopoly of trade to China. Territories like Assam became a part of British India. For the Burmese, the treaty was a total humiliation and a long lasting financial burden. A whole generation of men had been wiped out in battle. The world the Burmese knew, built on the back of the impressive military success of the previous 75 years, had come crashing down. Indeed, the British would make two more, much easier, wars against the now much weaker Burmese in 1852 and 1885, eventually annexing the entire country by 1885. ==References==