Question

Explain the Decolonisation in Asia.

Myanmar/Burma/Brahmadesh

Answer 1

In the first half of the twentieth-century decolonization did not take very long, in many Asian and African countries. The process of decolonization was accelerated in a short time because of the conflicts among European coloniser countries, the occurrence of the First and Second World Wars, and the anti-colonial movements in the colonies.

Myanmar/Burma:

1. In 1599, the Portuguese defeated the king of one of the kingdoms in Myanmar.
2. However, in 1611 various dynasties ruling in Myanmar got together, defeated the Portuguese, and amalgamated their kingdoms. United Myanmar adopted an expansionist policy and conquered Manipur and Assam.
3. It meant that the British Indian territory was under threat of being invaded, a situation that caused three wars between the British and Myanmar.
4. The first war in 1826 was won by the British and they took over Assam and Manipur. They also defeated Myanmar in the second war.
5. At about the same time the French had taken over the regions of ‘Upper Burma’. In the third war, the British won this region too, thereby ruling over entire Myanmar.
6. The British administration annexed Myanmar as a province of British India, In 1935, it was again separated from India and was granted autonomy.
7. After 1937, the people in Myanmar created an organization called the 'Burma Independence Army' under the leadership of Aung San. This organization helped the Japanese during Second World War. It looked like a downslide for the British.
8. However, they strengthened their hold in Myanmar once again with the help of America in 1945. The British granted independence to Myanmar on 4^th January 1948.

As a result, the Asian continent of Myanmar was decolonized.