Konbaung dynasty

The last ruling dynasty of Burma, founded in 1752 and ended by British conquest in 1885. Its kings expanded Burmese power, centralized rule, and fought repeated wars with Britain.

Alaungpaya: A Burmese ruler who founded the Konbaung dynasty and reunified much of Burma in the eighteenth century. His revolt against the Hanthawaddy kingdom began the dynasty in 1752.
Burmese monarchy: A hereditary institution of kingship that governed Burmese kingdoms and claimed authority over the country. Konbaung rule drew on older Burmese ideas of sacred kingship and royal authority.
First Anglo-Burmese War: A war between Burma and Britain from 1824 to 1826, ending in Burmese defeat and territorial cessions. It was the first major military shock to Konbaung power from British India.
British Burma: The territories of Burma governed by Britain from the nineteenth century until independence in 1948. The conquest of the Konbaung kingdom began direct colonial rule over Upper Burma.
Hanthawaddy Kingdom: A Mon kingdom in Lower Burma that flourished from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century. Alaungpaya’s uprising began against Hanthawaddy rule.
Mindon Min: A Konbaung king who ruled from 1853 to 1878 and pursued administrative and economic reforms. His reforms illustrate how the dynasty adapted its government under pressure from Britain.
Second Anglo-Burmese War: A war in 1852 in which Britain seized Lower Burma from the Konbaung kingdom. The loss of Lower Burma weakened the dynasty’s revenues and access to the coast.
Burmese nationalism: A movement for Burmese political identity and self-government that grew under British colonial rule. The loss of the monarchy became part of later arguments for Burmese self-rule.
Toungoo dynasty: A Burmese royal dynasty that ruled a major empire from the sixteenth century until its collapse in 1752. The Toungoo kingdom’s disintegration created the opening for Alaungpaya’s rise.
Mandalay: A city in central Myanmar founded in 1857 as the last royal capital of the Burmese monarchy. Mindon Min made it the dynasty’s administrative and ceremonial center.

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