Study On Burma's External Relations During The Konbaung Dynasty

As the last unified feudal dynasty in the history of Burma,the Konbaung Dynasty had experienced a transformation from an ancient society to a modern society.In terms of the diplomatic relations within the East Asian cultural circle,the expansion of the northern territories of Burma in the period of Hsinbyushin,the King of Burma,led to the War between Qing Dynasty and Burma(1765-1769)and the Sino-Burmese border trade was blocked for nearly two decades.According to the Qing Dynasty historical materials,the King of Burma Bodawpaya,paid tribute to the Qing Dynasty in 1789,and the emperor of Qing emperor Gaozong appointed Bodawpaya as the King of Burma in 1790,indicating that Burma officially entered the Tributary System,and the Sino-Burma tributary relations was formed.On the other hand,in terms of the relations with the west,in the early days of the Konbaung Dynasty,Burma and the Britain mainly engaged in commercial relations.Since the signing of the contract,the Britain has gradually violated the territory and sovereignty of Burma by signing an unequal treaty.In 1785,Burma incorporated Arakan into the Burma territory,which led to Burma' s border with British India,which provided a key opportunity for the British invasion of Burma and further promoted the British strategic intention of invading China' s southwestern frontier through Burma.When the first Anglo-Burmese War broke out in 1824,the two sides signed the first unequal treaty in the history of Burma,The Treat of Yandabo.In 1885,before the third Anglo-Burmese war,China officially intervened in the issue of Britain and Burma as the sovereign state of Burma.The relations between Britain and Burma gradually evolved into negotiations on Sino-British relations on the Burma issue.Judging from the development process of the relations between Britain and Burma as well as Qing Dynasty and Burma during the Konbaubg Dynasty in Burma,it is a process of Burma becoming an English colony as an independent feudal country,which also reflects the comparison between the Tributary System between the Qing Dynasty and the Burma and the Treaty System promoted by the Britain in Burma until the withdrawal process of Burma from the Qing Dynasty' s Tributary System.This paper consists of three parts: introduction,body and conclusion.The introduction briefly explains the basis of the topic selection,the research status and problem analysis.Since there is no research on this issue for systematic analysis,this paper can only discuss it based on the existing data and relevant research results at home and abroad.The body consists of four chapters.Chapter 1: In the early years of Konbaung Dynasty,Hsinbyushin' s expansion of the border between the two sides led to struggle for land in the border,which triggered a four-year war between the two sides.In 1769,the generals of the two sides signed The Kaungton Treaty,and the Sino-Burmese War ended,the relations between the two sides did not return to normal.During this period,Britain began to try to occupy the territory of Burma by signing a treaty with Burma.However,since the Konbaung Dynasty was still focused on external expansion at that time,it did not pay enough attention to the crisis from western “foreigners” and continued to consume its national strength in the military expansion.Chapter 2: After 1785,the relations between China and Burma as well as Britain and Burma entered a new stage.India became a British colony.At this time,Bodawpaya took Arakan into the territory of Burma by force,so the buffer country between Britain and Burma disappeared.Britain bordered the territory of India and Burma,and then the dispute between the two countries began.In 1790,the relations between Burma and China began to ease,and the tributary relations between the Qing Dynasty and Burma was established,which put the relations between the Qing Dynasty and Burma on the normal track.When the first Anglo-Burmese War broke out in 1824,the Burma was forced to sign the humiliating Treat of Yandabo and then the British officially opened up its aggression by forcing Burma to sign an unequal treaty.In the process of dealing with the diplomatic relations between the Qing Dynasty and the British in Burma,Tributary System and the Treaty System are reflected in the diplomatic relations of Burma as a model of the relationship between the two countries.Chapter 3: After the end of the opium war in 1842,The Treaty of Nanking was signed,and the west invaded China in the form of unequal treaty.At that time,the contact between Britain and Burma had been restored,and Britain' s expansion in Asia was further intensified.the second Anglo-Burma War was broken out in 1852,and the second opium war in 1856.The unequal treaties signed between Britain and Burma not only further invade Burma,but also expand their sphere of influence to the southwestern frontier of China through Burma.In 1875,the Incident of A.R.Margary took place in the China-Burma border region,and the Chinese and British sides signed The Chefoo Convention.Chapter 4: After the second Anglo-Burma War,the territory of Burma remained only upper Burma,with the northeast bordering China,lower Burma and the western border controlled by the British,and the remaining territory of Burma between China and Britain.At this time,the Qing government had fully realized the importance of Burma for the defense of the southwest border.In the third Anglo-Burma War,the Qing government negotiated with the Britain in the name of Burma is Tributary state of Qing Dynasty,but the British invasion of Burma was imperative and the Qing Dynasty had been unable to stop it.Tseng Chi-tse appointed by Qing Dynasty strived to negotiate in the Sino-British issue with the purpose of maintaining its Tributary System.However,the Britain finally signed The Convention Relating to Burma and Tibet with China with the purpose of gaining the “real benefit” from Burma while giving China the “virtual name of Burma's tributary state”.In the fight between Tributary System and Treaty System in Burma,Britain finally succeeded in removing Burma from the Tributary System of the Qing Dynasty in that Britain knew exactly that Qing Dynasty' s biggest weakness,attaching great importance to “false reputation of Burma' s tributary state” so that China lost the overall defense of southwest frontier.