Accounts of Burma by travellers, diplomats, merchants, soldiers et al
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
Several hundred full-text books covering or with references to Burma. Search for Ava, Burm* Burmah, Burmese, Karen, Kachin, Myanmar etc... Read online or, if you are clever or have special software, you might be able to download. Use the Search Help page at http://dlxs.library.cornell.edu/s/sea/help.php
Source/publisher:
Cornell University Library
Date of entry/update:
2008-04-17
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Online collections containing books, records etc. on Burma/Myanmar, Accounts of Burma by travellers, diplomats, merchants, soldiers et al
Language:
English
more
Individual Documents
Description:
"...Book Contents: Part (1) The country and climate, Fauna, Flora, Geology and Minerals, The races of Burma, The Chingpaw or Kachin Group, The Kuki-Chin Group, The Siamese-Chinese Sub-Family, The Mon-Hkmer Sub-Family, Part (2) Government, administration, education, history, Part (3) Industries, the forests of Burma, Mines, agriculture, trade, transport, currency, weights and measures, Part (4) Archaeology-Architecture-Art-Music, Art.-Sculpture, Wood Carving, Lacquer, Silver and Gold work, Drawing, Painting, Embroidery, Bumese Music and Musical Instruments. Part (5) Religion, Buddhism, Part (6) Language and Literature, The history of Tagaung Tanyap, Part (7) Hints to visitors or new residents..."
Source/publisher:
Kham Koo Website
Date of publication:
1911-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
18.35 MB
more
Description:
"...Book Contents:Journal of an Excursion in the Mishmee Mountains, Tea localities in the Muttock Districts, Upper Assam, Journey from Upper Assam towards Hookum, Journey from Hookum to Ava, Botanical Notes written in pencil, connected with the foregoing Chapter, General Report on the foregoing, Notes on descending the Irrawaddi from Ava to Rangoon, written in pencil, Journey towards Assam, Continuation of the same, with Notes on the Distribution of Plants, Journey from Assam into Bootan, with Notes on the Distribution of Plants, Continuation of the Journey in Bootan, Return of the Mission from Bootan, with Meteorological Observations, etc, Journey with the Army of the Indus, from Loodianah to Candahar, Journey from Candahar to Cabul, Journey from Cabul to Bamean—the Helmund and Oxus rivers, Journey from Cabul to Jallalabad and Peshawur, Journey from Peshawur to Pushut, On the Reproductive Organs of Acotyledonous plants, Journey from Pushut to Kuttoor and Barowl in Kaffiristan, and return to Pushut and Cabul, Journey from Cabul to Kohi-Baba, Journey from Peshawur to Lahore, Journey from Lahore to Simla, Barometrical Heights and Latitudes of places visited throughout Afghanistan..."
Source/publisher:
Kham Koo Website
Date of publication:
2005-02-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Shan history, Burmese political culture - general, Accounts of Burma by travellers, diplomats, merchants, soldiers et al
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
1.08 MB
more
Description:
"The record of an arduous journey of exploration and research through the unknown frontier territory of Burma and Tibet"
Captain F. KINGDON WARD
Source/publisher:
Seeley, Service & Co. (Publ.)
Date of publication:
1921-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2016-08-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
British colonial period : Commentary (non-official books, academic papers, articles and reports), Accounts of Burma by travellers, diplomats, merchants, soldiers et al
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
4.93 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
TO WHICH IS NOW ADDED,
A NARRATIVE
OF THE
LATE MILITARY AND POLITICAL OPERATIONS IN
THE BIRMESE EMPIRE.
WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY, ITS MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND INHABITANTS.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I....
PRINTED FOR CONSTABLE AND CO.
1 8 2 7.
Lieut-Col. Michael Symes
Source/publisher:
CONSTABLE AND CO. EDINBURGH:
Date of publication:
1827-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2015-03-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
6.42 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
TO WHICH IS NOW ADDED, A NARRATIVE OF THE LATE MILITARY AND POLITICAL OPERATIONS IN THE BIRMESE EMPIRE. WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY, ITS MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND INHABITANTS. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II.... PRINTED FOR CONSTABLE AND CO. 1 8 2 7.
Lieut-Col. Michael Symes
Source/publisher:
CONSTABLE AND CO. EDINBURGH:
Date of publication:
1827-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2015-03-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
7.79 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
Full text of the Symes account
Michael Symes
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Volume 4, Issue No. 1, Spring 2006
Date of publication:
1800-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-11-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.49 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
Editorial Note:
"The following materials from Captain George Baker?s diaries and other records
and notes were originally published in Alexander Dalrymple?s Oriental Repertory
in 1808. Baker has left numerous other reports, many found in the Records of Fort
St. George for the period. These latter materials will be published in later editions
of the SBBR. Baker?s account is especially useful for being one of the few firsthand
accounts written by a European, of Alaunghpaya, the founder of the
Konbaung Dynasty."
M.W.C.
Captain George Baker
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 2005
Date of publication:
1755-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-11-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Note:
The following note has been extracted from the 1829 publication,
Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the
Court of Ava in the Year 1827, by John Crawfurd, the envoy on this
mission. It was originally organized within the sixteenth chapter,
but has been separated and included here under the present title
as its information is self-contained within that chapter and
because it has a topical interest to those currently researching the
history of animals of Southeast Asia.
Source/publisher:
John Crawfurd
Date of publication:
1827-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-11-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Notes:
The following materials by John Crawfurd have been drawn and
organized from his notes to his Embassy account.
M.W.C.
John Crawfurd
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005
Date of publication:
1829-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Notes:
In the last sections of his account of his mission to Ava in 1827,
John Crawfurd included his journal of his visit to Martaban in the
previous year, in order to fill a gap in his 1827 narrative. As he
explained: ?Our return to Bengal having hindered our excursion to
the Saluen and Gain rivers, as well as prevented us from visiting
other parts of the province, I shall endeavour in some measure to
supply the deficiency, by the insertion of the journal of a voyage to
Martaban, which, I performed about ten months before the time of
which I am now writing. It is as follows
? We reproduce this
account on its own here.
M.W.C.
John Crawfurd
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005
Date of publication:
1827-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Editor?s Note: ...The account reproduced below attempts to provide as complete a version
of Federici?s account of Pegu as possible, based on the Hakluyt and Purchas
editions, but checked for major errors against the original Hickok translation. The
text included below only includes the sections relevant to Burma and Southeast
Asia, for information on trade in India and the Middle East, the reader is directed to
the Voyages or Hakluytus Posthumus, or the Hickok original (the latter may be
republished here in a later issue)...
M.W.C....C?sar Frederick to the Reader...A Voyage to the East Indies, and Beyond the Indies, &c....Sumatra...Malacca...Pegu?s Conquest of Siam...Tenasserim...Difficulties of Journey...Martaban...Dealings with the Retor at Martaban...Voyage to City of Pegu...City of Pegu...Royal Elephants in Pegu...Armies of the King of Pegu...The Wealth of the King of Pegu...Justice in Pegu...Death and Property in Pegu...Commerce in Pegu...Duties and Currency in Pegu...Manner of Dress at Pegu4...A Typhoon...Sundiva Island and Arakan...Commodities of India...Return to Pegu...Commerce of the East Indies...End of Voyage
Cesar Fedrici of Venice. Translated from the Italian by Master Thomas Hickock
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004
Date of publication:
1588-06-18
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Tippera and Bengala in 1585...Journey to Pegu in Late 1586...Dala and Syriam...The Old Town of Pegu...The New Town of Pegu...The Royal Elephants...The King and the Nobles...Commodities Suitable for Pegu...Pagodas and Monks...Chiangmai...Capelan...Body Adornment...Justice...Departure from Pegu, January 1587...Brief Return to Pegu and Departure from Southeast Asia...Commodities of the East...Return to London.
Ralph Fitch
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004,
Date of publication:
1625-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Note:
"Captain Alexander Hamilton collated an account of his voyage to Cambodia and Siam in 1718 with accounts of his
experiences in Pegu and elsewhere on earlier travels, as well as information he had gathered about certain other
locations (such as Arakan) in his A New Account of the East Indies (Edinburgh, 1727). While the original account also
included accounts of parts of the Malay world and ?Cochinchina,? these have been excluded from the following
text. The account begins with a brief account of Chittagong and concludes with eastern mainland Southeast Asia.
The best biographical account of Hamilton is that by William Foster in his introduction to the 1930 reprint of the
text (London, Argonaut Press)."
M.W.C....Includes sections on Chittagong, Arakan, Pegu, Mergui, Tenasserim and The Andamans,
Captain Alexander Hamilton
Source/publisher:
A New Account of the East Indies (Edinburgh, 1727). via SOAS Bulletin og Burma Research 4.2 (Autumn 2006)
Date of publication:
1727-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Notes:
During his stay at Rangoon in the summer of 1826, Crawfurd drew
up his account of this town, although it was not published until he
included it in his account of his embassy made to the Burmese
court in 1827, which was published in 1829. As Crawfurd
explains: ?The following account of Rangoon was collected by me
while I resided there in civil, charge of Pegu, a period of more than
six months.?
M.W.C.
John Crawfurd
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Spring 2005
Date of publication:
1829-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"...The city of Ava is surrounded by a brick wall fifteen and a half feet
in height, and ten feet in thickness: on the inside of which there is
thrown up a bank of earth forming about an angle of forty-five
degrees: on the top of this bank there is a terre pleine, in some
places, of a good breadth, but in others, so narrow as scarcely to
admit the recoil of a gun. The parapet of brickwork is four and ahalf
feet in height, and two in thickness, measured across the
superior slope..."
M. Montmorency
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005,
Date of publication:
1827-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Editor?s Note:
The account of Henri de Feynes de Monsart was translated anonymously into
English and published in London in 1615, for Thomas Dawson by William
Arondell under the title of An Exact and Curious Survey of all the East Indies, even
to Canton, the chiefe Cittie of China: All duly performed by land, by Monsieur de
Monsart, the like whereof was never hetherto, brought to an end. The original
edtion is available in at least four copies in the British Library...
M. W. C.
Henri de Feynes de Monsart
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004
Date of publication:
1615-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Note:
The following account is one of many of the massacre at Negrais,
an island close to Bassein where the English East India Company
attempted to establish a factory in the mid-eighteenth century. An
introduction for the account has been provided by Dalrymple:
It will be necessary, by way of Introduction, to mention that
it having been determined to withdraw the settlement at
Negrais except three or four people to take care of the teak
timbers that had been collected there, and to secure the
right of possession, in case it might afterwards be thought
proper to resettle at that place. Captain Newton proceeded
accordingly to Bengal, where he arrived 14th of May 1759,
with thirty-five Europeans, and seventy black people. On
30th of July 1759. The administration at Bengal, thought
proper to accept of Captain William Henry Southby?s offer to
go to Negrais, to take care of the teak timbers, and
accordingly dispatched the Victoria Snow, Captain Walter
Alves, to carry Mr. Southby to the Negrais. Captain Alves
returned to Bengal in November, and gave the following
account of the Settlement at Negrais, being cut off.
The papers concerning Negrais, and Captain Alve?s
Embassy to Ava [previous issue of the SBBR], with the
letters that passed on that occasion, were communicated by
my much lamented friend, the late Lord Pigot
Alexander Dalrymple (1791)
Captain Walter Alves
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005
Date of publication:
1791-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Note:
"The following account by Dr. N. Wallich, who was at that time the
Superintendent of the Government Botanical Garden at Calcutta,
of his excursion into rural Burma in 1826 was quoted in full in
John Crawfurd?s account of his mission, of which Dr. Wallich was
a part, to Ava in that year. As Crawfurd explains in his
introduction to the entry: ?Dr. Wallich returned to-day from a
botanical excursion to the range of mountains lying east of Ava,
which he performed with the sanction of the Burman Government.
The following is the narrative of this short but interesting journey,
which was replete with botanical discoveries."?
M.W.C.
Dr. N. Wallich
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005,
Date of publication:
1826-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Editorial note:
"The following account of the induction ceremony for Buddhist monks was
included as Appendix V in Michael Symes, An Acount of an Embassy to the
Kingdom of Ava, Sent by the Governor-General of India in the Year 1795 (London:
W. Bulmer & Co., 496-500). Symes, then a major in the 76th Regiment, made
numerous valuable observations on Burmese culture, society, government, and
history. While it is clear that he did consult the accounts of other visitors to Burma,
most of his material was derived from first-hand observation or from material
provided by Burmese acquaintances, and the following account was likely derived
from the latter."
M.W.C.
Michael Symes
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 2005
Date of publication:
1795-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Editor?s Note:
This world list was included in the back matter of A True and Large Discourse of
the Voyage of the Whole Fleete of Ships Set forth the 20 of Aprill 1601 by the
Government and Assistants of the East Indian Marchants in London, to the East
Indies, published for Thomas Thorpe by William Alpley of London in 1603.
Curiously, the mission, which did come across ships in the Straits of Melaka, does
not appear to have visited Pegu. There is no indication in the text of how or where
the world list was obtained. It may be possible the it was gathered from Peguan
traders on ships encountered at sea or in a local trading port...
M.W. C.
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004
Date of publication:
1603-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
From Ceylon to Sumatra and the Andaman Islands...Tenasserim...Bengal and the River Ganges...Arakan and Crossing the Mountains to Ava...Specialty Shops with Lascivious Things...Elephants of War in Burma...Manner of Catching and Taming Elephants in Burma...Marriage, Tattooing, and Religion in Burma...Fruits of Burma...Buffaloes and Oxen in Upper Burma...Cathay...Departure from Ava
Nicolò de’ Conti of Venice. Translated by John Frampton in the late sixteenth century. Notes by Kennon Breazeale
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004
Date of publication:
1579-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Note:
Original editorial note: Mr. Royal B. Hancock and family left
Maulmain on 27 November 1837 and arrived at Mergui December
3rd. On the 26th of December, he was joined by Eugenio Kincaid,
as stated in former communications. For several months previous
to his departure from Maulmain, he had been engaged partly on
the printing office, and partly in evangelical labors in Maulmain
and its vicinity.
December 16, 1837
Royal B. Hancock
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005
Date of publication:
1838-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"For the specimens and notes which form the subject of the present
communication, the Society is indebted to the zeal and activity of
J. Crawfurd, Esq. one of its Fellows, who having occasion to
traverse the Burmese Country, on an embassy to Ava, in the years
1826 and 1827, discovered an extensive deposit of organic
remains in that unknown and distant region. He has brought
home specimens of these remains, both animal and vegetable, as
well as of the strata in which they were found, and has with much
judgment and liberality presented them to the Geological Society of
London, and to several other scientific Societies. It is on an
examination of these specimens, and of the notes contained in Mr.
Crawfurd?s daily journal, that the observations and descriptions
that make up the present memoir arc founded..."
William Buckland
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005
Date of publication:
1827-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Editor?s Note:
Ludovico di Varthema of Bologna has left us an account of India and Burma from
the very first decade of the sixteenth century, prior to the largescale of the First
Taung-ngu Dynasty that would follow in the decades ahead. It thus provides a
valuable insight into a period for which many foreign sources are not available.
The original account, in Italian, was published at Rome on the 6th of
December 1510 at the request of Lodovico de Henricis da Corneto of Vicenza by
Stephano Guillireti de Loreno and Hercule de Nani, both of Bologna. The
translation followed here was made by John Winter Jones in 1863, edited by G. P.
Badger, and published under the title of ?The Itinerary of Ludovico di Varthema of
Bologna from 1502 to 1508,? the same title we use in the text below.
Only material relevant to Burma has been included in the following text.
Additional editorial changes include additional paragraph breaks and the addition
of subject headers for clarification...
M.W.C.
Ludovico di Varthema. Translated by John Winter Jones
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004
Date of publication:
1510-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
[IN THE SOAS VERSION] Note:
We include below the complete diary portion of John Crawfurd?s
account of the embassy he headed to the Burmese court in 1826
and 1827, introduced by Crawfurd?s dedication. This account was
originally published (with the misleading attribution of the
embassy to 1827).
Journal of an Embassy From the Governor-General of India to the
Court of Ava, in the Year 1827, by John Crawfurd, Esq., FRS. FLS.
FGS., &c. Late Envoy. With an Appendix, Containing a Description of
Fossil Remains, by Professor Buckland and Mr. Clift (London: Henry
Colburn, New Burlington Street. 1829).
M. W. C.
John Crawfurd
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Spring 2005
Date of publication:
1829-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
15.9 MB 11.07 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
"...For the amusement and edification of readers of Wachirayan, who were the
?lite of Bangkok in his day, he began to write an account of his journey. This
article takes the reader to Rangoon and then up the Irrawaddy as far as Min-hla.
Prince Naris planned to continue the narrative of his river journey from Min-hla to
Mandalay and back, adding an account of recent political events leading up to the
British annexation of upper Burma. After completing this first article, however, he
apparently abandoned the project, and the full account of his journey never
materialised. He may, however, have written an official but confidential military
and political report when he returned to Bangkok, and that report may be in the
archives of the Ministry of Defence...Even though incomplete, it may be of some value to historians. It reflects
the attitudes, prejudices and admitted ignorance of the Thai ?lite vis-?-vis the
Burmese at the end of the Burmese monarchy. It may also contain some minor
factual observations useful to historical research..."
H.R.H. Prince Naritsara Nuwattiwong
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 2005
Date of publication:
1888-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Editor?s Note:
"Lu?s Vaz de Cam?es (c. 1524-1580), the famous Lisbon poet, composed Os
Lusiades in 1572 to glorify the expedition and exploits of Vasco da Gama in the
Indian Ocean. It is a lengthy and epic poem, consisting of ten cantos, the portion
relating to mainland Southeast Asia limited to a portion of the last of these. Only
this portion is reproduced below. The chief utility of this information for the
historian is that it helps us to understand how much, by 1572, Portuguese at home
knew about the region. Some information is of special interest, such as the
reference to the Gwe..."
Luís Vaz de Camões Translated by Richard Fanshaw (1655)
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004
Date of publication:
1572-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Editor?s Note:
"The following letters, and in cases extracts of letters, were reproduced by
Alexander Dalrymple in 1808, published in London under the title Oriental
Repertory, by William Ballintine for the East India Company. Relevant portions of
Dalrymple?s commentary to some letters have also been included."
M.W.C.
_____
Alexander Dalrymple (ed)
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol.3, No. 1, Spring 2005
Date of publication:
1808-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Note:
The following brief note has been drawn from Crawfurd?s 1826
Journal. Although brief, it offers an account of the origin of the
use of Baren? that Burmese sometimes used to refer to the
British.
John Crawfurd
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005,
Date of publication:
1826-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Note:
Dalrymple provides some information on Captain George Baker in
his introduction to the Oriental Repertory:
Captain George Baker?s Observations at Persaim in 1755, his
Journal of an Embassy, to the King of the B?raghmahns, his
Character of that King, and the Short Account of the
Country are from MSS, which that valuable friend gave to me
during the course of our voyage in the Cuddalore [in] 1759:
His modest diffidence makes him apprehensive of appearing
as an author; but, I doubt not, the publick approbation will
shew his apprehensions were groundless.
All of the accounts mentioned by Dalrymple have been republished
in the SBBR (see volume 3.2 and the present issue). In the
collection of notes included below, ?The Palace at Pegu? has been
extracted from Dalrymple?s introduction. As he explains of the
origin of the note, ?I find amongst my memos of information,
received from Captain Baker, the following account of Pegu, which
could not properly be introduced in any other place, and therefore I
have inserted it here.?
The sections on (1) the Burmans and Mons and (2) the
Karens, below, were extracts inserted into the initial anonymous
letter included in the Oriental Repertory collection by Dalrymple,
indicating with a ?B? that Baker was the source of the quotations.
Dalrymple, in his introduction to Oriental Repertory, also
makes the following observation based on Baker?s accounts which
may usefully be included here:
It has appeared, in Captain Baker?s Observations, that the
B?raghmah King had risen from his abilities; Simento,
King of Pegu, was at first a Goldsmith; so that both
competitors were self-raised.
M. W. C.
Captain George Baker
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005
Date of publication:
1755-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"...On 16 September 1983, as Chief Librarian of the Universities Central Library (UCL) in Yangon, I acquired an
extremely rare palm-leaf manuscript from a Middle School teacher from Pakkoku, U Tin Ngwe (U Tin Ngwe
(1931-2004) later became Headmaster of a Middle School in Pakkoku). When U Tin Ngwe brought the
manuscript to UCL, he told me that he had acquired it from a Buddhist monastery near Myaing, his
birthplace about twenty-five miles northwest of Pakkoku. I first come to know of the existence of this
manuscript about five years earlier, in November 1978, while I was in Pakkoku on one of many trips made to
various parts of Myanmar in search of rare palm-leaf and paper parabike manuscripts. We used to go on
manuscript search trips from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s and found many interesting and rare
manuscripts that are now kept in UCL. The palm-leaf manuscript purchased from U Tin Ngwe is a record of
a mission sent by the Myanmar king Maha-dam?-ya-za-d?-pat? (r. 1733-1752) to the Chinese Qianlong
Emperor (r. 1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty..."
U Thaw Kaung
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research 6, 2008
Date of publication:
2008-12-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
376.32 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
"The B?raghmah country, it is certain, has heretofore been
frequented by many Europeans, particularly English, whose
residence, in it, has undoubtedly afforded them much greater
opportunities of giving better accounts of it, than what I can
pretend to do; yet, as these gentlemen are now mostly defunct, and
perhaps no account of theirs extant, I will say a few words towards
it, for the satisfaction of such as have not themselves seen it..." N.B. This extract is undated -- the date of 1755 given in the date field is approximate.
Captain George Baker
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005
Date of publication:
1755-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Editor?s note:
Marco Polo was the frst Western traveller to speak of Burma (Mien). His late
thirteenth century account has been translated numerous times, one of the most
popular editions being Henry Yule?s (tr.) The Book of Ser Marco Polo the Venetian
Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East in the nineteenth century and
the revision of this translation by Henri Cordier in the early twentieth. The Yule-
Cordier edition of 1903 is widely available in reprint. Less widely available is the
present translation made by W. Marsden from Ramusio?s collection of travels
published in 1818 and re-edited by Thomas Wright in September 1854, published
as The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian. (London: Henry G. Bohn). Polo?s
account of events in Burma can be dated to the early-mid 1290s, for he returned to
Venice in 1295, although the Travels were not put into writing until 1298. The
version below has been made from the copy in the British Library...
M.W. C.
Marco Polo of Venice, Translated by W. Marsden, Re-edited by Thomas Wright
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004,
Date of publication:
1298-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Editor?s Note:
This account was originally composed in French, but translated into English by
Francis Magnus and published in Calcutta at the Joseph Cooper Press in 1789, the
year of the French Revolution. It was published within the multi-volume travels
(Vol. III, book 4, chapter 2) of the Comissary of the Marine, Monsieur Sonnerat,
entitled, A Voyage to the East-Indies and China; Performed by Order of Lewis XV.
Between the Years 1774 and 1781. Containing A Description of the Manners,
Religion, Arts, and Scieneces, of the Indians, Chinese, Pegouins, and of the
Islanders of Madagascar; Also Observations on the Cape of Good Hope, the Isles
of Ceylon, Malacca, the Phillippines, and Moluccas. As only the account to Pegu is
included here, ?A French Voyage to Pegu? has been decided upon as the title for
this edition...
M. W. C.
Monsieur Sonnerat
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004
Date of publication:
1789-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
First published in 1899..."This book is about Burma, seen through the eyes of an English gentleman during and after the conquering of Upper Burma by the British towards the end of the 19th century. It describes his impressions of the Burmese people and particularly their religion, Buddhism, which explains so much their strange customs and ways.
Written in the excellent English, in choice of words and prose, lost in modern times, that typified the Victorian period".....CONTENTS:
LIVING BELIEFS;
HE WHO FOUND THE LIGHT—I;
HE WHO FOUND THE LIGHT—II;
THE WAY TO THE GREAT PEACE;
WAR—I;
WAR—II;
GOVERNMENT;
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT;
HAPPINESS;
THE MONKHOOD I;
THE MONKHOOD II;
PRAYER;
FESTIVALS;
WOMEN—I;
WOMEN—II;
WOMEN III;
DIVORCE;
MANNERS;
?NOBLESSE OBLIGE?;
ALL LIFE IS ONE;
DEATH, THE DELIVERER;
THE POTTER?S WHEEL;
THE FOREST OF TIME.....
The Alternate URL has a link to the openlibrary page which offers several editions, in various formats. The OBL link is to the 1902 edition, with the insertion of the first page of the Contents, omitted from the openlibrary 1902 version.
Harold Fielding Hall
Source/publisher:
Macmillan & Co. via openlibrary.org
Date of publication:
1902-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-09-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Buddhism in Burma - general, Accounts of Burma by travellers, diplomats, merchants, soldiers et al
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.9 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
CONTENTS:
I. JOURNAL OF THE MISSION FROM THE BRITISH FRONTIER TO PAGAN-MYO...
II THE REMAINS AT PAGAN...
III. JOURNAL FROM PAGAN TO THE CAPITAL...
IV. OUR RESIDENCE AT THE CAPITAL...
V. THE CITY OF AMARAPOORA...
VI. EXCURSIONS IN THE ENVIRONS OF THE CAPITAL...
VII. RETURN OF THE MISSION FROM THE CAPITAL TO RANGOON...
VIII. NOTES ON THE INTERCOURSE OF THE BURMESE COUNTRIES WITH WESTERN NATIONS UP TO
THE PEACE OF YANDABO...
IX. NOTICES OF THE HISTORY OF BURMA FROM THE PEACE OF YANDABO (1826) TO THE
REVOLUTION OF 1853...
X. SOME ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION OF THE BURMESE...
XI. THE MINISTERS OF STATE --MILITARY AFFAIRS -- REVENUES AND CURRENCY...
XII. ON THE MAP OF BURMAH -- DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY -- AND POPULATION...
XIII. THE SHAN STATES TRIBUTARY TO BURMA.....
APPENDIX.
A. NOTES ON THE GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE BANKS OF THE IRAWADI, AND OF THE
COUNTRY NORTH OF AMARAPOORA...
B. FROM APPENDIX B. TO THE MS. JOURNAL OF MAJOR H. BURNEY, RESIDENT AT AVA,
ACCOMPANYING A LETTER DATED 11TH SEPTEMBER, 1830, IN THE FOREIGN OFFICE,
CALCUTTA...
C. TRANSLATION OF THE BURMESE HYMN CHANTED BY THE BRAHMINS ...
D. LETTER FROM THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL TO THE KING OF AVA...
E. THE KING?S LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL...
F. ON THE PLAN OF BURMESE MONASTERIES...
G. ON THE SOURCES OF THE IRAWADI...
H. DETAIL OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS...
I. SPECIMENS OF THE REIGNING KING?S EDICTS...
J. SPECIMEN OF A BURMESE DRAMA (MAJOR PHAYRE)...
K. THE MISSION OF GERARD VAN WUSTHOF TO THE KING OF THE LAOS...
L. NOTE ON THE AFFINITIES OF THE INDIAN AND BURMESE STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE.
BY JAMES FERGGSSON, ESQ...
M. ON THE LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN BURMA AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRIES......THIS IS NOT A PERFECT SCAN...SOME BLANK PAGES AND COVERS HAVE BEEN DELETED FOR THE ELECTRONIC VERSION. SEE ALTERNATE URL FOR THESE PAGES.
Captain Henry Yule
Source/publisher:
Smith, Elder & Co.
Date of publication:
1858-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-09-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
6.5 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
Robert Talbot Kelly, through his art and his 1905 publication, Burma Painted and Described, provides a visual and textual account of colonial Burma that was subsequently marketed in England and America. Travelogues served as a form of voyeuristic education about the exotic for the stay-at-home adventurer. Postcolonial scholarship, to some degree assisted by Edward Said's Orientalism, now permits a reanalysis of both the art and the written texts of travel literature for what they say about cultural attitudes during the age of high imperialism, and in particular about Kelly's use of the word picturesque as a literary and artistic descriptor.
Oliver B. Pollak
Source/publisher:
Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 3 (1998)
Date of publication:
1998-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2009-03-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
CHAPTER I.
Sketch of the History of Burmah—War with the Burmese in 1824—Conquered by the British— Negotiations with the Court of Ava—Occupation of the Tenasserim Provinces in 1851 — Naval Expedition to Ava—Arrival in Burmah in 1854
.
CHAPTER II.
How I came to go to Burmah — Captain Biden — Voyage in the " Hugh Lindsay" — Masulipatam — Coringa — The Temples of Juggernathpooram—Nautch Girls—Vizagapatam —Munsuorcottah—A shooting party ashore
.
CHAPTER III.
Description of the Town of Maulmain and its Environs—Picturesque Population—Domestic Manners of the People—Costumes, &c
.
CHAPTER IV.
My Burmese Preceptor—Intercourse between Europeans and Burmese Women—Plays and Entertainments—Curious Customs and Amusements— Traditions—Creation of the World—Missionaries —Education of Youth.... CHAPTER V.
Account of the Great Fire at Maulmain in 1854— Other Fires
.
CHAPTER VI.
Description of my house—Domestic servants — Marketing — The Bazaar — Articles of food — Prejudices of the people—Cloth merchants — Extortionate shop-keepers
.
CHAPTER VII.
Law and Police Courts—Magistrates and Judges— Pleaders — Affrays and Police Proceedings — Chinese Passion for Play— Gambling Houses — Heavy punishment and fines — Punishment of a criminal.—Law processes — Delay in administering justice
.
CHAPTER VIII.
Voyage to Rangoon in the "Nemesis" — Amherst, on the Salween River—The Irrawaddy — Immense alligator— Animals and insects — Mosquito creek—Miseries on arriving at Rangoon — State of affairs there — Journey to the house of Mr. L. — Generous hospitality — Wretched dwellings—Burmese boat races—Accommodations for the spectators—Animated description of the race—A Burmese drama—Dancing girls— Curious scene—Wrestling matches—Extraordinary climate—Excursions about the town—The Great Pagoda described—A fearful prospect— Return to Maulmain....N.B. THE COVERS, THE GOOGLE NOTE, ETC. HAVE BEEN MOVED TO THE END OF THE TEXT AND THE FRONTISPIECE REPOSITIONED
SEE ALTERNATE URL FOR ORIGINAL ORDER.
W. H. Marshall
Source/publisher:
Charles J. Skeet (publisher) via Google Books
Date of publication:
1860-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2008-04-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
3.68 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
CONTENTS OF VOL. II.
CHAPTER I.
Ceremonies relating to deceased Priests — Their Bodies embalmed and afterwards burned
.
CHAPTER II. The Band Stand—Carriages and other vehicles— Soldiers? barracks—Public ball—Burmese notions Propagation of slander
.
CHAPTER III.
Natural Productions of Burmah—Beasts—Birds— Insects—Flowers
.
CHAPTER IV.
Literary Reminiscences—My Newspaper—Printer?s Devils and Devils of Printers—My Troubles— General D?Orgoni—Final Secession and Return to Maulmain
.
CHAPTER V.
Petroleum—The Wells at Rama gong—Mode of procuring the Oil, its Uses, &c
..
CHAPTER VI.
Execution of two Burmans—Their Story—A Burman Village—English Jurisprudence—The stolen Elephant—The Thief executed—Capital Punishment—Revolting Scene—Reflections
.
CHAPTER VII.
Visit to the Jail—Description of it—Conversation with a Convict—Weaving and Carpet making —Surprising Agility of a Female—Inspection of the Convicts—Divided into Classes—A noisy Prisoner—Crowded state of the Jail—Its offensive State—The different Wards—Cooking-houses— Granaries, &c.—Anecdote of a French Prince— A Funeral
..
CHAPTER VIIL
Village of Nyoungbienziek—Visit to the Distillery at the Place—The Goung Gyoup—The Timber Station at Kadoe—Tricks of the Trade—Visit to Martaban
.
CHAPTER IX.
Determination to quit Burmah—The Law?s Delay —Past Government and future Prospects of Burmah—News of the Revolt in Bengal—Sugar Factory at Amherst—Productions and Capabilities of this part of India—Its favourable Climate
CHAPTER X.
My Voyage Home in the "Avondhu "—Incident at Amherst—The Andamans and Nicobars— Hurricanes—The Cape of Good Hope—Ascension—The Azores—Whalers—HOME........N.B. THE COVERS, THE GOOGLE NOTE, ETC. HAVE BEEN MOVED TO THE END OF THE TEXT AND THE FRONTISPIECE REPOSITIONED
SEE ALTERNATE URL FOR ORIGINAL ORDER.
W. H. Marshall
Source/publisher:
Charles J. Skeet (publisher) via Google Books
Date of publication:
1860-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2008-04-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
3.4 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
Editor?s notes:
This brief account of Arracan was originally published in the Bulletin de la Soci?t?
de G?ographie 5.35 & 36 (March-April) in 1826. Thus, its publication dates from
the last year of the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826), although it was likely
based on information preceding that conflict...
M.W.C.
Source/publisher:
Bulletin de la Soci?t? de G?ographie 5.35 & 36 via SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004
Date of publication:
1826-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2004-09-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Francais, French
more
Description:
Editor?s Note:
This translation of Hieronimo di Santo Stefano?s journey to Pegu in 1495-1496 was
originally published in India in the Fifteenth Century Being a Collection of
Narratives of Voyages to India, edited by R. H. Major, in 1857. The account was
written in the form of a letter to Messer Giovan Jacobo Mainer. Only those
portions related to Burma have been included in the version below...
M.W.C.
Hieronimo di Santo Stefano of Genoa. Translated by R. H. Major
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004,
Date of publication:
1857-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2004-09-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Editor?s Note:
This translation of Athanasius Nikitin?s fifteenth century travels to India was
originally published in India in the Fifteenth Century Being a Collection of
Narratives of Voyages to India, edited by R. H. Major, in 1857. Nikitin appears to
have only included information on Burma which he obtained by word of mouth.
His brief references to Pegu are provided below. The reference to Pegu has been
standardized, as two different spellings were included in the original translation.
M.W.C.
Athanasius Nikitin of Tver.
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004
Date of publication:
1857-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2004-09-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Nicol? de? Conti did not write about his extensive travels. Our knowledge of him
has been filtered through the works of two men to whom he recounted his
adventures. A Spanish nobleman, Pero Tafur, was visiting the seashore near the
monastery at Mount Sinai in 1437, when Conti arrived there, on his way back to
Europe from Asia. Conti was accompanied by his wife, whom he had met and
married in India, and by his four children, who were born in the course of his
travels. Tafur travelled with the Conti family by caravan to Cairo and then set out
for Crete. The wife and two children died in an epidemic in Egypt, and Conti
returned with his remaining children to Venice, his native town. In 1439 he went to
Florence during a papal visit to that city, and at that time he related the stories of
his travels to the papal secretary, Giovanni Francesco Poggio Bracciolini.
Kennon Breazeale
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 2004,
Date of publication:
2004-09-20
Date of entry/update:
2004-09-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more