This page was created by Carrie Pirmann. The last update was by Aung Pyae Phyo.
About Burma
Through three Anglo-Burmese wars, the British East India Company annexed Burma to India, and then declared it a separate colony in 1937. Burma gained independence in 1946, but in 1962, fell to military rule after a coup. The military then changed the name of the country from Burma to Myanmar in 1989. In 2012, the government transitioned into democratic rule, despite the first election being heavily accused as unfair, which ended in the military party’s victory. The current civilian government came into power in 2015, when the National League for Democracy won the election of that year.
Burma is a majority-Buddhist nation, and monks are central to the communities. One such example is the Saffron Revolution in 2007. It was a series of protests led by Buddhist monks against the rising fuel prices. The Buddhist centrality can also be seen through the many golden pagodas throughout the country.
The word Burma can refer to the current country Myanmar, and the Burmese ethnic group. For the purposes of this history project, I’ve decided to use the term Burma instead of Myanmar to keep style choices consistent with Bucknell University’s terms and to express the long relationship that predates the name changes of both Burma and Bucknell.
Throughout the website, some names may have the prefix "U," "Daw," "Maung," or "Ma." These are Burmese prefixes similar to "Mr." and "Mrs." "U" and "Maung" are male prefixes, while "Daw" and "Ma" are female prefixes.
