Using previously unexplored archives from colonial institutions and individuals, and primary materials produced by the Burmese Chinese, this comprehensive study investigates over a century of history of the Burmese Chinese under British colonial rule. Due to the peculiar position of Burma in the British imperial world and the Southeast Asian Chinese network, the Chinese community had a unique experience in a Southeast Asian colony governed by Europeans with an India-based system. This book reveals, through everyday life experience, prominent community figures, and milestone events, the internal rivalry and integration among different regional groups within the community, and the general impressions it left in contemporary observations and communal memories. The book also traces historical roots of some unsolved ethnic issues in present-day Myanmar.

This classic history, first published in 1883, is the first English-language work to provide a comprehensive history of Burma, now Myanmar, based on Burmese sources. It incorporates the early history not only of Burma proper, but also those of the surrounding kingdoms of Pegu, Taungu, Tenasserim, and Arakan, comparing when possible differing accounts of events as described in those chronicles. Includes original extensive appendixes and large foldout map.