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Anglo-Burmese

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The Anglo-Burmese, also known as the Anglo-Burmans, are a community of Eurasians of Burmese and European descent, and emerged as a distinct community through mixed relations (sometimes permanent, sometimes temporary) between the British and other European settlers and the local Burmese ethnic groups from 1826 until 1948 when Burma gained its Independence. Today, this small but influential Eurasian community is dispersed throughout the world, with very few estimates as to how many remain behind in military-ruled Myanmar, formerly Burma.

The term Anglo-Burmese also refers to Eurasians of European and other Burmese ethnic minority group (eg. Shan, Karen, Mon, Chinese) descent. It also, after 1937, included Anglo-Indians resident in Burma. Collectively, in the Burmese language, Eurasians are known as bo kabya; the term kabya refers to persons of mixed ancestry or dual ethnicity.

The most famous Anglo-Burmans today are Helen (Bollywood actress), the late British television actor Richard Beckinsale, his daughter, film actress Kate Beckinsale, British TV personality Melanie Sykes and renowned jazz musician Jamie Cullum, his brother, Ben Cullum and former British music star, Annabella Lwin. Renowned 1970s folk-rock singer/songwriter Nick Drake is also Anglo-Burmese. Another famous Anglo-Burman is the daughter of a Burmese princess and an Australian soldier, called June Rose Bellamy (known in Burmese as Yadana Nat Mai). Today she lives in Italy and was once the cream of Rangoon society during the 1950s and 1960s and is a former wife of the late General Ne Win. The sons of Aung San Suu Kyi and Michael Aris, Alexander and Kim, are technically Anglo-Burmese albeit British born, and the fact their heritage does not stem from a colonial miscegenation leads many not to include them in the community. It is also widely believed that British actress Diana Rigg is of Anglo-Burmese origin.

Contents

History

Earliest settlement

The first Anglo-Burmese community emerged in the early 1600s, as the Portuguese and Bamar intermixed, and this hybrid community was collectively known as the Ba-yin-gyi. The community was established in Syriam (now known as Thanlyin) on the outskirts of modern-day Yangon. The settlement was founded by Felipe de Brito. De Brito is said to have gone mad, having declared himself king of Lower Burma, causing his outpost to be destroyed by the Burmese king. Most of the small community of Eurasian and European settlers was banished inland to Shwebo also then known as Moksobo. Additionally, a small band of French soldiers captured in the late 1700s by the Burmese King were provided with Burmese wives and established a similar, small Eurasian community. After the Portuguese, the French and Dutch also established trade missions in Burma, and along with them came Armenian settlers. The VOC (Dutch East India Company) was active in Burma, and many Anglo-Burmans of Dutch heritage are descended from the Dutch merchants who settled in the country. Today's Anglo-Burmese can count a very diverse lineage in their blood.

British occupation

From 1825 onwards, border wars with the British ended with Lower Burma (Arakan and Tenasserim) being annexed to British rule, set with a capital in Moulmein. However, in 1886 after a plot was uncovered that the French intended to annex Upper Burma, Upper Burma was annexed by the British and King Thibaw and most of his relatives of importance were exiled, and Burma was made a province of British India. British settlers now began to settle in large numbers in Burma, intermixing with the local Burmans (Bamar), and other local ethnic groups, and a small Eurasian community emerged. Frequently, European men took Burmese women as "temporary" wives, often deserting them and their offspring after their tours of duty ended in Burma, but legal, long lasting marriages did also take place. Frequently, when a "temporary" relationship ended, the European father left behind a sum of money for the upkeep of their children, and sometimes the children were removed from their Burmese mothers and placed into convent schools run by Europeans, where their Burmese heritage was often underminded. The issue of mixed marriages, particularly between Bamar women and British males, was to become a major issue in the Independence movement as it further developed.

Anglo-Burmans represented a diverse heritage, their Asian lineage primarily represented by Burman blood, but also Karen, Shan and Mon as well as other smaller Burmese ethnic groups (Chin, Kachin, Arakanese for example). The European element included, aside from the British, other European influence, chiefly Greek, Dutch, Scandinavian, Irish, German, Austrian, French, Portuguese, Italian and Russian. In addition, Iraqi, Armenian and Anglo-Indian blood was also represented among Anglo-Burmans.

By the 1920s, the Anglo-Burman community was a distinct ethnic group in Burma. In 1937, as Burma separated officially from British India and formed a separate crown colony, Anglo-Burmans were officially recognised as an ethnic group. Having European blood, Anglo-Burmans were often more privileged, and became one of the dominant ethnic groups in Burmese life. They began assimilating to European customs, in particular British. Most Anglo-Burmans (unlike Anglo-Indians and Burgher people in Sri Lanka) were able to trace at least a grandparent, if not a parent, originating from outside of Burma's borders. As such, the connection with the West was strong, and many Anglo-Burmans did not settle down as a truly indigenous ethnic group. Of course, some Anglo-Burmans did, and many did feel Burma was their own country, with no wish to "repatriate" to their European "homeland". Along with the British settlers, Anglo-Indians came into the country to work on the railways and customs departments and intermarriage between the two groups (Anglo-Indian and Anglo-Burmese) was frequent, especially in Rangoon (Yangon) as both communities were innately drawn to one another.

Between 1935 and 1948, Burma quickly became the jewel of the East, with a flourishing economy based on agricultural produce (primarily rice), oil, timber, gems and other natural resources). At this time, Rangoon was said to be the most cosmopolitan city east of the Suez Canal and the city and its environs were estimated to have approximately 30,000 Anglo-Burmans (this figure did not account for the Anglo-Indians who had settled in Burma with the British since 1886) and were sometimes enumerated separately. Rangoon and Maymyo became principal population centres for the Anglo-Burmese, although substantial communities also existed in the Ayeyarwady River delta towns as well as in Mandalay, Moulmein, Amherst (now Kyaikkami), Taunggyi, Kalaw, Toungoo, Pyinmana, Meiktila, Yenangyaung and the mining towns of the Shan States, among others. It is important to note that although prejudice did exist among some of the colonial settlers of European origin and equally among some Burmans, the Anglo-Burmese were not held in such contempt by the British and Burmans as were the Anglo-Indians by both the British and Indians, despite their similar origins and heritage. This was also reflected in the derogatory term bo kyet chee for Anglo-Indians in contrast to bo kabya. Many never learnt to speak Burmese and managed to get by with Hindi or Urdu.

In 1942, the Japanese invaded East and Southeast Asia, including Burma, in hopes of creating an empire throughout Asia. Because of their European connections and appearance and fearful of Japanese rule, Anglo-Burmans began making preparations to leave the country for safety in India. A vast majority of Anglo-Burmans made their way out of Burma by their own means, some by sea and others by air. The less fortunate trekked through the jungles to India. This exodus has become historically known as "The Trek" and many Anglo-Burmans alongside Europeans, Indians and Chinese died en route. Those who remained behind suffered horrendously. However, Anglo-Burmans who resembled Bamar were incognito, and managed to pass, acting like the Burmans. Indeed, many Bamar sheltered their Eurasian friends and relatives from the Japanese, and after the war, many Anglo-Burmans were not to forget this, refusing to take back their European names and dress, appreciative of the security and protection offered to them. Others less fortunate during the war were interred in prison camps whilst others, particularly the Anglo-Burman women, were taken as servants and mistresses by the Japanese army, most often unwillingly. In 1944, Burma's colonial government met in exile at Simla, India. Among those who attended were the Governor of Burma, Sir Reginald Dorman Smith, along with Anglo-Burman leaders (including James Barrington who was to become the first Ambassador for post-independence Burma to the U.S.A. and Canada), to discuss the future of Burma after the war and the status of the Anglo-Burmese community. After Japan was defeated, most Anglo-Burmans from India returned.

Post-independence

On 4 January 1948, the Union of Burma declared its independence from Great Britain, immediately leaving the Commonwealth, severing all ties with the British Empire. The British left protectional clauses in the Constitution and legislative makeup of independent Burma to account for the Anglo-Burman people, most importantly, reserved seats in Parliament however, there immediately followed a major exodus of Anglo-Burmans, who were fearful of what awaited them in post-independence Burma. At this time, around a quarter (25%) of the population of Rangoon were enumerated as Anglo-Burmese — this was to decline steadily through to the late 1960s.

As mentioned above, following the British withdrawal in 1948, many Anglo-Burmans left, primarily for the United Kingdom. It is an interesting irony of note that whereas both Anglo-Burmans and Anglo-Indians had tended to look down on the native Bamar, after they were "repatriated" to Britain many ended up calling themselves Burmese in white society. Many more remained behind in Burma and carried on with their lives. However through the 1950s, the situation steadily declined in the country, with armed insurrections and rebellions throughout the country, principally among the Karen people. Due to the perceived suffering the Bamar had encountered under British rule, affirmative action of sorts was introduced by the government of U Nu and many Anglo-Burmans began to lose their jobs, to be replaced with pure Burmans as the bureacracy of the country became increasingly Burmanized. Additional measures relating to the Burmese language were introduced so that in order to take the Matriculation exam to enter the University of Rangoon prospective students were required to be fluent in written Burmese (which many Anglo-Burmans had not been taught). When military rule was established in 1962 by a coup led by General Ne Win, many more Anglo-Burmans left, due to discriminatory measures taken against minority groups, particularly those the military deemed as reminders of colonial rule, specifically the Anglo-Burmese and the Karen. Anglo-Burmans already in the Armed Forces were dismissed and those who wanted to join were now barred. There were also mass dismissals of Anglo-Burmans from the Civil Service in departments where they had previously dominated such as the Customs Department and the Ministry of Post and Telegraph. All schools were nationalised, the principal target being missionary schools, and English was no longer taught from kindergarten. Standards began to fall in the education system in the country, and the previously highly esteemed University of Rangoon was closed for some time. English as the principal medium of instruction was abolished and foreign institutions no longer accepted degrees obtained from the University. The Anglo-Burman Social Club was subsequently requisitioned and turned into an officers mess and the Anglo-Burman Union was banned. During this time, many Anglo-Burmans left to Australia and New Zealand, with small numbers emigrating to Canada and the U.S.A.

Present-day

Today, only a handful of people actually identifying themselves as Anglo-Burmans are believed to remain in Burma. Most who remained after 1962 adopted Burmese names, and converted to Buddhism to protect their families, jobs and assets. Because of the similar heritage and roles played, and because Burma was historically part of the Empire as part of India, Anglo-Burmans were once counted as Anglo-Indians; today, Anglo-Indians still accept Anglo-Burmese as their "kith and kin" and world reunions of Anglo-Indians usually also include many who would also be classed more correctly as Anglo-Burmese, to reflect their Burmese, rather than Indian, blood. It is estimated that there are around 52,000 Anglo-Burmese left behind in Burma, with a total of circa 1.6 million worldwide (source: [link] and [link]).

Educational system

Anglo-Burmans were enrolled in British-run schools where English was the medium of instruction with Burmese as a second language. For some Anglo-Burmans who married full blooded Burmese, their children, whilst still being counted as Anglo-Burmans, were usually more openly exposed to the indigenous culture and spoke and used the Burmese language more frequently than their more "Anglo" counterparts. Notable schools include but are not limited to:

Community organisations in Colonial Burma

Present-day Anglo-Burman organisations

Resources

See also

 

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