Myanmar
(also known as Burma or Birma) is a country in south east Asia extending from
the southeastern end of the Himalaya mountain range southwards into the Indian
ocean. The terrain is to a large extent mountaineous, with only the central
region around the Ayeyarwady river being plain. Myanmar extends for 2000 km
from north to south and has widely varying climatic regions, ranging from a
temperate and fresh north to a tropical south. The first identifiable
civilisation in the region is the one of the Mon, who by the mid-900s BC were
the dominant power in southern Myanmar. Later a number of kingdoms developed in
the region. These were first unified by the kingdom of Taungoo in the 16th
century. In the 19th century the British conquered Myanmar and incorporated it
into the British Raj. Myanmar became independent in 1948 initially as a
democratic republic. Following the coup by the military in 1962, Myanmar has
been ruled by the military ever since. Its economy nowadays is underdeveloped,
also due to the economic sanctions imposed by the international community. When
visiting Myanmar one gets the impression that the country is like Thailand was
30-40 years ago: little traffic in the streets, old cars, most men wearing
traditional sarongs, very little crime. The capital of Myanmar was Yangon until
2005, when the capital was moved to Naypyidaw, a new city located 320km to the
north.
Myanmar
has been a nexus of cultural and material exchange for thousands of years. The
country’s coasts and river valleys have been inhabited since prehistoric times,
and during most of the 1st millennium ce the overland trade route
between China and India passed through Myanmar’s borders. Merchant ships from
India, Sri Lanka, and even farther west converged on its ports
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