Tharrawaddy (, also spelt Thayarwaddy) is a city in western

Bago Region Bago Region (, ; formerly Pegu Division and Bago Division) is an administrative divisions of Myanmar, administrative region of Myanmar, located in the southern central part of the country. It is bordered by Magway Region and Mandalay Region to ...

of lower

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. It is the administrative seat of

Tharrawaddy District Tharrawaddy or Thayarwady District () is a district of the Bago Division in central Burma (Myanmar). The capital lies at Tharrawaddy, Burma. Townships The district contains the following townships: # Tharrawaddy Township #Letpadan Township Letp ...

and

Tharrawaddy Township Tharrawaddy Township is a township in Tharrawaddy District in the Bago Region of Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northw ...

. It locates on the main Yangon-Pyay road and 76 miles away at the north of

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. The town is divided into 8 urban wards.

History

The current town was built when the region was under

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

, in the first British temporary seat at Thonze. However, Thonze is populated for district offices. Therefore, the town was moved two miles north of Thonze and the new district capital was built in 1878. During the

Galon Rebellion Saya San ( Burmese: ဆရာစံ, Burmese pronunciation: sʰəjà sàɰ̃/nowiki>">Help:IPA/Burmese">sʰəjà sàɰ̃/nowiki>; 24 October 1876 – 28 November 1931), originally named Yar Kyaw, was a prominent Burmese physician, monk, and l ...

, the self-proclaimed king

Saya San Saya San ( Burmese: ဆရာစံ, Burmese pronunciation: sʰəjà sàɰ̃/nowiki>">Help:IPA/Burmese">sʰəjà sàɰ̃/nowiki>; 24 October 1876 – 28 November 1931), originally named Yar Kyaw, was a prominent Burmese physician, monk, and l ...

moved to Tharrawaddy after a coronation in

in December 1930. He proclaimed a new royal city by the name of Buddharaja Myo () on Alaungtang Hill in the city, ceremoniall plotting it out with space for the proper retinue of five queens, four ministers, and four regiments. Tharrawaddy, like most of

Lower Burma Lower Myanmar (, also called Lower Burma) is a geographic region of Myanmar and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta ( Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon Regions), as well as coastal regions of the country ( Rakhine and Mon States and Tanintharyi ...

, suffered severe economic dislocation during the ‘Hoover Slump’. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

of 1930 had a devastating impact on rice prices. The high population density and the

concentration of land ownership Concentration of land ownership refers to the ownership of land in a particular area by a small number of people or organizations. It is sometimes defined as additional concentration beyond that which produces optimally efficient land use. Distri ...

in central Burma stoked disaffected landless laborers, whom blamed the colonial government for both their inability to work the land independently and for decline of their real incomes as rice worker. Rural cultivators were quick to respond to Saya San's appeals of anti-tax rhetoric mixed with Buddhist traditions and prophecies. Violence broke out first on 22 December of the year in Tharrawaddy and escalated, spreading to many cities in Burma. The revolt was defeated after two years in 1932 with Saya San being hanged in Tharrawaddy. The current town was created in 1972 by decree of the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

History

Climate

Notes

References