Wuntho

Wuntho
Wying Hsö
ဝဵင်းသိူဝ်
?–1892
1917 map of the Burmese Shan States when Wuntho had already been annexed to the British territories
1917 map of the Burmese Shan States when Wuntho had already been annexed to the British territories
CapitalWuntho
History 
• Established
?
• State merged into Katha District
1892
Area
(estimate)6,200 km2 (2,400 sq mi)
Population
• (estimate)
150,000
Succeeded by
Wuntho Township
Family of the Saopha of Wuntho.

Wuntho (Burmese: ဝန်းသို), also known as Wying Hsö (Shan: ဝဵင်းသိူဝ်), was a Shan state in Upper Burma. It had an area of around 6,200 square kilometres (2,400 sq mi) with 150,000 inhabitants and lay midway between the Ayeyarwady River and Chindwin Rivers.

Name

The state was at first called Bein-hsö ('town of the tiger') in Shan. This was later changed into Wying Hsö ('city of the tiger'), which was rendered into Burmese as Wuntho (ဝန်းသို). The origin of the name is part of a wider legend which included the founding of the Shan states of Möng Mit, Möng Yang and Möng Kawng.

History

The local history of the Wuntho dates its founding to antiquity with a long list of rulers. James George Scott criticized this as being more patriotic than accurate, and stated that Wuntho may have never been a truly independent Shan State.

In 1555, the governor of Wuntho (a nephew of the Möng Yang saopha) was appointed to resist Bayinnaung's conquest of Upper Burma from Taze.

In 1885 the British annexed Upper Burma and established their rule in the region. Wuntho rebelled in 1891 but the British quelled the uprising. As a consequence a force of 1,800 British soldiers under General Sir George Wolseley occupied the town of Wuntho. In 1892 the state was formally annexed by the British and incorporated into the District of Katha. It was classed by the Burmese as a Shan state, but was never on the same footing as the Shan states to the east.

Rulers

The rulers of Wuntho bore the title Saopha

Saophas:

He led the Wuntho troop to fighting with the British in 1891 but surrendered, after that he escaped to Koshanpye in Santa 13 years and Mong La 19 year until Sir Sao Maung of Yawnghwe State persuaded him to come back to his motherland. After that he lived in Taunggyi and received a salary of 100 kyat per month and when Sao Yawt Hkam Serk was the president of Myanmar he received the salary 500 kyat per month

References

  1. 1 2 Wikisource One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wuntho". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 856.
  2. ↑ Scott, J. G. (1900). Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan states. Part 1, Volume 1. pp. 202-203.
  3. 1 2 Scott, J. G. (1900). Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan states. Part 2, Volume 3. pp. 359-362
  4. ↑ Fernquest, Jon (1 January 2005). "Min-gyi-nyo, the Shan Invasions of Ava (1524-27), and the Beginnings of Expansionary Warfare in Toungoo Burma: 1486-1539". SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research: 1176.
  5. ↑ Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 24, p. 399

23°53′N 95°40′E / 23.883°N 95.667°E / 23.883; 95.667