South Hsenwi Explained

Conventional Long Name:South Hsenwi
Common Name:S. Hsenwi
Nation:the Shan States
Subdivision:State
Capital:Mongyai
Year Start:1888
Event Start:Hsenwi split into two states
Year End:1959
Event End:Abdication of the last ruler
P1:Hsenwi
S1:Shan State
Flag P1:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
Flag S1:Flag of the Shan State.svg
Image Map Caption:South Hsenwi in a map of the Shan States
Stat Area1:2400
Stat Year1:1901
Stat Pop1:67836

South Hsenwi was a Shan state in the Northern Shan States in what is today Burma.[1] The capital was Mongyai town which had a population of about 2000 in the 19th century.

South Hsenwi had an area of 2400 m2 and a population of 67,836 in 1901; its estimated revenue was £4800.[2]

History

According to tradition, the predecessor state of Sivirattha was founded before 650 AD. This legendary state became Hsenwi State with the passing of the centuries.Hsenwi was the largest of the cis-Salween Shan states, and at one time included all of what are now the present states of North and South Hsenwi, Kehsi Mansam, Mong Hsu, Mong Sang, and Mong Nawng. It also held Mang Lon and other Wa states east of the Salween in a protectorate-like arrangement. During Burmese times, the state lost control of these areas and at the time of the annexation following British rule in Burma, Hsenwi was composed of five de jure divisions; but the administration of the area was in chaos, with no central control. After the pacification of the region in March 1888, the colonial administration divided Hsenwi into two states: North Hsenwi, which was assigned to a successful adventurer, Hkun Sang, of Ton Hong, and South Hsenwi which went to Nawmong, of the old Shan ruling house. Lashio, the headquarters of the superintendent of the Northern Shan State, was located in North Hsenwi.[3] The last ruler of South Hsenwi abdicated in 1959. The state became part of Shan State and, despite the independence struggle of the latter, eventually part of Burma.

Rulers

The rulers of South Hsenwi bore the title Saopha.[4]

Saophas

External links

22.4°N 100°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: WHKMLA : History of the Shan States. 18 May 2010. 21 December 2010.
  2. https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/ The Imperial Gazetteer of India
  3. http://www.battle-of-qurman.com.cn/literature/Luce-BurmaJournal-1925.pdf Burma Journal-1925 Page 120
  4. http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Myanmar_shankaren.html Shan and Karenni States of Burma