Myanmar (formerly Burma) Genealogy

Asia Myanmar

Guide to Myanmar, family history and genealogy parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

LOCATION
Myanmar, known for most of its history in the West as Burma, lies between latitudes 9° and 29°N, and longitudes 92° and 102°E.

Myanmar is bordered in the northwest by the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh and the Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh states of India. Its north and northeast border straddles the Tibet Autonomous Region and Yunnan province for a Sino-Burman border total of 2,185 km (1,358 mi). It is bounded by Laos and Thailand to the southeast. Burma has 1,930 km (1,200 mi) of contiguous coastline along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea to the southwest and the south, which forms one quarter of its total perimeter.

In the north, the Hengduan Mountains form the border with China. Hkakabo Razi, located in Kachin State, at an elevation of 5,881 meters (19,295 ft), is the highest point in Burma. Many mountain ranges, such as the Rakhine Yoma, the Bago Yoma, the Shan Hills and the Tenasserim Hills exist within Burma, all of which run north-to-south from the Himalayas.

HISTORY
Archaeological evidence shows that Homo erectus lived in the region now known as Myanmar as early as 400,000 years ago.[

The first evidence of Homo sapiens is dated to about 11,000 BC, in a Stone Age culture called the Anyathian with discoveries of stone tools in central Burma. Evidence of neolithic age domestication of plants and animals and the use of polished stone tools dating to sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 BC has been discovered.

By the 9th century AD several city-states had sprouted across the land: the Pyu states in the central dry zone, Mon states along the southern coastline and Arakanese states along the western littoral.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Pagan Empire and the Khmer Empire were two main powers in mainland Southeast Asia.[49] The Burmese language and culture gradually became dominant in the upper Irrawaddy valley, eclipsing the Pyu, Mon and Pali norms by the late 12th century.

The country was colonized by Britain following three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885). British rule brought social, economic, cultural and administrative changes.

With the fall of Mandalay, all of Burma came under British rule, being annexed on 1 January 1886. Throughout the colonial era, many Indians arrived as soldiers, civil servants, construction workers and traders and, along with the Anglo-Burmese community, dominated commercial and civil life in Burma. Rangoon became the capital of British Burma and an important port between Calcutta and Singapore.

On 4 January 1948, the nation became an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu as its first Prime Minister. Unlike most other former British colonies and overseas territories, Burma did not become a member of the Commonwealth.

On 2 March 1962, the military led by General Ne Win took control of Burma through a coup d'état and the government has been under direct or indirect control by the military since then.

The goal of the Burmese constitutional referendum of 2008, held on 10 May 2008, is the creation of a "discipline-flourishing democracy". As part of the referendum process, the name of the country was changed from the "Union of Myanmar" to the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar", and general elections were held under the new constitution in 2010. Observer accounts of the 2010 election describe the event as mostly peaceful; however, allegations of polling station irregularities were raised, and the United Nations (UN) and a number of Western countries condemned the elections as fraudulent.

RELIGION
Following the establishment of the Pagan Empire in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country.

Today, many religions are practiced in Burma. Religious edifices and orders have been in existence for many years. Festivals can be held on a grand scale. The Christian and Muslim populations do, however, face religious persecution and it is hard, if not impossible, for non-Buddhists to join the army or get government jobs, the main route to success in the country.

The religious population mix follows:

Buddhist:80%   Burmese folk religion: 6%   Protestant Christians: 5%   Muslim: 4%   Hindu: 2%   Roman Catholic Christians: 2%   Other:1%

ECONOMY
Because of the civil unrest that Myanmar has experienced over the past 50 years, the economy is really not very vibrant. Over the past few years, some smaller Chinese business entities have invested in the country, but nothing of major significance has occurred.

As in many locations in Asia, Myanmar has turned to trafficking in illegal drugs as a way of augmenting the economy. The country is the world's second largest producer of opium, accounting for 8% of entire world production and is a major source of illegal drugs, including amphetamines.

The country does have a number of natural resources it can export. Myanmar produces precious stones such as rubies, sapphires, pearls, and jade. Rubies are the biggest earner; 90% of the world's rubies come from the country, whose red stones are prized for their purity and hue. Thailand buys the majority of the country's gems. Burma's "Valley of Rubies", the mountainous Mogok area, 200 km (120 mi) north of Mandalay, is noted for its rare pigeon's blood rubies and blue sapphires.

RECORDS
At present all Birth, Marriage, and Death records in Myanmar are almost non-existent. What records that did exist during the British occupation have either been destroyed or lost.

The following links can be a start:

Burmese records

Family Search

Roots web Ancestry.com

NATIONAL ARCHIVES
BMD returns were not formally organized until the arrival of the British in 1826, when they gained the territory of Tenasserim, bordering Siam. Civil Administration was initially centered at Prince of Wales Island, Penang. In 1834 the province became part of Bengal, however military administration was based in Madras until the 1840's. Records relating to baptisms, marriages and burials in Tenasserim may therefore appear in Chaplain's Returns in the UK or Madras (for military events) or in Madras, Penang or Bengal returns during this period.

The only official returns were Anglican and RC until the 1850's, when the Government of India provided means for returns of minority religions such as the Baptists. Records from the Myanmar National Archives show that Baptist marriages were not reported until November 1858.

Further expansion took place in 1853 which gave Britain control of Pegu and Arakan provinces (including Rangoon and Akyab.) The northern border of British territory at that time was a rough line between Thayetmyo and Toungoo.

The last Anglo-Burmese war ended in 1886, when Upper Burma was incorporated into the Empire.

The British granted independence to Burma (now known as Myanmar) in 1947. Aung San, who was ostensibly to have been the new leader, was assassinated the same year, and his colleague Thakin Nu became president. Thakin Nu stayed in power only briefly, asking General Ne Win to assume control as soon as the first signs of civil unrest erupted in 1958. Since 1988, the military government has made repeated gestures toward democratic government, although they have in fact taken no real steps in that direction.

Jurisdictions
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Research Tools

 * http://www.foundationburma.org/links.php
 * http://burmalibrary.org/
 * http://www.angloburmeselibrary.com
 * http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/asian/burma/burma.html
 * http://www.suite101.com/reference/myanmar
 * http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/mm.html

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