British Burma

British rule in Burma lasted from 1824 to 1948. The First Anglo-Burmese War ended in 1826 with the cession of Arakan and Tenasserim, and the Second War in 1853 added Lower Burma, including Rangoon. After the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885 the monarchy was abolished and the whole kingdom was annexed on 1 January 1886. Burma was administered as a province of British India, with the Shan States and other frontier areas governed separately. The colonial economy was built on rice exports from the Irrawaddy delta, timber, oil and mining, while Indian moneylenders and labourers transformed the delta. Nationalist politics emerged in the 1920s through the Young Men's Buddhist Association and the General Council of Burmese Associations, and students led the Dobama Asiayone. Burma was separated from India on 1 April 1937 and given a bicameral legislature. Japan occupied the colony in 1942, and British administration was restored in 1945. After negotiations with Aung San and the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, Burma became independent on 4 January 1948.