Tanintharyi Division
Encyclopedia
Tanintharyi Region is an administrative region of Myanmar
, covering the long narrow southern part of the country on the Kra Isthmus
. It borders with the Andaman Sea
to the west and with the Tenasserim Hills
, beyond which lies Thailand
, to the east. To the north is the Mon State
. The capital of the division is Dawei
(Tavoy). Other important cities are Myeik (Mergui) and Kawthaung
. The division covers an area of 43,328 km², and had an estimated population of 1.36 million in 2000.
—today's Tanintharyi Region, Mon State and southern Kayin State
. The northernmost peninsula region was part of the Thaton Kingdom
before 1057, and the entire coastline became part of King Anawrahta
's Pagan Empire after 1057. After the fall of Pagan in 1287, the area fell to the Siamese kingdom of Sukhothai
, and later its successor Ayutthaya Kingdom
. The region's northernmost border was around the Thanlwin (Salween) river near today's Mawlamyaing (Moulmein).
The region reverted back to Burmese fold in 1564 when King Bayinnaung
of Toungoo Dynasty
conquered all of Siam. Ayutthaya had regained independence by 1587, and reclaimed the southern half of Tanintharyi in 1593 and the entire peninsula in 1599. In 1614, King Anaukpetlun
recovered the upper half of the coast to Dawei
but failed to capture the rest. Tenasserim south of Dawei (Tavoy) remained under Siamese control. Myeik (Mergui) port was a principal center of trade between the Siamese and Europeans.
For nearly seven decades, from the middle of the 18th century to the early 19th century, Burma and Siam were involved in multiple wars for control of the coastline
. Taking advantage of the Burmese civil war of 1740–1757, the Siamese cautiously moved up the coastline to the south of Mottama in 1751. The winner of the civil war, King Alaungpaya
of Konbaung Dynasty
recovered the coastline to Dawei from the Siamese in 1760. His son King Hsinbyushin
conquered the entire coastline in 1765. In the following decades, both sides tried to extend the line of control to their advantage but they both failed. The Burmese used Tanintharyi as a forward base to launch several unsuccessful invasions of Siam (1775–1776; 1785–1786; 1809–1812); the Siamese too were unsuccessful in their attempts to retake Tanintharyi (1787 and 1792). (On the northern front, Burma and Siam were also locked in a struggle for the control of Kengtung and Lan Na.)
Burma ceded the region to the British
after the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) per the Treaty of Yandabo
. The British and the Siamese signed a boundary demarcation treaty on 20 June 1826, and another one in 1868. Mawlamyaing (Moulmein) became the first capital of British Burma. The British seized all of Lower Burma
after the Second Anglo-Burmese War
of 1852, and moved the capital to Yangon (Rangoon). After 1852, Tanintharyi Region consisted the entire southeastern Myanmar, including today's Mon State
, Kayin State
, and Taungoo District, in Bago Region. Mawlamyaing was the capital of Tanintharyi.
Upon independence from Britain in 1948, the northeastern districts of Tanintharyi were placed into the newly created Karen State. In 1974, the northern part of remaining Tanintharyi was carved out to create Mon State. With Mawlamyaing now inside Mon State, the capital of Tanintharyi Region was moved to Dawei. In 1989 the division's English
spelling was officially changed to Tanintharyi.
, Myeik
and Kawthoung
.
Tanintharyi or Tenasserim is comes from the Malay word "Tanah Sari". Historically, this area are part of Sultanate of Kedah.
and Mandalay
. According to official statistics, less than 10% of primary school students in the division reach high school.
All universities and colleges are located in Dawei and Myeik. Until recently, Dawei University was the only four-year university in the state.
and Mandalay
is extremely poor. In 2003, the entire Tanintharyi Region had less fewer hospital beds than the Yangon General Hospital
. The following is a summary of the public health care system.
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, covering the long narrow southern part of the country on the Kra Isthmus
Kra Isthmus
The Kra Isthmus is the narrow land bridge which connects the Malay Peninsula with the mainland of Asia, and popularly named "The Devil's Neck".-Geography:...
. It borders with the Andaman Sea
Andaman Sea
The Andaman Sea or Burma Sea is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Burma, west of Thailand and east of the Andaman Islands, India; it is part of the Indian Ocean....
to the west and with the Tenasserim Hills
Tenasserim Hills
Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range is the geographical name of a mountain chain in Southeast Asia. Despite their relatively scant altitude these mountains form an effective barrier between Thailand and Burma in their northern and central region, extending to the Kra Isthmus into the Malay...
, beyond which lies Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, to the east. To the north is the Mon State
Mon State
Mon State is an administrative division of Myanmar. It is sandwiched between Kayin State on the east, the Andaman Sea on the west, Bago Region on the north and Tanintharyi Region on the south, and has a short border with Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province at its south-eastern tip. The land area is...
. The capital of the division is Dawei
Dawei
-Transport:Only recently Dawei was connected to the rest of Myanmar by road and rail. There are plans to construct a deepwater port in Dawei. In November 2010, the Myanmar Port Authority signed a USD $8.6 billion deal with Italian-Thai Development to develop a deep sea port at Dawei...
(Tavoy). Other important cities are Myeik (Mergui) and Kawthaung
Kawthaung
Kawthaung is in the southernmost part of Myanmar, located in Tanintharyi Region. During British rule in Burma between 1824 and 1948, it was known as Victoria Point.- History :...
. The division covers an area of 43,328 km², and had an estimated population of 1.36 million in 2000.
History
Tanintharyi Region historically included the entire Tanintharyi peninsulaPeninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
—today's Tanintharyi Region, Mon State and southern Kayin State
Kayin State
Kayin State is a state of Burma . The capital city is Hpa-an.-History:The region that forms today's Kayin State was part of successive Burmese kingdoms since the formation of the Pagan Empire in mid-11th century...
. The northernmost peninsula region was part of the Thaton Kingdom
Thaton Kingdom
The Thaton Kingdom or Thuwunnabumi was a Mon kingdom, believed to have existed in Lower Burma from at least the 9th century to the middle of the 11th century. One of many Mon kingdoms that existed in modern-day Lower Burma and Thailand, the kingdom was essentially a city-state centered around the...
before 1057, and the entire coastline became part of King Anawrahta
Anawrahta
Anawrahta Minsaw was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone of Upper Burma into the first Burmese Empire that formed the basis of modern-day Burma...
's Pagan Empire after 1057. After the fall of Pagan in 1287, the area fell to the Siamese kingdom of Sukhothai
Sukhothai kingdom
The Sukhothai Kingdom ) was an early kingdom in the area around the city Sukhothai, in north central Thailand. The Kingdom existed from 1238 till 1438...
, and later its successor Ayutthaya Kingdom
Ayutthaya kingdom
Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...
. The region's northernmost border was around the Thanlwin (Salween) river near today's Mawlamyaing (Moulmein).
The region reverted back to Burmese fold in 1564 when King Bayinnaung
Bayinnaung
Bayinnaung Kyawhtin Nawrahta was the third king of the Toungoo dynasty of Burma . During his 30-year reign, which has been called the "greatest explosion of human energy ever seen in Burma", Bayinnaung assembled the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, which included much of modern day...
of Toungoo Dynasty
Toungoo Dynasty
The Toungoo Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Burma from the mid-16th century to 1752. Its early kings Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung succeeded in reunifying the Pagan Empire for the first time since 1287, and in incorporating the Shan States for the first time...
conquered all of Siam. Ayutthaya had regained independence by 1587, and reclaimed the southern half of Tanintharyi in 1593 and the entire peninsula in 1599. In 1614, King Anaukpetlun
Anaukpetlun
Anaukpetlun was the sixth king of Toungoo dynasty of Burma, and was largely responsible for restoring Burmese kingdom after it had famously collapsed at the end of 16th century. In his 22-year reign between 1606 and 1628, Anaukpetlun completed the reunification efforts of the Burmese kingdom begun...
recovered the upper half of the coast to Dawei
Dawei
-Transport:Only recently Dawei was connected to the rest of Myanmar by road and rail. There are plans to construct a deepwater port in Dawei. In November 2010, the Myanmar Port Authority signed a USD $8.6 billion deal with Italian-Thai Development to develop a deep sea port at Dawei...
but failed to capture the rest. Tenasserim south of Dawei (Tavoy) remained under Siamese control. Myeik (Mergui) port was a principal center of trade between the Siamese and Europeans.
For nearly seven decades, from the middle of the 18th century to the early 19th century, Burma and Siam were involved in multiple wars for control of the coastline
Burmese–Siamese wars
The Burmese–Siamese wars were a series of wars fought between Burma and Siam from the 16th to 19th centuries.-Toungoo–Ayutthaya:-Konbaung–Ayutthaya:-Konbaung–Bangkok:...
. Taking advantage of the Burmese civil war of 1740–1757, the Siamese cautiously moved up the coastline to the south of Mottama in 1751. The winner of the civil war, King Alaungpaya
Alaungpaya
Alaungpaya was king of Burma from 1752 to 1760, and the founder of the Konbaung Dynasty. By his death in 1760, the former chief of a small village in Upper Burma had reunified all of Burma, subdued Manipur, recovered Lan Na, and driven out the French and the English who had given help to the...
of Konbaung Dynasty
Konbaung dynasty
The Konbaung Dynasty was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. The dynasty created the second largest empire in Burmese history, and continued the administrative reforms begun by the Toungoo dynasty, laying the foundations of modern state of Burma...
recovered the coastline to Dawei from the Siamese in 1760. His son King Hsinbyushin
Hsinbyushin
Hsinbyushin was king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1763 to 1776. The second son of the dynasty founder Alaungpaya is best known for his wars with China and Siam, and is considered the most militaristic king of the dynasty. His successful defense against four Chinese invasions preserved...
conquered the entire coastline in 1765. In the following decades, both sides tried to extend the line of control to their advantage but they both failed. The Burmese used Tanintharyi as a forward base to launch several unsuccessful invasions of Siam (1775–1776; 1785–1786; 1809–1812); the Siamese too were unsuccessful in their attempts to retake Tanintharyi (1787 and 1792). (On the northern front, Burma and Siam were also locked in a struggle for the control of Kengtung and Lan Na.)
Burma ceded the region to the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
after the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) per the Treaty of Yandabo
Treaty of Yandabo
The Treaty of Yandabo was the peace treaty that ended the First Anglo-Burmese War. The treaty was signed on 24 February 1826, nearly two years after the war formally broke out on 5 March 1824, by General Sir Archibald Campbell on the British side, and by Governor of Legaing Maha Min Hla Kyaw Htin...
. The British and the Siamese signed a boundary demarcation treaty on 20 June 1826, and another one in 1868. Mawlamyaing (Moulmein) became the first capital of British Burma. The British seized all of Lower Burma
Lower Burma
Lower Burma is a geographic region of Burma and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy delta , as well as coastal regions of the country ....
after the Second Anglo-Burmese War
Second Anglo-Burmese War
The Second Anglo-Burmese War was the second of the three wars fought between the Burmese and the British Empire during the 19th century, with the outcome of the gradual extinction of Burmese sovereignty and independence....
of 1852, and moved the capital to Yangon (Rangoon). After 1852, Tanintharyi Region consisted the entire southeastern Myanmar, including today's Mon State
Mon State
Mon State is an administrative division of Myanmar. It is sandwiched between Kayin State on the east, the Andaman Sea on the west, Bago Region on the north and Tanintharyi Region on the south, and has a short border with Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province at its south-eastern tip. The land area is...
, Kayin State
Kayin State
Kayin State is a state of Burma . The capital city is Hpa-an.-History:The region that forms today's Kayin State was part of successive Burmese kingdoms since the formation of the Pagan Empire in mid-11th century...
, and Taungoo District, in Bago Region. Mawlamyaing was the capital of Tanintharyi.
Upon independence from Britain in 1948, the northeastern districts of Tanintharyi were placed into the newly created Karen State. In 1974, the northern part of remaining Tanintharyi was carved out to create Mon State. With Mawlamyaing now inside Mon State, the capital of Tanintharyi Region was moved to Dawei. In 1989 the division's English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
spelling was officially changed to Tanintharyi.
Administration
Tanintharyi Region comprises ten townships spread over three districts--DaweiDawei District
-Townships:The district contains the following townships:*Dawei Township*Launglon Township*Thayetchaung Township*Yebyu Township...
, Myeik
Myeik District
Myeik District is a district in the Tanintharyi Region of Burma .-Townships:The district contains the following townships:*Myeik Township*Kyunsu Township*Palaw Township*Taninthayi Township...
and Kawthoung
Kawthoung District
-Townships:The district contains the following townships:*Kawthaung Township*Bokpyin Township...
.
Tanintharyi or Tenasserim is comes from the Malay word "Tanah Sari". Historically, this area are part of Sultanate of Kedah.
Education
Educational opportunities in Myanmar are extremely limited outside the main cities of YangonYangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
and Mandalay
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....
. According to official statistics, less than 10% of primary school students in the division reach high school.
| AY 2002-2003 | Primary | Middle | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schools | 1011 | 59 | 30 |
| Teachers | 3000 | 1300 | 400 |
| Students | 170,000 | 54,000 | 14,000 |
All universities and colleges are located in Dawei and Myeik. Until recently, Dawei University was the only four-year university in the state.
Health care
The general state of health care in Myanmar is poor. The military government spends anywhere from 0.5% to 3% of the country's GDP on health care, consistently ranking among the lowest in the world. Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals lack many of the basic facilities and equipment. Moreover, the health care infrastructure outside of YangonYangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
and Mandalay
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....
is extremely poor. In 2003, the entire Tanintharyi Region had less fewer hospital beds than the Yangon General Hospital
Yangon General Hospital
The Yangon General Hospital is a major public hospital in Yangon, Myanmar. Located in a 14-hectare compound, the 1500-bed hospital consists of three Medical Wards, three Surgical Wards, one Trauma and Orthopaedic Ward, and 24 Specialist Departments for inpatient care. The hospital also runs an ER...
. The following is a summary of the public health care system.
| 2002–2003 | # Hospitals | # Beds |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist hospitals | 0 | 0 |
| General hospitals with specialist services | 2 | 400 |
| General hospitals | 10 | 346 |
| Health clinics | 14 | 224 |
| Total | 26 | 970 |