Bloodsworn: A Burmese Historian

"A stockade having been erected on the island of Shinmabu (Shapuree), belonging to Dhanyawaddy, and adverting to the friendship and commercial intercourse subsisting between the two great states, I sent Daren-ya-gro and Hossain Ally, linguist, with a letter to the Company’s Governor, who pretends that Shinmabu belongs to the English, on the proof of certain papers. The island was never under the authority of the Moors or the English; the stockade thereon has consequently been destroyed in pursuance of the commands of the great Lord of the Seas and Earth. If you want tranquillity, be quiet; but if you rebuild a stockade at Shinmabu, I will cause to be taken, by the force of arms, the cities of Dacca and Murshidabad, which originally belonged to the great Rakhine Yaza, whose chokies and pagodas were there." - Maha Mingyi Kyawswa, Governor of Dhanyawaddy Rakhine, minister and commander-in-chief ruling over Rakkhapura and one hundred and ninety-eight conquered provinces to the westward of the great Golden Empire, to the Governor of Bengal, Lord William Amherst as he prepares his forces of some 2,500 men.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 10

Bloodsworn: A Burmese Historian

One of the things I have been experimenting with AI is to throw in prompts using descriptions written in historical texts but have no existing image we have found. This one is the East India Company's Bengal Army Sepoys raising the Company flag on Shapuri or Hsinmaphyu Island in September, 1823. This in turn led to the Myo Wun of Dhanyawaddy (Rakhine) Maha Mingyi Kyawswa to warn the British to leave Dhanyawaddy territory or be attacked. When the British refused, Dhanywaddy troops attacked and drove out the sepoys. This together more violent clashes in Assam and Manipur would lead to the First Anglo-Burmese War. It seems like according to Konbaung accounts and Henry Gouger's work, the occupation of the island is what convinced the otherwise hesitant King Bagyidaw to listen to the warring faction led by Queen Me Nu and Thado Maha Bandula in the Konbaung Court and formally approved of offensive actions.

Skip the Carousel

1 2

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 17

Bloodsworn: A Burmese Historian

Hi everyone. First, I want to deeply apologise for my long absence. The combination of intense academic burnout and the relentless grind of writing up my PhD thesis completely drained my energy, forcing me to step away from the digital world for a while.To keep this space active while protecting my mental bandwidth, I am shifting gears. I will be sharing shorter-form posts directly related to my research. This allows me to take a much-needed break from dense academic writing while still providing you with high-quality, frequent updates. To kick off this new format, here is a AI colorised image of the Royal Burmese Army (Konbaung Dynasty) from the 1860s (They annoying changed some of the outfits too and why I don't fully trust it but it's nice to see the colours). I tried to do it by hand but as old viewers of this channel know I am still learning hahaha. This restoration is based on contemporary sketches and a rare, highly detailed depiction found on an Italian military plate, Konbaung manuscript artwork and British descriptions. The black and white is the original from "Burma and Indo-China (Armies of the 19th Century: Asia)" by Ian Heath.

During the reigns of King Mindon and King Thibaw (the 1860s through the 1880s), the Konbaung court aggressively sought out European technology and expertise to modernise its military against British colonial expansion. While the French and British presence is well-documented, Italian mercenaries, engineers, and naval officers played an incredibly influential role in transforming the King's guard.Senior Officers: Notable Italian figures like Captain Molinari and Comotto served directly under the Konbaung crown. They were tasked with building river fortifications along the Irrawaddy and organizing factories to cast modern artillery.The "Light Infantry" Overhaul: Italian officers were given command of specialized units, most notably the newly raised Burmese "Light Infantry" regiments.Sardinian & Garibaldian Influence: These Italian advisors styled the Burmese regulars after the famous light infantry units of their homeland—such as the Bersaglieri and Piedmontese sharpshooters who fought during the Wars of Italian Independence.Instead of traditional Burmese military attire, these soldiers were outfitted with distinctive green jackets and specialized headgear, creating a fascinating visual fusion of Southeast Asian martial tradition and Risorgimento-era European military fashion. I have only seen a very low-res sketch of these and will definately upload them if I find any. Cheers, folks!

Skip the Carousel

1 2

3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 36

Bloodsworn: A Burmese Historian

The recent earthquake in Myanmar and its neighbours have been one of the worst ones the region has suffered. Please keep us in your prayers and donate to help the victims. In particular, the Sagaing region has long suffered since the Pandemic and especially so with the war. While I am happy to report my immidiate family and friends in Yangon and Thailand are safe, the internet and electricity backouts from the earthquake damage and the state of war means communication is poor and things. Mutual Aid Myanmar and various other groups are organising aid. The damage include not only in major residental areas but 19th century temples, pagodas, churches and mosques. Our thoughts and prayers to all affected communties.

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4 5

1 year ago | [YT] | 43

Bloodsworn: A Burmese Historian

Hi everyone, my apologies for not been active. My silence is because I am now doing fieldwork in England! I will be busy collecting sources in London and various other places. I hope to get something out soon but it will depend on my timetable! Thank you all for your support over the years. I will try to create more quality content! Take care of yourselves!

Bloodsworn

Skip the Carousel

1 2

1 year ago | [YT] | 63

Bloodsworn: A Burmese Historian

Hi everyone, so even after cutting down and summarising a number of stuff, the 1824 Anglo-Burmese War remains a BIG topic. So I just wanted to see what format would you prefer. Will be uploading the next video either next week or the following week.

2 years ago | [YT] | 27

Bloodsworn: A Burmese Historian

Hi, everyone.

I wasn't sure whether to post this here on my channel but ultimately I thought it would be good to at least spread some awarness of Myanmar history content made out there. I am one of the authors to contribute to this book (I won't say what I wrote for privacy reasons) and there is an exhibition in London so if anyone is there, do take a look at it. From a Myanmar perspective, the content is a bit strange (some of my own writings were considered a bit too "harsh" for a British audience xD). It is a "Public History" project and one by the British Museum too but it is a landmark in the sense that they tried to get as much Myanmar academics involved and at the very least attempted a balanced view. I am not going to advocate buying it because it's not the cheapest but if you somehow get your hands it on, do take a look. It's a good insight to seeing how non-Myanmar people look at Myanmar. History is not just about uncovering forgotten details but also relooking at the same events from different perspectives and different contexts. Never forget to keep expanding your horizons.

2 years ago | [YT] | 53

Bloodsworn: A Burmese Historian

Hello, everyone and happy new year to you all! Wishing you all the best for 2024. I am still alive and been busy outside. On the side, I have not been idle channel related. One of the things I have been busy with is learning to use After Effect and other editing softwares. So just to give a teaser and do let me know which do you prefer?

Skip the Carousel

1 2

2 years ago | [YT] | 31

Bloodsworn: A Burmese Historian

Burmese War elephants in 1859 according to a Spanish military magazine. I haven't any other sources that support this especially since according to the Konbaung Chronicles and Royal Orders of Burma, there's actually been a great decrease in elephant units in the Konbaung armies, who seem to be raising more musket armed infantry and horse cavalry since the 1790s. What is interesting is that the description matches Marco Polo and Chinese accounts of Northern Burmese (Bama and Shan mostly) war elephants' armour so the artists might have drawn it based on those descriptions. On the other hand, it could be from one of the Myinkin Thabins, the annual military tournments of the time. Whatever else, it's still pretty cool to see an illustration of it! If anyone else know or seen it before, please do comment!

2 years ago | [YT] | 55

Bloodsworn: A Burmese Historian

Hello and Mingalaba, everyone.

First of all, apologies for my long absence. It has been a busy and difficult time for me outside the channel. The war has been taking a great toll and sometimes I wake up each day thinking why am I where I am? Why did I survive when braver and better men and women didn't? What can I do for those who are left? Am I presenting the message properly? Is it too boring? It's been difficult.



Which is helped by the second bit. Ten thousand subscribers. I have a hard time believing it. I honestly did not think the channel would grow this much. This channel was initially envisioned by a group of us uploading various content ranging from culture, mythology, art and of course history from me but before we could finalise anything a number of things happened. First was Covid. Many of our families were badly affected. Second of course the War. As such, we all had to tend to our families or other commitments rather than continue forward with our plans.



The first video came out as much as a frustration to do something based on Myanmar as much as a planned one. I often found myself staring at my script in class and one day just recorded the audio in a classroom with a $5 earpiece on a Samsung phone.



It feels so surreal to see what this channel has grown into. And that would not be the case without you. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you.



So for future content, I will continue to upload content on Myanmar history including non-militiary content but as some of you are more interested in the more academic discussion of it, I will be uploading heavier content on my membership channel. Content here will include an in-depth analysis of the conflicts I discussed and historical debates that are ongoing. These videos will be longer, cited in greater detail and will discuss points more geared to academics.



Because of my personal commitments outside of the channel, I will focus on more longer and in-depth videos done over a longer period rather than shorter ones. If you have any topics that you want me to cover, do comment below as I will be looking through a lot of Southeast Asian (mostly Myanmar) and European stuff (most British) research outside.



Once again, thank you for your support! Cheers!

2 years ago | [YT] | 47