Written by a renowned scholar of Burmese culture, politics and language, this is the first English-language work to provide a comprehensive history of Burma, based both on Burmese written sources and on the narratives of European travellers and residents prior to the end of the nineteenth century. It incorporates the early history not only of Burma proper, but also that of the surrounding kingdoms of Pegu, Taungu, Tenasserim, and Arakan, comparing when possible differing accounts of events as described. It remains an essential reference on the pre-20th century history of the region.