The year was 1885 and the last Burmese king was standing strong. The British forces were marching into Mandalay with very little opposition. Their plan to take over the country was succeeding- but capturing the Royal Palace of Mandalay in the centre of the city, was going to be an important symbolic victory. As it turned out, overtaking the palace- and King ThibawMin- was even easier than predicted. The British demanded unconditional surrender and that’s what they got.The King and Queen were put on a bullock cart and taken down to the river to be sent into exile in India. The story goes that when the British soldiers pulled out their guns, the King dropped down to his knees and begged for his life to be spared. His queen, however, walked on her own defiantly towards the steamer on the mighty Irrawaddy. After the British invasion, the palace was used by the colonialists as a base for troops in Mandalay and many of the royal treasures were looted and sent back to London ( many are still on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum). Every global aggress or eventually must face a rising challenger. And so it was that […]