History of Myanmar

The British took over all of Myanmar in three moves 1824, 1852 and 1885. The Burmese king and queen were exiled to India and their grand palace at Mandalay was looted and used as a barracks to quarter British and Indian troops.
The colonial era wrought great changes in Myanmar's demographics and infrastructure. Large numbers of Indians were brought in to work as civil servants and Chinese were encouraged to immigrate and stimulate trade. The British built railroads and ports and many British companies became wealthy trading in teak and rice. After driving the British out of Myanmar and fighting against Japanese army, Bogoke Aung San emerged from the fog of war as the country's natural leader. He was the man to hold the country together through the transition to independence. He was assassinated before he could take office. Independence came in 1948, but with Aung San's protege U Nu at the helm. Ethnic conflicts raged and chaos ensued. In 1962 General Ne Win led a left-wing army takeover and failed. The country had reached a virtual standstill in 1987 and in early 1988, long-suffering Burmese people packed the streets and there were massive confrontations between pro-democracy demonstrators and the military.
In 1989 Bogoke Aung San's charismatic daughter Aung San Suu Kyi, organised an opposition party NLD. While the Burmese population rallied around the NLD, the government grew nervous and placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. Even though NLD won over 85% of the vote, the government refused to allow the NLD to assume their parliamentary seats. Up to the country is run by the military government and Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest!