Successive wars and the establishment of a border between the kingdom of Burma and British India in the nineteenth century challenged Burmese conceptions of sovereignty and political space. This essay investigates how European, and more specifically Anglo-American, notions of race, nation, and consular protection to nationals, progressively informed the Burmese concepts of ‘categories of people’ (lumyo) and ‘subject’ (kyun). First, I present the semantic evolution of these concepts in the 1820s–1830s, following the annexation of the western Burmese province of Arakan by British India in 1824. Then, I argue that the Burmese concept of lumyo was progressively associated with the European concept of ‘nations’ in the 1850s–1860s, following the annexation of Lower Burma in 1852. Finally, I uncover developments in the 1870s, when British consular protection extended to several freshly categorised ‘nations’, such as Shan, Karenni, and Kachin.

The Burmese concept of raza-dhamma, which derives from the Pali rāja dhamma found in early Buddhist literature, refers to a tenfold code for righteous kings. In the early eighteenth century, U Kala's Maha-raza-win-kyi connected the raza-dhamma to the origin myth of Mahathammata and laid the groundwork for later texts. While scholars thus far have limited their perspectives to the early Konbaung sources, this article attempts a more systematic approach tracing the evolution of a commentarial genre that broadened the scope of the concept. Throughout the middle and late Konbaung period, the interpretation of the ten raza-dhamma represents the first argument of a constantly redefined discourse on kingship. A historical and linguistic investigation of five significant texts shows how this concept participated in the gradual changes of the sociopolitical representations during three periods. From Bagyidaw's reign (1820s-1830s), this article analyzes the royal chronicle Hman-hnan maha-raza-win-daw-kyi and two normative texts, the Monywe hsayadaw's Razaw-wada-kyan and the Maha-dhamma-thinkyan's Dhammaw-padetha-kyan, all three written between 1827 and 1832. Next, it investigates the concept in Mindon's early reign (1850s-1860s) through the third Maung Htaung hsayadaw's Raza-thewaka-dipani-kyan (1856), which enlarged upon the Dhammaw-padetha-kyan. Finally, turning to the late Konbaung period (end of the 1870s-1890s), this article look at the concept in Hpo Hlaing's Raza-dhamma-thingaha-kyan (1878).

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Contrary to the modern Western concept of reform, the precolonial Burmese concept of pyu pyin was not linked to the notion of progress, but to the notion of “regeneration.” These reforms, called here “cyclical reforms,” were meant to restore a pristine and ideal order. Their implementation was strongly connected to the “prophetic reading” of a time. Following Buddhist cosmology, wordly affairs reflect cosmic order, so that prophecies, omens, rumors and other extraordinary signs were immediatly reported to the king and interpreted by his experts in wordly matter knowledge (lawki piñña). When these “prophetic readings” were inauspicious, “cyclical reforms” were carried out to restore the socio-cosmic order. But there were also reforms, here called “conjunctural reforms,” which were a more specific response to a changing context. Within this frame work, it is productive to bring the conception and practice of reform during the middle and late Konbaung period (1820s-1880s) under scrutiny. At that time, the Burmese government had to adjust to the coming of a new colonial order. The reign of king Mindon (1853-1878) was particularly rich in major sociopolitical changes and implementation of reforms, which were drafted as a response to the new “conjuncture.” The years 1866-1869 are particularly formative for two reasons. First, the year 1866 is the major political turn of king Mindon's reign. The heir-apparent, the Kanaung prince, leader of the “conjunctural reform” program after his brother Mindon took power, was murdered during a coup d’etat in August. Thereafter, king Mindon led both “cyclical” and “conjunctural” reforms until changes in the international context of Burma in the 1870s put an end to his attempts. Second, these years are particularly well-documented, both in vernacular and western primary sources. Only a careful and close examination of both types of sources will allow us to analyze how “prophetic” information was interpreted and understood at the Burmese court and allow us to see how this understanding influenced decision-making and choices of the appropriate type of reform, whether “cyclical”—a reversion to normative or ideal conditions—or “conjunctural”—a creation of a new precedent.

In 1856 despite Anglo-French rivalry, priests from the Missions étrangères de Paris settled in Burma, the South of which had been conquered by the British. At first, the two local administrations complemented one another : the British stayed in the towns, allowing the missionaries to do as they wished in the country. The Missions benefitted from the Government 's religious neutrality, from improved security and better infrastructure thanks to the Pax Britannica which extented to the North, after Burma was annexed to India in 1886. The customary cooperation between colonizers and missionaries was not based on nationality but on a shared conception of civilization : teaching became the missionaries' essential activity. However, in 1904-1907, a growing lack of available land combined with the first nationalist movements urged the missionaries to seule in the towns. At that time, the British reformed their educational policy. The missionaries had to adapt their methods to Victorian standards in order to serve the imperial ideology. WWI enhanced this trend and justified the alliance between the British and the missionaries while economic and social problems increased.