A History of Burma - Maung Htin Aung

A HISTORY OF BURMA MAUNG HTIN AUNG Located on the western edge of the .-. huge peninsula formerly called Indo-China and now known as mainland southeast . .. Asia, and bordering on three Asian giants ,. -China, India, and Pakistan-Burma has historically served as a gateway to the southeast and to China. In early history, when the sea was considered more dan­ gerous than land, trade between India and Indo-China and China was carried on through Burma. Even after the sea route had come into general use, ships did not venture out into the sea but preferred to hug the coast; they were blown toward the Burmese coast by the southwest mon­ soon and were sped back to India and Ceylon by the northeast monsoon. Although Burma, slightly larger than France and with a population of only 24 million, is a small country compared to her three large neighbors, she has, because of her unique geographical position, often played the role of leader among her other neighbors. Burma transmitted Buddhism from India to southeast Asia and later became the champion of this faith in the region. Burma has often taken upon herself the enormous task of shielding southeast (Continued on back flap)