States and Divisions
Bago Division
Bago Division is an administrative division
of Myanmar, located in the southern portion of the country. It
is bordered by Magway Division and Mandalay Division to the
north; Kayin State, Mon State and the Gulf of Martaban to the
east; Yangon Division to the south and Ayeyarwady Division and
Rakhine State to the west. It is located between 46°45'N and
19°20'N and 94°35'E and 97°10'E.
Demographics
Bago Division's seal are two sibling hintha
(mythical ducks), due to historic Mon influences in the
area.The total population of Bago Division is 5,014,000, with
Karen, Bamar, Mon, Chin, Rakhine, Shan and Pa-O ethnic groups
represented. reside in Bago Division. The majority of the
people are Buddhists. Burmese language is the lingua franca.
Organisation
Bago Division occupies an area of 15,214
square miles divided into the four districts of Bago, Pyay,
Thayawady and Taungoo. Bago, the divisional capital, is the
fourth largest town of Myanmar. Other major cities include
Taungoo and Pyay.
Economy
The division's economy is strongly
dependent on the timber trade. Taungoo, in the northern end of
the Bago Division, is bordered by mountain ranges, home to
teak and other hardwoods. Other natural resources include
petroleum. The major crop is rice, which occupies over
two-thirds of the available agricultural land. Other major
crops include betel nut, sugarcane, maize, groundnut, sesamum,
sunflower, beans and pulses, cotton, jute, rubber, tobacco,
tapioca, banana, Nipa palm and toddy. Industry includes
fisheries, salt, ceramics, sugar, paper, plywood,
distilleries, and monosodium glutamate.
The major tourist sites of Bago Division can be reached as a
day trip from Yangon.
History
According to legend, two Mon princes from
Thaton founded the city of Bago in 573 AD. They saw a female
goose standing on the back of a male goose on an island in a
huge lake. Believing this was an auspicious omen, the princes
built a city called Hanthawady (Pali: Hamsavati) on the edge
of the lake.
The earliest mention of this city in history is by the Arab
geographer Ibn Khudadhbin around 850 AD. At the time, the Mon
capital had shifted to Thanton. The Bamar from Bagan ruled the
area in 1056. After the collapse of Bagan to the Mongols in
1287, the Mon regained their independence.
From 1369-1539, Hanthawady was the capital of the Mon kingdom
of Ramanadesa, which covered all of what is now lower Myanmar.
The area came under Burman control again in 1539, when it was
annexed by King Tabinshwethi to his Kingdom of Taungoo. The
kings of Taungoo made Bago their royal capital from 1539-1599
and again in 1613-1634, and used it as a base for repeated
invasions of Siam. As a major seaport, the city was frequently
visited by Europeans, who commented on its magnificence. The
Burmese capital was relocated to Ava in 1634. In 1740, the Mon
revolted and briefly regained their independence, but Burmese
King Alaungpaya sacked and completely destroyed the city
(along with Mon independence) in 1757.
Burmese King Bodawpaya (1782-1819) rebuilt Bago, but by then
the river had shifted course, cutting the city off from the
sea. It never regained its previous importance. After the
Second Anglo-Burmese War, the British annexed Bago in 1852. In
1862, with the formation of the province of British Burma, the
capital moved to Yangon.
|
Bago Division
|
| Capital |
Bago |
| Region |
Lower |
| Area |
39,404 km˛ |
| Population |
5,014,000 |
| Ethnicities |
Bamar, Kayin, Mon,
Shan,
Indians, Chinese |
| Religions |
Buddhism,
Islam,
Christianity, Hinduism |
 |
|
|
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