Enlightenment · Southeast Asia · Politics

1752

Alaungpaya Founds Konbaung Dynasty

1752

The Moksobo headman defeated a Mon army sent to arrest him, renamed his village Shwebo, and declared himself king. Within eight years his forces would sack the Mon capital Pegu, reunite Burma, and invade Siam. The Konbaung became mainland Southeast Asia's most formidable and last native dynasty. Their aggressive expansion remade the region's political map and drew eventual British intervention that ended Burmese independence.