Shan people in Myanmar

From A.D. 1287 to 1604, the Shan controlled much of northern Burma. This rule ended in 1604 when the Burmese took over the land. In 1886 Burma became part of British India. Years later, in 1922, a new order was established when the British created the Federated Shan States and the Federated Shan States' Council. In 1937 they were given self-government within the British Commonwealth.

The Federated Shan States were made up of 34 states recognized by the British. Traditionally, Shan resided in various territories (states) governed by saophas (princes).

World War II brought hardship, as both the Japanese and the Allies attacked Shan villages, destroying many of them. In 1943, the Japanese captured 32 of the 34 Shan states. The British regained peaceful rule after the war was over, but the sun was about to set on their Empire. The British government no longer had the resources to maintain many of its colonies and decided to begin granting them independence. The question for many Shan leaders was whether to join a union with an independent Burma or to seek their own separate country.

In the end, union with Burma won out. On February 12, 1947, the Burmese nationalist leader Aung San and other ethnic leaders signed the historic Panglong Agreement in the Shan State. This agreement set up guidelines for the governing of ethnic minority groups in the Union of Burma, including the Shan, and gave the Shan State the right to secede from the Union after ten years. Only months after the signing of the agreement, however, Aung San and a number of the other leaders were assassinated, leaving the budding nation in a state of chaos. In order to promote unity, Sao (prince) Shwe Thaike was given the post of the first President of the Union of Burma, which formally achieved its independence in early 1948.