Bago (Pegu) is situated in southern Myanmar (Burma), on the Pegu River. It is the capital of Bago Division.

Bago city is said to have been founded in 573 by Mon emigrants from Thaton to the southeast, but the most likely date of its foundation as the capital of a Mon kingdom is 825. In 1057, when the Burman king Anawrahta of Pagan conquered the kingdom, he depopulated it by transporting 30,000 Mon to Pagan. Pegu was little heard of until Pagan fell to the Mongols in 1287. When the Mons recovered their independence, Pegu became the capital of their new kingdom in 1369, known as Hansavati (Hanthawaddy). During the Mon dynasty, Bago was a fabulous city, a major seaport and capital of lower Myanmar. It was also a centre of Buddhist culture.

When in 1539 the Mon kingdom fell to the Burman Toungoo dynasty, Pegu was made the capital of a united kingdom until 1599 and again from 1613 to 1634. It was used in the 16^th century as a base for the invasion of Siam. Many Europeans visited it, including the Venetian trader Cesare Federici (1569) and the English merchant Ralph Fitch (1587-88), whose description detailed its magnificence.

The city was destroyed by the Burman in 1757 but partially restored in the early 19^th century. When the Bago River changed its course and cut the city off from the sea, Bago failed to return to its previous grandeur.

The British annexed the Pegu area in 1852, and in 1862, when the province of British Burma was created, the capital was moved from Pegu to Rangoon. Because of Alaungpaya's wars and the flight of the Mon people, the area was again virtually depopulated. The British later developed that area into the main rice-growing and exporting region of Burma.

Pegu is a major rice and timber collecting centre and has numerous rice mills and sawmills.

© COPYRIGHT 2000-2001 - ASIATRAVELLING.NET