Publisher's Synopsis
Protected by jungle-covered mountain ranges, the land ruled by the Burmese Court was for a long time jealously guarded by kings who chose to remain aloof from the outside world. With the coming of the Age of Steam, access to the sequested kingdom was much easier, and when it fell prey to British imperialism the country was 'opened up'. Nevertheless, soon after becoming an independent republic the country once more pursued a policy of limited foreign contact. One consequence of such geographical and cultural isolation is that most outsiders are uninformed about the country now known as Myanmar. This anthology contains sequences of fascinating information covering almost four centuries of Burmese history and drawn from travellers' accounts, many of them from rare documents or inaccessible books.
