U Pho
ဦးဘိုး
Member of the Legislative Council of Burma
In office
December 1885  c. 1886
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byUnknown
Senior Minister of the Hluttaw
In office
23 March 1883  30 November 1885
MonarchThibaw Min
Preceded byUnknown
Succeeded byPosition disestablished
Lord of Taingda
In office
22 January 1879  30 November 1885
MonarchThibaw Min
Preceded byTaingda Princess
Succeeded byPosition disestablished
Personal details
Bornc.1820s
Konbaung Burma
Died31 May 1896
Sunday, 6th waning of Nayon 1258 ME
Rangoon, British Burma
Military service
AllegianceKonbaung dynasty
Branch/serviceRoyal Burmese armed forces
Years of service?–1885
RankAgga Maha Thenapati (Commander in chief)
CommandsSouthern Tavoy Regiment

Taingda Mingyi U Pho (Burmese: တိုင်တား မင်းကြီး ဦးဘိုး, pronounced [táiɰ̃dà mɪ́ɰ̃dʑí ʔú pʰó]; c.1820s – 31 May 1896) was a Burmese official of the royal courts of King Mindon and King Thibaw during the Konbaung dynasty.[1][2] He became the most powerful official at King Thibaw's court and held several key positions, including Minister of the Interior, Minister of Defense, and Senior Minister of the Hluttaw. Taingda was seen as an opponent of Kinwun Mingyi U Kaung and the leader of the conservative faction that advocated for war with the British.[3]

Life

Maung Pho was born into minor nobility who served in the newly conquered kingdom of Arakan during the reign of King Bodawpaya. His father, Maha Mingyi Kyawswa, was governor of Sandoway (Thandwe). His date of birth is not known. He was appointed to the position of royal tea official (လက်ဖက်ရည်တော်) shortly after King Mindon ascended to the throne. Later he held several positions, such as second-in-command of the military unit for Salin, Saku, Kyapin, and Legaing; governor of Mindon and seven hill districts, commander of the Southern Tavoy Regiment, count of Monglon.[4][5]

A painting depicting the massacre at Mandalay Palace

When King Mindon died in 1878, U Pho felt powerful enough to offer the throne to the late king's son, Prince Thibaw.[6] He played a major role in the massacre of around forty members of the Burmese royal family.[7] He was an ally of Queen Hsinbyumashin, who ordered almost all possible heirs to the throne to be killed, so that her daughter Supayalat and son-in-law Thibaw Min would become queen and king.[8][9] In return, King Thibaw soon after his accession to the throne appointed him the Thuye Wun (Minister of the Elite Infantry) with the title of Mingyi Minkhaung Maha Kyawhtin on 23 November 1878.[10] On 22 January 1879, he was appointed the Minister of the Interior and granted the appanage of Taingda (a town between Sidoktaya and Minbu) and became known as Taingda Mingyi (Lord of Taingda).[11] On 23 March 1883,[12] he was promoted to Agga Maha Thenapati Wungyi (Minister of Defense), while also serving as Thamidaw Wun (lit. "Minister of the Royal Daughter").[4]

Right after the Third Anglo-Burmese War, Taingda briefly served in the incoming British administration.[13] He and Kinwun were the first two Burmese to be appointed to the Legislative Council of Burma. However, the British soon detained Taingda, charging him with creating unrest in the country, and exiled him to Cuttack, Odisha State, India.[14] In 1890, the British sent him back to Burma.

He died on 31 May 1896 (Sunday, 6th waning of Nayon 1258 ME) in Rangoon (Yangon).[15]

References

  1. Wills, Arthur Winkler (1905). Sunny Days in Burma. Midland Counties Herald Press.
  2. Shah, Sudha (14 June 2012). The King In Exile: The Fall Of The Royal Family Of Burma. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-93-5029-598-4.
  3. Fielding, Harold (1899). Thibaw's Queen. Harper.
  4. 1 2 Mranʻ māʹ lvatʻ lapʻ reʺ kruiʺ pamʻʺ mhu samuiṅʻʺ: Mranʻ mā tuiṅʻʺ raṅʻʺ sāʺ tuiʹ e* lakʻ nakʻ cvai kuiṅʻ toʻ lhanʻ reʺ, 1885–1895 (in Burmese). ʾA chaṅʻʹ mraṅʻʹ Paññā Ūʺ cīʺ Ṭhāna. 1986.
  5. Preschez, Philippe (1976). Kunʻʺ bhoṅʻ khetʻ praṅʻ sacʻ mranʻ mā chakʻ chaṃ reʺ samuiṅʻʺ (in Burmese). Cā pe Bimānʻ.
  6. Dagon Khin Khin Lay. "ရတနာပုံ၏နိဒါန်းနှင့်နိဂုံး အမှတ်စဉ်(၁၄၃) 'Introduction and conclusion of Yadanabon'". Myawady Webportal. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  7. Bunge, Frederica M. (1983). Burma, a Country Study. Headquarters, Department of the Army.
  8. "ကုန်းဘောင်ခေတ်ဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့တဲ့ နန်းတွင်းတရားဝင်လူသတ်ပွဲကြီး". Myanmarload. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  9. Ṅayʻ (Moṅʻ.), Phe (2006). Sī po maṅʻʺ e* Nokʻ chuṃʺ Neʹ rakʻ myāʺ (in Burmese). Khyui teʺ saṃ Cā pe. p. 102.
  10. Takkasuilʻ paññā padesā (in Burmese). Takkasuilʻ Myāʺ ʼUpʻ Khyupʻ Reʺ Ruṃʺ. 1969.
  11. (Maung Maung Tin Vol. 3 2004: 337): 1st waxing of Tabodwe 1240 ME = 22 January 1879
  12. (Maung Maung Tin Vol. 3 2004: 391): 1st waning of Late Tagu 1244 ME = 23 March 1883
  13. Ngwe Tayi Magazine (in Burmese). Ūʺ Ēi Moṅʻ. 1979.
  14. Blackburn, Terence R. (2008). Executions by the Half-dozen: The Pacification of Burma. APH Publishing. ISBN 978-81-313-0403-7.
  15. Kyan, Daw (1978). Padetharit Myanmar Naingngan Ei Zat-thein (Padesarājʻ Mranʻ mā nuiṅʻ ṅaṃ e* jātʻ simʻʺ) (in Burmese). Department of Historical Research, Ministry of Culture.

Bibliography

  • Maung Maung Tin, U (1905). Konbaung Set Yazawin (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3 (2004 ed.). Yangon: Department of Universities History Research, University of Yangon.
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