Item number: M264

Year: AD 1826

Material: Gold

Size: 84.5 x 37.7 x 2.4 mm

Weight: 36.05 g

Manufactured by: Calcutta Mint

Provenance: Noonans 2024

This medal is the Honourable East India Company Medal for Burma, awarded in AD 1826 by the British East India Company to commemorate British success in the First Anglo-Burmese War, given to native Indian soldiers who participated in the war between AD 1824 and AD 1826.

The medal is a circular gold medal featuring on the obverse an image of an elephant, symbolising Burma, bowing submissively to a lion, symbolising Britain. The background includes palm trees, the flying British flag, and the inclined Burmese flag. Below the horizon where the lion and the elephant stand, a Persian inscription reads: “The elephant of Ava is obedient to the lion of Britain.” The reverse of the medal depicts the scene of the British army capturing the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon: the Irrawaddy Flotilla attacking the Shwedagon Pagoda on the left, while General Campbell directs the attack under a palm tree, with a Persian inscription below reading: “A medal for the victorious British soldiers on Ava.”

The medal’s ribbon is red with deep blue edges on either side. This ribbon design was used for early British military medals, including the Waterloo Medal, the Military General Service Medal, and the Army Gold Medal.

The medal was manufactured at the Calcutta Mint and was produced in gold and silver. Gold medals were awarded to officers, while silver medals were awarded to other ranks. The awards were limited to native Indian soldiers, with no Europeans who participated in the campaign being eligible for the medal. The only exception was General Archibald Campbell, who was the sole European to receive the gold British East India Company Burma Medal.

Notably, the British East India Company Burma Medal was awarded in AD 1826, but the production of the medals was delayed until AD 1831-AD 1832. By AD 1840, nearly 200 gold medals and 9,000 silver medals remained unclaimed and were subsequently discarded, making the gold Honourable East India Company Medal for Burma especially scarce.

In May AD 1824, the British forces advanced from the port of Yangon against Burma. Under the command of General Archibald Campbell, the British successfully captured the Shwedagon Pagoda. The Burmese attempted to recapture the pagoda but were unsuccessful. Equipped with new weapons and occupying the strategically advantageous pagoda, the British were able to repel multiple Burmese attacks. General Campbell defeated the Burmese general Bandula’s 30,000 troops with a force of 10,000 men in the Battle of Yangon and continued to advance northward.

Hostilities ceased in AD 1825 with the commencement of peace negotiations. However, Burma rejected Britain’s demands for territorial concessions and a £2 million indemnity, leading to the breakdown of negotiations. Ultimately, the British defeated the Burmese in the Battle of Prome with overwhelming firepower, compelling Burma to accept the Treaty of Yandabo in February AD 1826, officially ending the war.

The Treaty of Yandabo included provisions such as: the cession of Assam, Manipur, Arakan, and the territory south of the Salween River, payment of £1 million in indemnity, and the establishment of mutual diplomatic representation. This treaty significantly weakened Burma’s power and paved the way for subsequent British victories in the Anglo-Burmese Wars and the eventual annexation of Burma.

物件編號: M264

年代: 公元 1826 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 84.5 x 37.7 x 2.4 mm

重量: 36.05 g

製造地: 加爾各答鑄幣廠

來源: 諾南斯 2024

此枚獎章為英國東印度公司於公元1826年頒發的英國東印度公司緬甸獎章，紀念英國於第一次英緬戰爭中的成功，授予於公元1824年-公元1826年間參與該戰爭的印度本土士兵。

獎章外型為一枚圓形金質獎章，正面描繪了象徵緬甸的大象向象徵英國的獅子伏首順從的模樣，背景為棕櫚樹、飄揚的英國國旗和傾斜的緬甸國旗，在獅子和大象站立的地平線下方以波斯銘文刻有「阿瓦的大象服從英國的獅子」。獎章背面則刻著英國軍隊攻佔仰光大金寺的情景: 伊洛瓦底江艦隊在左側襲擊仰光大佛塔，而坎貝爾將軍則在一棵棕櫚樹下指揮進攻，下方以波斯銘文刻有「為在阿瓦勝利的英國士兵頒發的獎章」。

獎章綬帶以紅色為底，左右兩側邊緣為深藍色。這種綬帶用於早期英國的軍事獎章，包含滑鐵盧獎章、軍事一般服務獎章、陸軍金質獎章…等。

此獎章於加爾各答鑄幣廠製造，分為金、銀兩種材質，金質獎章授予軍官，銀質獎章則授予其他級別的士兵，並且授予對象僅限印度本土士兵，沒有任何參與戰役的歐洲人能獲得此獎章。戰爭過程負責指揮軍隊的阿奇博爾德·坎貝爾將軍是唯一的特殊例外，他是唯一獲頒金質英國東印度公司緬甸獎章的歐洲人。

值得注意的是，英國東印度公司緬甸獎章頒發於公元1826年，獎章的製作卻被推遲至公元1831-公元1832年才完成，導致到了公元1840年，仍有近200枚金質獎章和9000枚銀質獎章無人認領並遭報廢，該現象使這枚金質英國東印度公司緬甸獎章更顯稀缺。

公元1824年5月，英國軍隊從仰光港口進攻緬甸，英軍在阿奇博爾德·坎貝爾將軍的指揮下，成功佔領了仰光大金寺。緬甸軍隊試圖奪回大金寺，但未能成功。英軍配備了新式武器，並佔據了地勢優越的大金寺，因此在武器和地勢方面都佔據優勢，能夠抵禦緬軍的數波攻擊。坎貝爾將軍在仰光戰役中以10000人的軍隊擊敗了緬甸的班都拉將軍領導的30000人的緬軍，並持續向北推進。

雙方於公元1825年停戰，開始和平談判。然而，緬甸拒絕了英國提出的割讓領土及200萬英鎊賠款的條件，談判因此破裂。最終，英軍在卑謬戰役中以強大的火力擊敗緬軍，於公元1826年2月迫使緬甸接受了《楊達波條約》，正式結束了這場戰爭。

《楊達波條約》的主要內容包括: 割讓阿薩姆邦、曼尼普爾邦、若開邦和丹那沙林在薩爾溫江以南的領土，支付一百萬英鎊的賠款、允許互相派駐外交代表…等，該條約嚴重削弱了緬甸的國力，為英國在後續的英緬戰爭中取得勝利並最終併吞緬甸鋪平了道路。