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Honourable East India Company Medal for Burma
(Full Size), Gold
金質 英國東印度公司緬甸獎章
(官方版)
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.