Hsinbyushin - Epilogue

Epilogue

Hsinbyushin was only 39 when he died. He left 20 queens and 41 children.

Singu's right to succession was in direct conflict with Alaungpaya's edict that all of his sons become king in the order of seniority. Despite the fact that four of his brothers of were still alive, Hsinbyushin had ignored his father's will, and made his eldest son Singu the heir apparent. With Maha Thiha Thura's backing, Singu ascended the throne without incident. The new king killed off potential rivals to the throne as soon as he came to power.

Yet Hsinbyushin's penchant for unmitigated warfare everywhere had a heavy cost to the kingdom. His reckless decision to wage simultaneous wars with Siam and China nearly cost the kingdom its independence, allowing Chinese armies to advance within 30 miles of Ava. He did learn from the mistake. With the Chinese keeping a heavy Chinese military lineup in the China-Burma border for about one decade to wage another war, he curbed his ambitions elsewhere even though it provided the Siamese much valuable time to consolidate their gains.

Moreover, although his armies achieved many battlefield victories, the victories were short-lived. The Burmese had little administrative control over the newly acquired territories. For all the lives that were lost on both sides, the Burmese capture of Ayutthaya lasted a mere few months, with the Burmese armies forced to withdraw to face the Chinese back home. The Siamese regained much of their territories by 1770. Only Tenasserim remained in Burmese hands. Likewise, his repeated wars in Manipur, Cachar and Jaintia produced only temporary "barren victories". The rule of Cachar and Jaintia was nominal. Manipuri rebellions continued after Hsinbyushin and Manipur would become independent in 1782. Moreover, the Burmese army penetrated deep into Siam again in 1775–1776 but could not hold it. Similarly, the Laotian states were lost in 1778, two years after his death to the Siamese. (Vientiane became an outright Siamese vassal while Luang Prabang became a Siamese ally.)

Another damaging, certainly more enduring, cost was the rise of warlord culture by the army commanders, especially after Hsinbyushin was struck down by illness. The indiscriminate rule of the army commanders and arrogant rule of governors pushed the people to the limit. The Mon rebellion in the south was ruthlessly put down; the rebellion in Chiang Mai succeeded. His constant warfare however left the kingdom utterly exhausted. People were weary of constant war, and were relieved when his son Singu did not pursue an aggressive warfare policy.