Arriving from Tibet (the north) before the 9th century, the Burmese took over earlier cultures. A Buddhist monarchy was set up by the 11th century. The Mongol dynasty of China conquered them in 1272 and then they were ruled by the Shans (Chinese) until the 16th century. England ruled Burma as a part of India until 1937 when it became self-governing. Finally in 1948 it became fully liberated. General Ne Win controlled politics from the 1960s to 1966. He set up policies against the Indians and Chinese. The economy improved greatly because of the government's interest in agriculture and oil. There has been a great deal of protest and fighting going on in Burma this past summer (1988) due to Ne Win's rule. @
