The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c23.s4.67

v4.c23.s4.67

In 1773 Talaing levies, mustered for an expedition to Siam, mutinied. The Burmese commanders and guards fled, first to Martaban, and then to Rangoon. The mutineers failed to take the Rangoon stockade but fired the town and burnt several foreign ships which were building on the stocks. A week later the Burmese brought up reinforcements, seized a Dutch ship, and retook the town with the aid of her gunfire; they then robbed her of all guns and munitions and sent her to sea, where she foundered. The mutineers made off, collected their families and migrated to Siam, numbering three thousand. The general population could not flee, and on them, though not implicated, the Burmese wreaked vengeance, massacring both sexes.