Lost Footsteps
Lost Footsteps

Explorations in Myanmar and global history

Explore Through Key Periods

Contemporary Myanmar and the World (1960s to present day)

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Medieval Myanmar (900-1510AD)

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World War Two (1942-1945)

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A post from the archives

1955

room Myanmar

The First US Secretary of State to Visit Myanmar
The First US Secretary of State to Visit Myanmar
The first US Secretary of State to visit Myanmar was John Foster Dulles, the archetypal Cold Warrior. He came in 1955 at the height of US Cold War interest in Burma, just after the defeat of the French in Indochina. His purpose was to persuade the Burmese government to join the newly formed SEATO (South East Asian Treaty Organization).  Relations with the US were not particularly close at the time. The two countries were not very familiar with one another...

people John Foster Dulles President U Ba U Sao Hkun Hkio

Explore Myanmar History through a Timeline

About this project

The aim of this website is to promote interest in Myanmar's amazing history.Our hope is to challenge the often two-dimensional and uncritical views of history taught in Myanmar by reexamining key periods in the country's past. We would like as well to reveal the rich multicultural nature of Myanmar's history and its deep and ongoing ties to global events and trends.Finally, this website will also delve into the history of neighbouring regions, such as Yunnan in China and the Northeast in India, in the hope of introducing these places to a Myanmar audience.We believe that meeting Myanmar's many challenges today will require fresh imaginative thinking. This is turn will only be possible with a clear and critical understanding of Myanmar and global history.

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