# Bronze Hall Massacre at Mandalay (13–17 February 1879)

URL: https://allhistories.com/myanmar/timeline/1879-bronze-hall-massacre-at-mandalay
Location: Mandalay Palace
Themes: Konbaung Court, Royal Succession

On 13, 15 and 17 February 1879, royal relatives were executed at Mandalay Palace in what is called the Bronze Hall Massacre. Five were killed on 13 February, nineteen on 15 February and nineteen more the following night. Victims were killed by crushing their throats with bamboo poles, or by sword, then placed in red velvet bags. Sources disagree on the toll: the Konbaung Set Yazawin records about thirty, other chronicles more than sixty, and European and Burmese sources over eighty. Wikipedia names Queen Hsinbyumashin and ministers including Kinwun Mingyi as responsible. Supayalat denied involvement, and Thibaw denied ordering or knowing of the killings. The British government sent a formal protest calling the killings shocking and horrible, and warned it might withdraw the Mandalay embassy. The chief minister replied that the matter was internal. Thibaw issued a strict order that nothing of state be done without his authority. He also sponsored large religious donations and mourning ceremonies, according to Wikipedia. At this point in the timeline (1879), the Konbaung dynasty held the Burmese throne under Thibaw Min, king of Burma (1 October 1878 – 29 November 1885). Other contemporary rulers included Charles Umpherston Aitchison, chief commissioner of British Burma (30 March 1878 – 2 July 1880).

## Why it matters
The massacre damaged the Burmese court's reputation abroad and gave Britain a moral pretext for later intervention in Upper Burma.

Ruler at the Time: [Thibaw Min](https://allhistories.com/myanmar/rulers/thibaw-min)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Bronze Hall Massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Hall_Massacre)
- [Wikipedia — Hsinbyumashin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hsinbyumashin)
- [Wikipedia — Thibaw Min](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thibaw_Min)