# Death of Thibaw in Exile (16 December 1916)

URL: https://allhistories.com/myanmar/timeline/1916-death-of-thibaw-in-exile
Location: Ratnagiri, India
Themes: Monarchy, Exile

Thibaw, the last king of Burma, died at Ratnagiri on the Arabian Sea coast of western India in December 1916, aged 57. Sources differ on the exact day: the main article gives 16 December, while its text also cites 15 and 19 December. He was buried in a small walled plot next to a Christian cemetery. He had been taken downriver from Mandalay with his queen, Supayalat, and two infant daughters after the British victory of November 1885. The family lived for 24 years at Outram Hall in Dharangaon, and in 1906 the government built a new two-storey residence and raised their allowance to 100,000 rupees. He was reclusive and rarely left the property. The surviving exiled family was relocated to Burma in 1919, after his death. His grave in Ratnagiri became a site of memory for Burmese visitors, and a descendant is a pretender to the throne. In December 2012 the Myanmar president visited his tomb, a sign of the lasting symbolism of the king's exile. At this point in the timeline (1916), Burma, a province of British India, was administered by Spencer Harcourt Butler, lieutenant governor of Burma (28 October 1915 – 22 September 1917). The main location of this event lies outside present-day Myanmar.

## Why it matters
The exile and death of the last king, far from the palace he lost, stands for the end of Burmese monarchy and a grievance that nationalists repeatedly invoked.

Ruler at the Time: [Spencer Harcourt Butler (Lieutenant Governor, then Governor)](https://allhistories.com/myanmar/rulers/spencer-harcourt-butler)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Thibaw Min](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thibaw_Min)
- [Wikipedia — Mandalay Palace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandalay_Palace)